DESIGN REQUIREMENTS
Lawn-to-Garden Incentive (L2G) Program Design Requirements
If your application for the Lawn-to-Garden (L2G) Incentive program has been approved, the next steps in the process are for you to complete the on-line or an in-person landscape class and submit to LBWD, within 90 calendar days of LBWD having approved your application, the design of your proposed new landscape.
Effective July 1, 2018 all Lawn to Garden projects must be watered using an efficient irrigation method. Existing traditional sprinkler systems will be required to be upgraded to high efficiency sprinkler heads, a drip system or capped for hand watering. Traditional systems that are capped must be hand-watered. For those choosing to upgrade their irrigation system, there will be special exceptions for the use of other efficient irrigation methods such as bubblers and micro spray for certain shrubs, trees and uniform groundcovers. All exceptions will be made at the discretion of the Long Beach Water Department.
Examples of water-efficient irrigation systems include:
- High efficiency sprinkler heads;
- Drip irrigation;
- Bubblers for shrubs and trees;
- Microsprays which emit large droplets or fine streams of water just above the ground. They are suited for irrigating large flowerbeds.
In addition, all irrigation systems must include the following:
- Pressure regulators, allowing no more pressure than recommended by the manufacturer of the drip system (usually about 10 to 15 psi) or the micro spray (usually about 35 psi).
- Separate valves for each part of the landscape (known as ‘hydrozones’) that need a different watering schedule.
Inefficient irrigation systems include traditional fan-spray type sprinklers. LBWD may verify the efficiency of the irrigation system during its final inspection, prior to its payment of the Lawn-to-Garden incentive.
- Email the documents to lawntogarden@lbwater.org. Emailed documents CANNOT be photographs of the original documents. .JPG and .PNG files are NOT accepted.
- Send U.S. Mail or personal delivery to: Lawn-to-Garden Incentive c/o Water Conservation Long Beach Water Department 1800 East Wardlow Road Long Beach, CA 90807
What to include in your design?
As mentioned, the drawing can be done by a non-professional and by hand. Although the drawing does not have to be at a high level of detail, it should show enough detail to illustrate the overall project design.
The new Design Reimbursement Program will provide a rebate of up to $1,500 dollars for customers who submit a design from a LBWD certified landscape professional. A list of local landscape professionals that have submitted their credentials to the Long Beach Water Department can be found by clicking here. To participate in the Design Reimbursement Program you must hire a landscape professional from our certified list to create a design for your garden and submit a copy of the receipt for the amount of the design.
Your drawing must comply with the following:
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- If the full names of the plants will not fit on the drawing, feel free to use a code for the plants on the drawing, adding the associated plant names on a separate piece of paper.
- Only California Native plants and California-friendly plants may be installed as part of this landscape project. Two fantastic sites for selecting beautiful California-friendly plants are LA Coastal Gardens and www.bewaterwise.com.
- A list of plants native to California can be found on the California Native Plant Society plant database, calscape.org.
- Visit our “Plant” page for help selecting the right plants. These sites provide details on more than 1,500 different kinds of beautiful plants as well as virtual tours of beautiful landscapes and gardens. All plants on these three websites are acceptable plants, with the exception of turf-looking grasses (such as Buffalo grass, Zoysia, or Kurapia).
- If you choose to install plants that are NOT on one of these three sites, the plants you choose MUST be pre-approved by the LBWD.
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Your drawing MUST show that plant material will cover at least 65% of the newly landscaped area with at least 10% being California Native plants.
- The California Native plants on your design must indicate they are with either a highlight, an asterisk, or bolding the font of California Native plants. Your new landscape MUST be designed such that it can reasonably be assumed that at least 65-percent of the site will be covered with plant material by the time the plants are mature, or within two years, whichever is sooner. This “reasonable” assumption will be made at the sole discretion of LBWD. An example of what is NOT acceptable: a new landscape that is almost entirely graveled, containing few if any living plants. Plants that are used to meet the 10% California Native requirement must be marked as such on the design or planting key.
To calculate the estimated required plant coverages for your project you can use the following formulas:
Estimated Square Footage of Lawn x .65 = Total Coverage Required
Total Coverage Required x .10 = CA Native or Flowering Plant Coverage Required
If, for example, your lawn is 1,000 square feet, you would use the first formula to calculate that your project would require at least 650 square feet of total plant coverage. After determining the total coverage requirement, you can use the second formula to determine that 65 square feet of your project area must be covered by CA native or flowering plants.
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- Rain garden/vegetated-swale combination
- Dry river bed/swale combination
- Berm
- Downspout diversion into a catch basin OR
- Three inches of Compost amendment mixed into the top six inches soil + at least three inches of Mulch (receipt of payment for both compost and mulch must be submitted prior to rebate payment processing)
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100% of the new landscape MUST be covered with NATURAL materials such as plants, compost and mulch, and permeable hardscape. The use of any synthetic materials is not allowed in the Lawn-to-Garden Program.
- Examples of permeable hardscape include pavers and brick set on a bed of sand, where no mortar or grout has been used. The maximum size for pavers are 1 ft. by 2 ft., 2 ft. by 2. ft, or 2 ft. by 3 ft. If not covered by permeable hardscape or plant material, your new landscape must be completely covered by at least a 3-inch layer of mulch. Acceptable mulch includes rock, compost, bark and other organic material. In other words, there can be no bare soil or installation of non-permeable (material water cannot easily penetrate) hardscape such as a concrete patio or walkway.
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Your drawing must NOT include any turf grass, artificial or synthetic* turf, or turf-looking grass.
No turf grass, artificial or synthetic* turf, or turf-looking grass (such as Buffalo grass, Zoysia, or Kurapia) is allowed in the newly landscaped site. Mexican feather grass (Nassella tenuissima) and all other invasive plant species are prohibited from the Lawn to Garden program. For a list of invasive species and their alternatives, visit Cal-IPC and PlantRight.
