Landscaping Water Efficiency Improvement Plan

The content of this page will provide guidance through the Landscaping Water Efficiency Improvement approval process for subdivisions, Conditional Use Permits (CUP), and single lots or any other project where a landscaping plan is proposed or required.



 


LANDSCAPING WATER EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENT PLAN APPROVAL PROCESS

Most landscaping have planning and zoning implications and, accordingly at the beginning stage, you must obtain approval from the Department of Regional Planning for your proposed land use before you can commence the construction of landscaping. To learn more about the planning stage process with the County of Los Angeles Department of Regional Planning, click here.


LANDSCAPING WATER EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENT PLAN PREPARATION


TYPICAL LANDSCAPING WATER EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENT PLAN
Below are some tips and tools to help in preparing the landscaping water efficiency improvement plan.

  • Please note, Landscaping Water Efficiency plans can only be prepared by California Landscape Architect Civil Engineers
  • The first sheet of the improvement plans must include the following:
    • General Notes
    • Benchmark
    • Scaled drawings: use engineering scale (1"=40' or larger) and provide graphical scale
    • Sheet Size: Typical size is 24" x 36" and 36" x 48". Please note that this is ultimately for hard copies only but gives guidance in indexing the sheets for digital use as well.
    • Index Map
      • Show the nearest major cross streets.
    • Sample Landscaping Water Efficiency Plan
    • Water Purveyor Acknowledgement Letter
    • Landscape Plan Check Correction List

REFERENCE MATERIALS




CONTACT US

If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact our Road, Water and Landscape Unit at (626) 458-4930, or email us at LDD-Landscaping@pw.lacounty.gov. To discuss your project with us, you can make an appointment for an online meeting between the hours of 7:00 am and 5:00 pm, M-Th by using the following link: https://pw.lacounty.gov/landing/onlineappointments.cfm

LANDSCAPE AND WATER EFFICIENCY PLAN SUBMITTAL


APPLICATION

To submit your Landscape and Water Efficiency plan for review, fill out the application form and upload your plans online (link below).

Submit my plans


FEES

You can pay the plan check review fees in person or online using e-check / credit card (for charges less than $500.00). After you have submitted your plans for review, a link will be generated and e-mailed to you where you can pay the fee online.

For your convenience, our fee schedule and cost and bond estimating spreadsheets are available below. Please note that the plan check fee covers up to 5 reviews of the grading plan submittal. Additional fees will be required after the 5th submittal.


PAPERLESS SUBMITTALS
We've been processing paperless plan review since 2013! Accordingly, you can submit all of your improvement plans and supporting documents online at the link provided above. To see a typical list of all supporting documents that are required for obtaining Landscape and Water Efficiency plan approval, here is a Landscape and Water Efficiency Submittal Check List. At a minimum, we require the items listed below to begin reviewing your Landscape and Water Efficiency plans:

  • Landscape and Water Efficiency plan
  • Plan check fee (see above)
  • Approved planning documents
  • Approved Fuel Mod Plan if Required by LACFD- Fuel Modification Unit

Resubmittals will be required to address any corrections needed on the Landscape and Water Efficiency plan.




CONTACT US

If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact our Road, Water and Landscape Unit at (626) 458-4930, or email us at LDD-Landscaping@pw.lacounty.gov. To discuss your project with us, you can make an appointment for an online meeting between the hours of 7:00 am and 5:00 pm, M-Th by using the following link: https://pw.lacounty.gov/landing/onlineappointments.cfm

LANDSCAPE AND WATER EFFICIENCY PLAN REVIEW & APPROVAL


REVIEW PROCESS
For each plan submittal, a check print showing plan check comments and a corrections list will be generated and sent to the applicant who submitted the plans. These documents will address deficiencies in the plan and inform you of supporting documents that are needed in order to obtain Landscape and Water Efficiency Plan approval. The following are links to resubmit your plans and to some documents that you should find useful during the Landscape and Water Efficiency Plan review:

Resubmit my plans

  • Landscape Plan Check Correction List


AGENCY APPROVALS

Before your Landscape and Water Efficiency Plan can be approved you will need to approach various jurisdictional agencies for their approval of a permit or letter stating they have no jurisdiction over your project. Below are links for some of those agencies.


LANDSCAPE AND WATER EFFICIENCY PLAN APPROVAL AND GRADING PERMIT
As soon as your Landscape and Water Efficiency Plan is approved, the Landscape and Water Efficiency Plan checker will create an approval package for your project. The approval package will contain versions of your plans with County stamp and signature as well as all supporting documents for the Landscape and Water Efficiency Plan. You will be notified by e-mail along with instructions about which documents from the approval package you need to take to the local Building & Safety District office / City Public Works department to apply for and obtain the Landscape and Water Efficiency Permit. To find your local District office, please click here.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER LANDSCAPE AND WATER EFFICIENCY PLAN APPROVAL?
After 2 years from the date that the Landscape and Water Efficiency Plan is approved, the approval expires. If your Landscape and Water Efficiency Plan expires before you pull the Landscape and Water Efficiency Plan permit, you'll need to submit a new Landscape and Water Efficiency Plan with supporting documents for review and approval.

As construction progresses, site conditions may warrant design changes to the approved Landscape and Water Efficiency Plan. It is the responsibility of the permittee to inform the Building Inspector of these changes and provide revised Landscape and Water Efficiency Plans for approval prior to proceeding with the changes. If you need to submit revised Landscape and Water Efficiency Plans for review and approval, click below.

Submit revised plans

Finally, with an approved Landscape and Water Efficiency Plan, you're closer to recording your final map. Most, if not all, Landscape and Water Efficiency Plan clearance items for the final map are usually handled during the Landscape and Water Efficiency Plan review process. Landscape and Water Efficiency Plan final map clearance will be issued after completing all final map requirements for Landscape and Water Efficiency Plan, either with or after the Landscape and Water Efficiency Plan approval.




CONTACT US

If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact our Road, Water and Landscape Unit at (626) 458-4930, or email us at LDD-Landscaping@pw.lacounty.gov. To discuss your project with us, you can make an appointment for an online meeting between the hours of 7:00 am and 5:00 pm, M-Th by using the following link: https://pw.lacounty.gov/landing/onlineappointments.cfm