Designing a landscape for your parkway can be challenging. Here are a few tips to help you comply with the City of Long Beach Municipal Code
(Chapter 21.42)*, and at the same time make your parkway the most beautiful one in the neighborhood.
•
Groundcovers should generally not be taller than eight inches
(8”), accent plants no taller than thirty-two inches (32”), and all
street trees must be approved by the
City.
•
To allow those parking along the curb
to have access to the sidewalk, provide
paths at reasonable intervals through
the parkway and maintain an eighteen inch wide (18”) strip parallel to the curb that can accept foot traffic.
•
It’s important to select water-efficient plants. Parkways are difficult to water efficiently and typically create large amounts of overspray and
run-off. Use drip style irrigation, or hand water only when necessary.
•
One of our favorite ‘parkway plants’ is Dymondia. Dymondia is a green-grey groundcover requiring little water, takes full sun, does well in
poor soils, never needs mowing, spreads easily and can handle a fair amount of foot traffic. •
Be creative. Use colorful accent plants, boulders, and groundcovers. Your landscape materials, including accent plantings, shrubbery,
decorative rock and other elements that are more than eight inches (8”) in height should be in sections of no more than six feet (6’) along
the length of the parkway, and there must be at least
three feet (3’) between each tall section.
•
Don’t be afraid to use non-living materials on your
such as decomposed granite, inorganic and
only non-living materials allowed in the parkway;
parkway area.
*These tips are not intended
to be fully inclusive. Please
read and understand the
City’s ordinance (http://library.
municode.com/index.aspx?cli
entId=16115&stateId=5&stateN
ame=California) in its entirety
and know your responsibility.
parkway. Permeable groundcovers that accept foot traffic,
organic mulches, and modular paving units set on sand are the
and they must not cover more than fifty percent (50%) of the
Long Beach Water’s
FACT #1: The Long Beach Water Department
So, how hard is it to use 2 gallons less per day? It’s
easier than you might think. Here are some options
that will provide instant results:
FACT #2:Long Beach residents currently use 102
•
•
•
•
celebrates its 100-year anniversary in 2011 gallons of water per person, per day
FACT #3: With only 2% more conservation, the City
can achieve 100 gallons per person, per
day, one of the lowest rates in California
Water your yard one minute less per cycle
Spend one minute less in the shower
Fix any faucet leaks you have
Take your car to a car wash that recycles
its water
Proposed RATES FOR FISCAL YEAR 2011
San Francisco
HIGHLIGHTS
• Only Sewer Rates are increasing No Water Rate Increase
• Combined Rate Increase = 1.7%
• Typical Household will see a $0.86
monthly increase in bill
Long Beach Lawn-to-Garden Program
HOW WE COMPARE
Combined Water and Sewer Rates*
San Diego
Oakland
Long Beach
Sacramento
San Jose
Golden State*
Los Angeles
LA County Avg*
*Source: Black and Veatch rate study 5/2010; based on a monthly usage of 12 billing units
Recently the Long Beach Water Department (LBWD) offered residents a rebate of $2.50 per square foot (a maximum of 1,000 square feet)
to replace grass lawns in front yards and parkways with California friendly landscaping, up to 1,000 square feet. Here are a few of the
properties that have transformed their yards:
4108 PINE AVE
2752 DAISY AVE
503 E 46TH ST
3506 LIME AVE
3745 GARDENIA AVE
1362 MIRA MAR AVE
5110 PAGEANTRY ST
321 DAISY AVE
3029 CADE ST
Urban Slobber
Attend our FREE landscape classes, where experts share their
secrets to converting plain water-thirsty grass lawn into colorful,
attractive sustainable gardens.
TIME: Each class is 3 hours long,
from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
DATES: Free classes offered:
August 14, 2010 - Design
August 28, 2010 - Plant Selection
September 11, 2010 - Design
October 23, 2010 - Irrigation
November 6, 2010 - Plant Selection
November 20, 2010 - Irrigation
December 4, 2010 - Gardening with Succulents
WHERE: WATER DEPARTMENT OFFICE
1800 E WARDLOW ROAD, LB 90807
REGISTRATION:
Reserve your spot by registering today via email
([email protected]) or by calling
562-570-2308 during normal business hours. Be sure to give us your name, email address and the number of attendees in your party.
Urban slobber, also known as urban runoff, is the water that runs off
of our yards, street medians, parks, golf courses, and other various
surfaces, bringing with it nasty substances such as pesticides, fertilizers,
grease & oil, animal waste and bacteria. This less than desirable water
(slobber) eventually makes its way into our city storm drains, which
then flows into local rivers and ultimately our ocean and beaches. You can help prevent urban slobber by making sure that
your sprinklers run for less than 10 minutes per station on
approved watering days (Monday, Thursday, Saturday).
Also, consider switching from fan-spray sprinklers, which are very
inefficient and often spray water all over the place (sidewalks, roads,
etc.), to rotating nozzle sprinklers, which utilize concise streams of water
and are far more efficient. Drip irrigation is also an excellent choice.
Rebates for water-efficient sprinklers are available at:
www.lbwater.org/rebates.php
SUMMER CONSERVATION VIDEOS
Leaky toilets? Sprinklers overwatering? Keep
an eye on our webpage in the coming months for
our series of “How-to” videos to help you make
the most of the water you use!