IN THIS ISSUE AFTER THE DROUGHT: Governor Brown has rescinded the state’s drought emergency in all but a few counties. Can we now go back to enforcing landscaping rules exactly as we did before? Not completely. See page 1. WHAT ARE THEY SMOKING? Smoking is an evolving issue in California. Housing is becoming increasingly smoke-free, and the courts indicate it is an issue that associations should consider. Local laws can be used as a model, and legal counsel can assist associations regarding the right mechanism and language for enacting those restrictions. See page 5.
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Enforcing Landscaping Rules After a Drought Emergency BY NANCY MICHAEL, ESQ. & ANNE RAWLINSON, ESQ. - NEULAND, WHITNEY & MICHAEL APC
W
hen Governor Brown declared a statewide drought emergency in January 2014, CIDs had to figure out how this affected their power to require owners to water landscaping. The state legislature then approved amendments to Civil Code 4735 making it clear that CIDs could do very little. Just when we
were beginning to get used to this situation, California had its wettest year in more than a century. On April 7, 2017, Governor Brown rescinded the state’s drought emergency in all but a few counties. Can we now go back to enforcing landscaping rules exactly as we did before? Not completely. CIDs again
may penalize owners who fail to water landscaping, but other laws encouraging waterefficient landscaping remain in place. Before we explain, however, you should first see if your local water agency is still under a drought emergency. Under Civil Code 4735(c), CIDs may not penalize owners who fail to water landscaping as long
as either the state or the relevant local agency has a drought emergency declaration in effect. As long as there is no drought emergency in effect on either the state or local level, a CID may impose fines and other penalties for landscaping violations caused by an owner’s failure to water. To ensure Continued on page 2