AWWA ACE61775

Four of the six Tampa Bay Water Member Governments, the cities of Tampa and St. Petersburg and Hillsborough and Pasco counties, have adopted landscape and irrigation ordinances for residential and commercial development. Each ordinance details the requirements for irrigation permits for new and existing residential/commercial development. Specific governments have their requirements on how to apply for, review and enforce permits and associated codes. Ordinance language and permit requirements vary by Member, even though one model was developed. Enforcement of these ordinances varies. Governments appear to be trying to increase efficiency of existing staff, defer active enforcement through a self-certification process, or not require permits for single family irrigation systems. The goal of this study is to identify each procedural step in ordinance implementation and enforcement, quantify actual ordinance conformance versus requirements through on-site irrigation and horticultural evaluations, create a report describing permitting, tracking and evaluation strengths and weaknesses for each government, and provide recommended methods to optimize ordinance enforcement optimization per government. Includes figures.