Town Manager Steve Biggs brought a proposal before Town Council members last week. The proposal, loosely based on the county’s policy, defines new landscape plantings as the installation of new sod on an entire yard, the first seeding of a whole yard and large commercial plantings.

Essentially, the rules would require owners of new landscaping to obtain a permit if they wanted to irrigate more often than current rules allow. Those rules allow alternate day-irrigation based on even- and odd-numbered addresses. Residents with odd numbered addresses can irrigate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Even-numbered addresses can irrigate on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. No watering is allowed on Mondays.

“In the case of a home that is newly constructed and landscaped, we would know that it is covered by the policy,” Biggs said. “For existing homes, we would expect documentation of the installation and would likely perform a site visit if we had any doubts about the veracity of the applicant. If someone plants a new, single tree in their yard, this policy would not apply.”

The town staff has not settled on the cost of a permit, which would last 28 days. “It could be extended a maximum of one time with a new application fee,” Biggs said. “If not extended or after an extension, the owner would be expected to comply with the standard irrigation protocol.”

Town code-enforcement officers would enforce the policy at non-standard work hours, Biggs said. “Neighbors can and do report what they perceive as violations,” he said. “We cannot issue citations on the basis of their calls and letters, but we use them to improve the focus of our patrol.”

Penalties for violating the rules are: first violation, notice of warning; second violation, $50; third violation, $75; and fourth and subsequent violations, $100 per day. Town Council members thought the fines were too lenient after looking at the county’s new ordinance. County fines vary from $100 to $250 for first violations and from $750 to $1,500 for second violations.

Town Council members wanted Biggs to bring his proposal back with higher violation fees. Some members suggested fees starting at $200, while others thought the customer’s water should be turned off after a third violation.