Living Landscapes

August 2026

Stakeholder Roundtable

The City of Tucson invites stakeholders to a roundtable discussion to update changes to support water conservation measures. This meeting is intended to present considerations for a potential amendment to the Unified Development Code (UDC), Tucson City Code, and Technical Standards Manual to strengthen standards and regulations that increase opportunities for stormwater capture and shade.

Date: Wednesday, August 12, 2026
Time: 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Location: Virtual, Zoom
Stakeholder Roundtable Registration: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/aYgVuaAyToufE7KVnujYQQ

Please contact Ian Wan, ian.wan@tucsonaz.gov, or Sarah Meggison, sarah.meggison@tucsonaz.gov, with any questions.

Background

Living Landscapes is the City of Tucson's initiative to modernize how developments capture rainwater and select the plants that rainwater sustains. It strengthens the Commercial Rainwater Harvesting Ordinance and, for the first time, pairs it with a Tucson-specific plant list, so that the water and vegetation requirements are updated together rather than in isolation.

Living Landscapes is organized in two phases:

  • Phase 1 focuses on commercial development. It strengthens the Commercial Rainwater Harvesting Ordinance—improving stormwater capture, expanding tree canopy, and clarifying design and inspection standards—and adopts the Native Plant Policy List to guide water-efficient, drought-tolerant landscaping.
  • Phase 2 turns to residential development. Staff will return to Mayor and Council with recommendations for residential rainwater harvesting, informed by the parallel Low Impact Development ordinance, along with further updates to the Native Plant Policy List.

Proposed Updates to Tucson's Commercial Rainwater Harvesting Requirements and Native Plant Policy List

The Commercial Rainwater Harvesting Ordinance, adopted in 2008, requires new commercial development to meet at least 50 percent of its landscape irrigation demand with rainwater harvested on site. By capturing rainfall and directing it to landscaped areas, the ordinance reduces the use of potable water for irrigation. Tucson was the first city in the nation to adopt such a requirement, and it remains a model for other communities.

In the years since adoption, staff has identified opportunities to improve how rainwater harvesting systems are designed, constructed, inspected, and maintained. The proposed amendments respond to those lessons by improving stormwater capture, supporting healthier landscapes, providing clearer standards, and strengthening long-term implementation.

During the Tuesday, April 7, 2026 study session, Mayor and Council voted 7–0 to direct staff to amend the ordinance to address five policy objectives:

  • Stormwater capture: require depressed, non-paved areas in new commercial development to capture additional storm runoff from developed portions of the site.
  • Right-of-way runoff: evaluate mechanisms to direct adjacent right-of-way runoff into on-site rainwater harvesting systems where feasible.
  • Plant list: adopt a Tucson-specific plant list (the Native Plant Policy List) to guide landscape design and support water-efficient, drought-tolerant planting.
  • Tree canopy: evaluate an increased tree-to-understory planting ratio to expand tree canopy coverage.
  • Applicability: evaluate extending the requirements to parking lots at golf courses, churches, and cemeteries.

Redlines will be available soon.

Back to top