Pretty much every time it rains in L.A., local eco-nonprofit TreePeople sends out a press release — not only about how much good clean rainwater we wasted by dumping into our gutters, but also about how much gross, motor oil-tainted, cigarette butt-infested urban runoff we spewed onto our beaches.

Now, the city of Los Angeles is working on a Low Impact Development Ordinance that’ll put a LID on that wasteful, polluting practice — and the city’s Department of Public Works Bureau of Sanitation wants to hear your two cents on the ordinance at a community meeting:

When: Tues., Dec. 1, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Where: Bureau of Sanitation office at the Media Technical Center, 2714 Media Center Dr., Los Angeles.

According to the city’s press release, the LID ordinance would:

require all new or re-development projects to implement stormwater best management practices (BMPs) to capture, infiltrate and use the runoff from a rain event that creates 0.75 inches or less. Non-compliance will require developers to provide mitigation projects at other sites, or pay a fee to the City to fund other stormwater pollution prevent projects.

You can read the full ordinance here (PDF). The draft ordinance appears to have broad-based support from groups like Green LA Coalition and, of course, TreePeople itself, which hosted a meeting to push for this LID ordinance in September (Joe Linton of L.A. Creek Freak has all the details on that get together).

Keep tabs on the progress of the ordinance on the Bureau of Sanitation’s website or blog.

Earlier: Angelenos: Get your free rain barrel and save on your water bills

Photo by boutmuet

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