El Paso Natural Drainage Standards for Buildings

Within specified zones, buildings must be equipped with roofs of shallow four-inch soils and drought-tolerant plants. Buildings approved for intensive green roofs may hold soils deeper than four inches and larger plants and trees. The rules provide that balconies should be equipped with planter boxes designed to capture runoff from the balcony. Green walls, where provided, are restricted to non-invasive species. In other specified zones, native plant perennial landscapes should replace turf grass wherever possible and be highly diverse. These should be placed lower than walkways, not mounded up.