The California Senate voted Wednesday to send two natural resources measures by Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis, to Gov. Jerry Brown for his signature. Senate Bill 1340 closes a loophole in state law enabling large new landscaping projects for existing homes and businesses to avoid state and local water-efficiency requirements. “About half of California’s urban water use, equivalent to 4.2 million acre-feet per year, is outdoors, largely for watering landscapes,” Wolk said. “Large or significantly expanded owner-initiated landscape irrigation projects, which are common in California, should not be exempt from local community ordinances intended to improve the efficiency of outdoor water use.