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Some California cities living in the last century by requiring lawns to be green

Posted by: Maven on July 3, 2008 at 8:58 am

From the California Progress Report:

It sounds like one of those stories that conservatives often use to make government look bad – the city of Sacramento is fining a household $746 for letting their lawn die to save water. But the real issue here isn’t government – it’s whether California will abandon wasteful and even elitist 20th century values to meet the needs of the 21st century.

Although the Sacramento Bee has published an article this morning saying that the City of Sacramento has said it will not fine the couple for letting their lawn die, the landscaping codes still require irrigated landscapes:

[quote from the Sacramento Bee] “The rule was the subject of much conflict last year when amended to provide gardeners leeway to grow more than grass. Sacramentans can now grow large trees, shrubs and, yes, even food in their front yards without fear of reprisal. But the rules still require front landscaping to be irrigated, which means scores of homeowners could be penalized for growing cacti or other drought-tolerant vegetation.”

The problem here isn’t bad bureaucrats – it’s bad policy. Like so many other California cities, Sacramento maintains absurd codes that mandate green lawns and other wasteful practices simply to perpetuate a failed 20th century urban design model. The belief is that property values will be hurt if people have anything other but green lawns and shrubbery. We have to ensure our neighborhoods look exactly as they did in 1965, never mind the cost to our water supplies.

But it goes deeper than just water conservation – important though that is. As noted in the blockquote, Sacramento only recently allowed residents to grow their own food in their yards. Urban food production, and home gardening, is an essential step in healthier eating and energy conservation. Many cities still have bans on using a clothesline to dry your laundry, even though it saves a lot of energy (and is usually easier on your clothes!).

Residents ought to be encouraged to live sustainably, and use their home as it ought to be used – to produce self-sufficiency. We can and do discuss density and mass transit as part of urban design needs, but the micro-level issues such as brown lawns and clotheslines matter too.

Read more from the California Progress Report by clicking here.

July 3, 2008 · Filed Under Legislation - State & Federal

Comments

3 Responses to “Some California cities living in the last century by requiring lawns to be green”

  1. Wes on July 3rd, 2008 11:20 am

    Don Jensen is a landscape architect in my home town, Morgan Hill, CA. The area between the front of his house and the street is landscaped with plants that require zero summer water. They can get by on just what falls as rain during the winter. Some die back in the summer and he needs to get out the rake once in a while, but there is no excuse for having to irrigate water intensive landscaping.

  2. Diana Foss on July 3rd, 2008 11:35 am

    Sheesh!
    But what do you expect from a town that doesn’t meter?

  3. Aqua Blog Maven on July 3rd, 2008 1:24 pm

    Somehow we’ve got to learn to give up our ideal image of the perfect green lawn out front. It is easier said than done, however; Aqua Spouse is quite attached to the green lawn even though I have said it is time for it to go. The problem is replacing it: it takes time (which I have) and money (which I don’t), and expertise (which could be hired, ergo back to money)….

    And, in our lawn’s defense, the Aqua Kids play on it quite often, so at least it has a purpose, although I’d kick them off of it and re-do it if I could.

    Now, two doors down, I have a neighbor with no wife and no kids. He has a beautiful lawn, four inches thick. It’s so beautiful because no one ever walks or plays on it. He waters it at least twice a day, including once around 2pm, when it is 100+ degrees in the summer.

    The first place to start eliminating grass is where it is not used, and as I look around, there is plenty of unused grass in ridiculous places.

    And so much water runs down the gutters here in Santa Clarita that there is algae growing in them – all over town.

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