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Water conservation efforts force cities to rethink residential landscape policies

Posted by: Maven on July 6, 2009 at 7:58 pm

From Riverside’s Press-Enterprise:

When Pat Silvestri’s historic home was built in 1928, there was no water shortage. The yard in front of his Spanish Colonial Revival-style house, like those of many of his neighbors in Riverside’s Wood Streets, was planted with grass reminiscent of the verdant East Coast landscapes the area’s early residents left behind when they settled here.

Silvestri recently helped start a neighborhood conservation group to educate residents about such topics as solar power and composting. Now he’s worried about California’s three-year drought and diminished water supply, and wanted to trim his own water consumption. So he hired a garden designer to create a new strip with drip irrigation, gravel and drought-tolerant plants. He submitted the design to city planning officials, as required for changes to the exteriors of homes in historic areas. Silvestri’s home near Riverside City College is a city landmark in a historical district.

He was surprised by the first reaction of city officials, whom he said discouraged anything other than traditional turf in the stretch of the yard between the road and sidewalk, often referred to as a parkway. But after some haggling, Silvestri’s design was approved.

The case illustrates the changing philosophy among cities about parkway landscaping in an era of conservation. “We have to recognize that the times have changed,” said City Councilman Mike Gardner, who intervened in Silvestri’s case and urged planners to make a less rigid interpretation of policy.

July 6, 2009 · Filed Under Drought, Weather & Snowpack

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