Ornamental grass plants in new commercial and apartment developments in Tucson will soon be a thing of the past.
The Tucson City council voted unanimously Tuesday to tell Tucson Water it will bring a proposed ordinance within 90 days that would ban what many water experts call “nonfunctional turf” in new indoor developments. in the utility service area.
That term usually means grass grown strictly for decoration. For now at least, the proposed ban does not extend to new single-family home subdivisions, because the main supporter of the idea, Councilman Kevin Dahl, does not consider the grass planted in them to be “nonfunctional .”
This action is one of a long list of water conservation measures the council unanimously agreed to advance Tuesday. They include proposals to charge businesses higher rates as they use more water; requiring rainwater harvesting and other forms of “green infrastructure” in new subdivisions; and to require federally certified, low-water-use plumbing fixtures in new homes.
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However, nothing was formally adopted. One of the most ambitious — the “green infrastructure” requirement for new subdivisions — could be 18 to 24 months from actual approval, with more time needed to implement it on the ground. Some may become law sooner, possibly in six months.
The proposed ban on new weed in the developments got the most attention and discussion at the council meeting. It will follow in the footsteps of more stringent measures taken in the Las Vegas area over the past two decades.
In 2003 and 2004, all cities served by the Southern Nevada Water Authority, including Las Vegas, passed development codes prohibiting any weed in new construction in commercial developments and in front of grounds of new single-family home developments. Codes only allow 50% of backyards for new homes to be grass, said water authority spokesman Bronson Mack.
This year, these codes were updated to further prohibit any weed in any new constriction, except for parks, schools and cemeteries, Mack said. Additionally, in 2021, the Nevada Legislature adopted a measure that would require all “unusable weeds” to be removed from all non-single-family properties in Southern Nevada by the end of 2026.
All of these measures were imposed due to worsening drought conditions on the Colorado River, the only significant water supply in the Las Vegas area.
‘We are in a crisis’ with drought, river
At Tuesday’s meeting in Tucson, Dahl also cited the river’s problems in pushing for a ban on the new ornamental grass here.
“We’re in a drought crisis and the Colorado River,” Dahl said, noting that US Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Tucson wrote to the Department of the Interior two weeks ago asking it to impose water reductions in seven river states, including Arizona, because the states themselves are unable to agree in a plan for cuts.
“The states are not able to negotiate changes to the River Act,” said Dahl, referring to a series of laws, regulations, court decisions and other legal strictures that govern management. in the river. “We have to prepare for the future. The sooner we do it, the better. We can’t afford ornamental green grass that isn’t usable anymore.”
In response to questions from the Star, Dahl defined a nonfunctional lawn as “any area with irrigated grass that is not functional, such as grass along the streets of strip malls, shopping centers, and businesses , and also lawn managed by an HOA (a home owners association) that does not provide recreation for people or pets.”
Grass in parks, golf courses, school playgrounds and other recreational areas would be considered functional and not affected by his proposed ban, Dahl said. The same goes for grass in single-family homes, he said.
“I would consider residential turf as functional – people have kids, pets, etc. Plus, residential water customers pay tiered water bills, so if they have a lawn they pay more for it,” he said, referring to the city’s rate structure that pays homeowners more per cubic foot of water used as their usage exceeds certain thresholds. .
In apartment complexes, if the grass is “used by people as recreation, a place to gather or walk your pets, I would consider that usable. If it’s a thin patch of grass between the street and the sidewalk, no ,” he said.
Calling the proposal a “no-brainer,” Dahl added that he’s open to suggestions from city staff on how to stop using the existing grass in the future.
“Our water supply is drying up. These things are the low-hanging fruit” for conservation, he said.
Tucson is part of the regional negotiations
Assistant City Attorney Chris Avery initially urged caution Tuesday on the council’s part in approving the new weed ban. That’s because officials in Tucson and those in other Southwestern cities are working together now to negotiate a written commitment to reduce water use and make a specific proposal by Nov. 15, Avery said.
Among other things, the proposal now calls for a program “to reduce the amount of unusable grass by 30% by replacing it with drought- and climate-resilient landscaping, while maintaining important urban landscapes and tree canopies that benefit our communities, wildlife, and the environment.” The proposal also calls for additional measures to expand indoor and outdoor water use efficiency and water recycling efforts.
It has been signed so far by the authority in Southern Nevada, the six-county Metropolitan Water District in Southern California, and three urban water utilities in Colorado including Denver’s. Since 2000, these utilities have cut their combined annual water use by 1.15 million acre-feet while adding 3.7 million new residents, the proposal says. That’s less water than the Central Arizona Project will deliver to customers in the Tucson and Phoenix areas this year.
Tucson officials have yet to sign off on the proposal because they are trying to get a broader coalition of city governments on board, Avery said.
“I would submit that in the next few months, we will have a lot of discussion among many cities. We will benefit by participating in that discussion and coming back with recommendations on how to define unusable turf and how to proceed. on the functional lawn.” Avery said.
Eventually, Dahl, Avery and Mayor Regina Romero agreed to a proposal that Tucson Water could implement a local non-use weed ban while continuing to work with other cities on a broader proposal to cross across state lines.
Weed plan reactions
Councilman Steve Kozachik said he doesn’t think these measures go far enough and the city should also consider banning all front lawns, a cap on backyard sizes, restrictions on what hours can be ‘g water people outside, and a necessity that. people drain swimming pools into manholes so that the used water enters the sewer system and is reused.
“We need to step up our game. When we drill new fire hydrants and water wells, we just turn them on and let them go,” he said. “People see it all the time. It’s very clear that we don’t walk the talk.”
At this point, without a real definition of what constitutes “nonfunctional” turf in a formal proposal, “I have no comment,” said Michael Guymon, president and CEO of the Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.
The chamber is involved in discussions about the city’s long-term water plan, known as the Water 2100 Plan, “which we feel will bring collective and innovative solutions from all sectors that are thoughtful and fully respond to future water in our region as opposed to what might be considered piecemeal approaches,” Guymon said.
A longtime Tucson private water consultant and former University of Arizona water researcher, Gary Woodard, said he is in favor of a nonfunctional weed ban, and “I’m having a hard time deciding who to oppose.”
Research shows that many ornamental grasses are nearly impossible to irrigate well and relatively expensive to maintain, Woodard said. Most of these grassy patches are placed in strips between sidewalks and parking lots and streets, often in unusual shapes or on tall, grassy hills.
“They don’t make a sprinkler head that works” to effectively irrigate such pieces, he added. “Can you properly irrigate a strip of grass, 5 feet by 150 feet? No way,” said Woodard, who with a partner has conducted water efficiency audits for at least six cities in Maricopa County and it has been done before for Tucson Water.
Longtime water conservation advocate Val Little also endorsed the ban on useless grass but said it would be difficult to enforce because “one man’s useless lawn is another man’s necessity.”
“It’s not an issue for me; I’m fine with it. The battle can be between people who want to use it (grass) with the council or staff who don’t think it’s useful,” said Little, the founder of Water. Conservation Alliance of Southern Arizona.
But overall, he said, “Why should this be controversial? This is not a city that has adopted lawns.”