Westwood Middle School's New Grass Lawn Outrages Neighbors

WESTWOOD (CBSLA.com) — Neighbors of the Ralph Waldo Emerson Middle School in Westwood are outraged that the school has recently installed lush, green grass – in the midst of a historic drought.

"I find this outrageous considering the Mayor of Los Angles has requested residents to remove their lawns or water as little as possible," a KCAL9 viewer wrote in an email after the sod was laid down last week.

The Los Angeles Unified School District has defended the grass, saying the state requires the school to use real grass since it is a historic structure.

Mark Cho, deputy director of maintenance at LAUSD, said the new landscaping plan was created three years ago and reduces the amount of grass at the school by 40 percent – from 9,000 sq. feet to 5,000 sq. feet. The landscaping project also includes a smart-water irrigation system and an underground water collection site.

Not all neighbors are upset. Some said it's an upgrade to the school's aesthetics.

"Before, it was just kind of a brown patch of earth," said one neighbor, Jeff Marquis.