Sacramento Artificial Turf Ban Could Stand In Way Of Drought Lawn Changes
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Gov. Jerry Brown says brown lawns are the new normal in California as long as the state is in its drought.
State water officials will hand out rebates to replace lawns with drought-tolerant landscapes. But in Sacramento homeowners could face a fine if they put in artificial turf.
The city says the problem is what it calls an outdated ordinance in place that makes it a violation to replace lawns with brick, cement or artificial turf.
"Right now our existing code has a living vegetation requirement and so the intent of that I can't speak to the history is it in place for some time," said Terrance Davis with the department of utilities. "We're going to do our due diligence. we're looking at other agencies/municipalities/best practices and we'll make some recommendations in the short term."
For now, the state is in talks with local water agencies to issue rebates for all types of drought-tolerant lawns in place of 50 million square feet of lawns statewide.