Current print subscribers can create a free account by clicking here
Otherwise, follow the link below to join.
To Our Valued Readers –
Visitors to our website will be limited to five stories per month unless they opt to subscribe. The five stories do not include our exclusive content written by our journalists.
For $6.99, less than 20 cents a day, digital subscribers will receive unlimited access to YourValley.net, including exclusive content from our newsroom and access to our Daily Independent e-edition.
Our commitment to balanced, fair reporting and local coverage provides insight and perspective not found anywhere else.
Your financial commitment will help to preserve the kind of honest journalism produced by our reporters and editors. We trust you agree that independent journalism is an essential component of our democracy. Please click here to subscribe.
Need to set up your free e-Newspaper all-access account? click here.
Non-subscribers
Click here to see your options for becoming a subscriber.
Register to comment
Click here create a free account for posting comments.
Note that free accounts do not include access to premium content on this site.
I am anchor
Government
Scottsdale City Council passes code amendment regarding overseeding lawns
HOAs can no longer mandate overseeding
Posted
Scottsdale City Council approved a code amendment Sept. 20, stating that homeowner associations cannot mandate homeowners to overseed their lawns.
The new code gives homeowners the ability to now choose to not overseed, which is an effective way to save thousands of gallons of water per property, according to a press release. Overseeding occurs in fall and is the practice of planting seasonal grass over the dormant, warm season grass.
The proposal came as a direct result of the water supply shortages on the Colorado River. Arizona will go into a Tier 2a starting Jan. 1, 2023, with further cuts expected.
Scottsdale Water and council listened to homeowners frustrated with their HOAs who mandated them to overseed their Bermuda grass. Benefits to not overseeding include lower water bills, less maintenance, and increased water conservation, the press release stated. It is also the healthiest option for a summer lawn.
This fall, Scottsdale Water executed a campaign asking residents and businesses to not overseed. The moto is “Overseeding uses a lot of water. It is the right thing NOT to do.” Because of this program, city officials felt the need to give homeowners the ability to opt-in to these water savings initiatives.
The result has been an overwhelming positive response from both homeowners and HOAs on the efforts the city is making to reduce its water footprint.
Scottsdale Water reportedly received this comment from one of their customers regarding the campaign: “I decided last season not to overseed the back yard and it not only looked awesome, but we received all the benefits of low watering, ozone protection, time, money, and much healthier Bermuda this summer which had significantly lower weeds than my front yard Bermuda — requiring less herbicides, less repair and attention.”
Montage HOA also saw results when they decided to not overseed their green belt last year. HOA President Paul Traiforos said, “My community HOA voted to not overseed last winter for the first time in our history to help conserve water. We saved over 1.2 million gallons of water during a four-month period.
That is enough to fill 120 average size residential pools. We plan on doing the same this year and have reduced irrigation use by 40% over the past year.”
Visit ScottsdaleAZ.gov, search “overseed” to learn more about this campaign and the benefits of not overseeding.
