Austin will pay homeowners to let St. Augustine grass die (San Antonio: HOA, homes)

[justanothercalifornian]

I think this is awesome. Wish they would do this in CP.
Austin will pay to let St. Augustine die, sow a less thirsty lawn

[achtungpv]

I wish they'd grow a pair and create an ordinance that prevents HOA's in the city from stopping a homeowner from taking advantage of this program.

Really, they should ban St Augustine in the city limits which I believe is what San Antonio has done.

[10scoachrick]

There's some serious hoop-jumping to make this work for a homeowner. Guess it's better than nothing; EXCEPT that we have quite a few neighbors who will argue AGAINST calling Bermuda a drought tolerant grass. Heat and sun, maybe; but certainly not drought tolerant. I'd vote for Zoysia over Bermuda based on my experience.

[senormatt]

Originally Posted by achtungpv

I wish they'd grow a pair and create an ordinance that prevents HOA's in the city from stopping a homeowner from taking advantage of this program.

Really, they should ban St Augustine in the city limits which I believe is what San Antonio has done.

I agree with your first sentence but not so much the second. St. Augustine works great for shadier lawns.

[TexasHorseLady]

I agree that, based on experience, zoysia is a much better choice.

San Augustine doesn't belong here. Down by the coast, yes, but not in Central Texas.

I also agree that HOA's should NOT be allowed to require their homeowners to waste water keeping San Augustine lawns pretty and green. Not in drought situations like we have now.

[cBach]

They are going about it wrong.

They should be asking people to replace their lawn with rocks.

Just think about it, had all those homes in Steiner Ranch/Bastrop had rock lawns, there would have been not nearly the same destruction.

People should think about landscaping their lawns with rocks.

[hoffdano]

There should be no need to pay people to do this.

They should figure it out themselves with their water bills plus water rationing plus dead grass.

I hate the idea of using taxpayer money to do this.

And they should absolutely reduce or eliminate the power of HOAs to mandate green lawns.

[FueledByBlueBell]

They also need to target the builders who put the stuff in in the first place. It isn't really homeowners who put it in.

[cBach]

Originally Posted by FueledByBlueBell

They also need to target the builders who put the stuff in in the first place. It isn't really homeowners who put it in.

Exactly. My home came with St. Augustine, and my front and side yards are lush because of HOA regulations. However, my backyard is beginning to look like a yard in New Mexico. I haven't watered the grass all summer, just the occasional ice chest being dumped out there or watering the trees when they look wilted.

[senormatt]

Originally Posted by FueledByBlueBell

They also need to target the builders who put the stuff in in the first place. It isn't really homeowners who put it in.

Bingo