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About the lawn watering, why not just put in artificial grass? Oh, because HOAs don't allow it?
The areas where there were so many forclosed houses started having dead lawns and unkempt fronts. The cities started fining the owners, which is this case were banks, for the lack of care. What they were doing was using this non toxic spray which made the dead grass look a very reasonable shade of green. They had to trim the trees and make sure the outside wasn't trashed, but the HOA's agreed to the spray. I don't see why they couldn't do that with the drought. Some trees might need watering but that can be done in ground with little water. Grass lawns are water hogs.
And on that note, I can't believe anyone would want to sign up to possess a home in an HOA community. Sucker born every millisecond.
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Some areas, if you're not into DIY and remodeling and repair, and want something new, you don't have a choice. Most if not all the new homes come with one. Back in the seventies when my family moved, most of the new housing had an HOA. We bought into the one area which had been built just before they became the norm.
I live in a small town, but I'm pretty sure if they could do it the city would like to insist on running the official HOA, with fees of course. They still *act* like they were one and just call them infractions and bill you.
I guess off incoperated land you could just do your thing, but they'd still go after you for safety violations and fire hazards.
Depends on the city, city permits, zoning laws, and then if the neighborhood has an HOA. I was just commenting that people willingly sign away their freedoms, but hey do what they want, right?
Not into HOA's in their current state. There are some cities that are just as or even worse than an HOA. Coral Gables, FL would be one of them. Can't park a pickup at our house overnight in your driveway. Even a nice new one that isn't a work truck. Boat... Nope... Houses, only approved colors. Want to remove a shrub, better get a permit and go through an approval process to do so.
The area is nice looking, if not, bland in some areas and the house values are very high. But there is a 'social' price to pay for it.
And some HOA's won't allow you to have sand/rocks or other yards full of just xeriscape type plants either.
I'm amazed that California didn't ban HOAs from doing this long ago. Colorado passed such a law in 2005 and we are not a state that is on the forefront of water conservation efforts. And as an aside, most of the opposition to this came from conservative lawmakers who apparently don't appreciate that HOAs are quasi-government agencies that are very restrictive of the freedoms of the homeowners in their neighborhoods.
I'm surprised that so many people are assuming that the 25% cutback will apply across the board to people who are very thrifty as well as those who are wasteful. I can't imagine any city doing that - rather, I think they will target the water spendthrifts and try to bring them in line with what their more conservation-minded neighbors have already done. Also, it's my understanding that the 25% cutback requirement does not apply universally to all cities in the state. Rather, some cities have a smaller conservation requirement because they have already significantly reduced their per-capita water use.
Reading up it appears that California is going ahead with some major Desal plants for drinking water and putting a previously mothballed one back online. I hope that this means that the drought will be over, kinda like breaking down and buying a new snow blower means you will have a mild winter.
Bottom line if the drought persists and water doesn't return in great quantities clean drinking water is going to get pretty expensive in California.
Reading up it appears that California is going ahead with some major Desal plants for drinking water and putting a previously mothballed one back online. I hope that this means that the drought will be over, kinda like breaking down and buying a new snow blower means you will have a mild winter.
Bottom line if the drought persists and water doesn't return in great quantities clean drinking water is going to get pretty expensive in California.
At this point, if starting next season, the rain is enough to eliminate the drought over a span of three years, you'll see more problems from that than the drought.
Underbrush will grow at alarming rates and with that a huge increase during the summer/fall months, soil erosion, glogged up water way infrastructure and the list goes on.
There is no easy or painless way out.
Notice there is zero planning to deal with a heavy rain next season. Like the drought, they'll wait until yet another crisis hits before lifting a finger.
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