‘No one else can force you to put it in’: Lawmaker proposes end to government, HOA rules requiring lawns

ST. GEORGE — As a way to help promote water conservation statewide, a Utah legislator has put forth a bill that would ban government entities and homeowners associations from requiring residents to have and maintain lawns or turf.

A garden hose watering a lawn, shown for illustrative purposes, Cedar City, Utah, April 22, 2021 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Landscaping Requirement Amendments, sponsored by Rep. Raymond Ward, R-Bountiful, and designated as HB 95 in the 2022 Utah Legislature, would stop counties, municipalities, HOAs and mobile home parks from enforcing the placement of lawn or turf around homes if homeowners choose not to. It would also block these entities from enforcing the maintenance of lawns and turf if a homeowner decides to let it go and turn yellow.

Under the bill, lawn and turf are defined as “nonagricultural land planted in closely mowed, managed grasses.”

Ward told St. George News on Monday that individuals who choose to keep and maintain a lawn can still do so or be at liberty to seek an alternative to landscaping like xeriscape.

“Anybody can still put in a lawn; it’s just that no one else can force you to put it in,” he said.

Ward is pushing HB 95 as a water conservation bill, as it would stop municipalities or HOAs from fining people who choose to conserve water over irrigating their lawns.

Stock image | Photo by Piyaset/iStock/Getty Images Plus, St. George News

HOAs and municipalities often require residents to maintain lawns on a percentage of their property, despite pleas from government officials such as Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson last year to cut water to their lawns, adding that “yellow is the new green.”

Utah has had a 20-plus year span of drought, Ward said, with last summer being the worst of it. Because of the climate getting drier and the continuing population growth, ways need to be found to conserve water.

Ward said he hopes all Utahns are looking for ways to be more careful with water, and HB 95 is part of that.

“The bill is really simple. It says, ‘Look, we are past the point where any governmental or quasi-governmental organizations – like HOAs – should be forcing a property owner to put in a lawn.’”

The bill is not a ban on lawns, he said, adding that municipal and private entities should at least provide a second option to landscaping for property owners. Just because someone doesn’t have a lawn on their front yard doesn’t mean it can’t still look good.

“Many people may still choose to put in lawns, and that’s great, that’s fine. My bill is not going to stop that property owner,” Ward said. “There are a lot of other ways to make it look nice. And we need to make it possible for people to use those ways as well.”

In this file photo, Ivins Reservoir is well below capacity this year due to drought conditions, Ivins, Utah, April 13, 2021 | Photo by Ammon Teare, St. George News

The bill does not apply to golf courses, athletic fields or sod farms.

Ward noted there has been some pushback on the bill as it takes a measure of local control away from counties and municipalities. Such objections are not uncommon when a bill proposes to manage issues at the state level over local determination.

“In general, it is the Legislature’s job to make sure that the sum total of what goes on doesn’t become counter productive – so one city doesn’t take advantage of another city or that the cities altogether don’t do something that makes sense for each one individually,” he said. “Then when you add it all up, all of sudden there’s not enough water for a subdivision, or the lake has gone dry.”

In Washington County, recent moves have been made between the Washington County Water Conservancy District and local municipalities to create a countywide ordinance regarding water conservation.

A part of that ordinance relates to how much lawn should be allowed on new construction. There have also been previous discussions in cities like St. George about updating their own landscaping ordinances reducing the required amount of landscaping.

When asked about her thoughts on HB 95, St. George Mayor Michele Randall stated the following over text to St. George News.

In this file photo, St. George Mayor Michele Randall during a meeting of the St. George City Council, St. George, Utah, June 17, 2021 | Photo courtesy of the city of St. George/CEC, St. George News

“The current legislation is very early discussions” the mayor wrote. “It could be changed numerous times before we have a final bill. As a county and city we are working on a county wide ordinance which will reduce the amount of grass a new home can have. While we want everyone to conserve this doesn’t mean existing homes will be mandated to tear out their grass.”

The recent severity of the ongoing drought has placed a great deal of emphasis on water conservation methods, particular landscaping, as 50%-60% of the drinking-quality water in the county and state overall tends to go toward landscape irrigation.

Rep. Walt Brooks, R-St. George, said he is not opposed to the bill because of the property rights angle to it.

“People have the right to have their yards how they want,” he said. “Personally, I like my big lawn, but it may have to go away.”

Another bill, HB 121, would provide incentives to residents to replace their lawns or turf with something more fitting to Utah’s climate. This is being sponsored by Rep. Robert Spendlove, R-Salt Lake City.

HB 95 is in the process of being assigned to a House committee for review.


Check out all of St. George News’ coverage of the 2022 Utah Legislature here.

For a complete list of contacts for Southern Utah representatives and senators, click here.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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