Scottsdale residents no longer required to overseed lawns, city council says

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- Scottsdale residents looking to cut costs can rejoice this week after the city council passed a new rule.

The city council on Tuesday approved an ordinance that prohibits mandatory overseeding, as well as other lawn requirements by HOAs. The new code allows residents to conserve thousands of gallons of water during certain months out of the year, a process that maintains a lush lawn during the winter, thereby saving money and reducing their water use. The ordinance came about after some homeowners became frustrated with their HOAs who required them to overseed Bermuda grass, according to Scottsdale city spokesperson Valerie Schneider.

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Water conservation has been a concerning issue recently. The state’s allotment from the Colorado River Basin was further cut after some of the seven states relying on the river couldn’t submit water reduction plans by the federal deadline on Aug. 15.

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Some HOAs changed their rules prior to the new ordinance. Montage HOA President Paul Traiforos commented to the Scottsdale Water Department and council that his community stopped overseeding last winter “for the first time in [their] history to help conserve water. We saved over 1,200,000 gallons of water during a 4-month period.” He continued saying, “We plan on doing the same this year and have reduced irrigation use by 40% over the past year.”