On October 18, 2022 Town Council approved an ordinance that prohibits grass lawns in front yards of new homes permitted for construction after Jan. 1. 2023 – instead requiring low-water ColoradoScapes. On average, 42% of residential water consumption in Castle Rock is used outdoors. With the high cost of infrastructure to keep up with outdoor watering demand, coupled with Colorado’s frequent droughts and changing weather patterns, the Town of Castle Rock is implementing an ordinance limiting high-water-use grass lawns. “Keeping up with demand during the summer requires a lot of infrastructure that we only use three or four months out of the year, and it’s very expensive to maintain and expensive for ratepayers,” said Castle Rock Water Director Mark Marlowe. “We’re always trying to reduce peak demands because of the stress on our infrastructure.” The backyards of new homes will be limited to no more than 500 square feet of irrigated grass lawn. The requirements do not apply to existing homes. The ordinance also adds requirements for new nonresidential landscapes. This includes eliminating non-functional grass lawns, or areas of grass turf where play or recreational activities cannot take place. The requirements apply to apartments, condominiums, townhomes, HOA common areas and commercial businesses permitted after Jan. 1, 2023. These changes are anticipated to reduce phosphorus in the watershed both with less water waste from irrigation and less application of fertilizers.

An ordinance that went into effect on September 30, 2022 and was unanimously approved by the Aurora City Council allows cool weather turf for new development only in active or programmed recreation areas, such as sport fields and organized social/cultural gatherings. It prohibits turf in common areas, medians, curbside landscape (“tree lawns”), and in most residential front yards while restricting it in backyards to allow for 45% coverage or 500 sq. ft., whichever is smaller. The ordinance permits turf in the front yard in alley-loaded developments that do not include substantial backyards. It also creates a path for transition zones to allow developments with site plans that are currently approved to better blend in appearance with the new areas that will be covered by the ordinance. Finally, the ordinance prohibits the use of cool-weather turf for the development of new golf courses and it restricts ornamental water features, such as exterior decorative fountains, waterfalls, basins and ponds. Warm weather turfs that use less than 15 inches of supplemental irrigation, such as buffalo grass, are permitted. Mayor Coffman noted that continual drought in the arid west and the impacts of climate change weighed heavily in his decision to sponsor this ordinance. “Colorado is in a crisis,” he said. “We need to take action to ensure that Aurora can continue to grow responsibly.”