Scottsdale HOAs can no longer mandate overseeding.
Given the state’s and western region United States deep concern over water conservation, the Scottsdale City Council approved a code amendment last week which states Homeowner Associations (HOA) cannot mandate homeowners to overseed their lawn. The new code gives homeowners the ability to now choose to not overseed, which is an effective way to save thousands of gallons of water per property.
Overseeding, occurs in the Fall and is the process of planting seasonal grass over the dormant, warm season grass.
The proposal came as a direct result of the water supply shortages on the Colorado River. Arizona will go into a Tier 2a starting January 1, 2023, with further cuts expected.
Scottsdale Water and Council listened to the homeowners frustrations with HOAs who mandate overseeding their Bermuda grass each year. Dormant grass is typical, and actually the healthiest choice for a summer lawn. The push to encourage not overseeding in the Fall comes with great benefits including increased water conservation, lower water bills and less maintenance.
This fall Scottsdale Water executed a campaign asking residents and businesses to not overseed. The moto is “Overseeding uses a lot of water. It is the right thing NOT to do.” Because of this program, City officials felt the need to give homeowners the ability to opt-in to these water savings initiatives.
The result has been an overwhelming positive response from both homeowners and HOAs on the efforts the City is making to reduce its water footprint.
Montage HOA reported they saw drastic results when they made the decision to not overseed their green belt last year. Their HOA reported saving over 1,200,000 gallons of water during a 4-month period. That equates to filling 120 average size residential pools.
Logon to ScottsdaleAZ.gov, search “overseed” to learn more about this campaign and the benefits of not overseeding.
