Celina City Council considered a number of options for changes to city ordinances at their Jan. 13 meeting.
The discussion
The City Council discussed new rules that would limit irrigation, turf or a combination of both.
Celina currently requires irrigation for all new developments, but it could make irrigation optional as a way to save water.
The council also considered limiting turf to a certain percentage of lawn space for single-family homes, and council member Philip Ferguson and Mayor Ryan Tubbs both expressed support for removing turf from commercial development standards altogether.
Council members were divided on the merits of different regulations for front and back yards, noting that limiting water usage in backyards could negatively impact families with kids, while limiting water usage in front yards could adversely affect home values.
“It would be terribly hard to sell homes in this region without some front yard with grass,” council member Andy Hopkins said.
The context
The revisions are part of the city’s broader initiative to address water needs through education, legislation and infrastructure expansion.
According to a presentation by Director of Development Services Dusty McAfee, roughly half of Celina’s water usage during peak season can be attributed to outdoor irrigation.
“It’s not the trees; it’s the grass—specifically, the watering of grass during summer, that uses the water,” he said.
Water usage can be reduced by limiting irrigation or through xeriscaping, a landscaping style that limits mowed grass in favor of native and drought-tolerant plants.
On the other hand
McAfee said that he doesn’t anticipate broad support for new water conservation regulations among the builder and developer community.
Xeriscape design can be costly, he explained, and new requirements could add to the overall price tag of new developments.
Council member Wendy Wigginton suggested that the city could incentivize water conservation efforts instead of making them mandatory in order to garner support from the development community.
One more thing
The city has also been working with consultants from planning and design firm Kimley-Horn to create new guidelines for drought-tolerant divided medians for roadways with four or more lanes.
Celina’s current median design guidelines require that all divided medians incorporate some amount of mowed grass unless city officials grant an exception.
A Kimley-Horn consultant presented four landscaping options, each with a different ratio of turf, plants and hard materials.
Ferguson said he supported removing turf from the median design guidelines entirely.
“We won’t speak out of both sides of our mouths when we tell residents to conserve water while at the same time we’re watering grass all the way down Preston,” he said in reference to the city’s outdoor watering restrictions. “That’s stupid, in my opinion.”
Looking ahead
The city plans to hire a consultant to review relevant ordinances and draft alternatives based on the council’s input.
The council expects to begin reviewing water conservation amendments this summer.
