Thursday, April 29, 2004 | 11 a.m.
Summerlin homeowners association board members decided Wednesday to ban artificial turf from front lawns in its community, saying they felt most of their neighbors were afraid a sea of fake grass would include at least some ugly artificial turf.
Kevin Peltier, whose faux grass launched this debate in the upscale northwest neighborhood, said that while he lost the fight with the Summerlin North Community Association, he will leave his turf alone.
Peltier said he hopes the government, perhaps the Las Vegas City Council, will step in and overrule the association, which has sent him letters about the turf but had not fined him as of Wednesday.
"Water conservation is the main point of the issue," said Peltier, who spent $2,000 to replace the grass in front of his house with artificial turf in early January. The home is near Hills Center Drive and West Lake Mead Boulevard.
For Peltier, this is his way of cutting back his water use as the region suffers through the worst drought on record.
The Southern Nevada Water Authority has not taken a position on artificial turf, though in the past year it did allow higher-quality, porous models to be used in place of mulch for its grass-replacement rebate program.
Spokeswoman Tracy Bower said "it is within the rights" of homeowners associations to set certain standards for landscaping as long as they do not mandate living grass as the only option.
Bower said the homeowners association issue would perhaps be better addressed at city and county government levels regarding ordinances that address water-smart landscaping uses.
Peltier agrees and was scheduled to talk to the staff of Las Vegas Councilman Larry Brown this morning about a possible ordinance to force homeowners associations citywide to accept artificial turf. Peltier lives in Brown's Ward 4.
"Unfortunately that is what I am forced to do," he said this morning while waiting for the meeting. "I was hoping the board would come to some sort of reasonable compromise, but they didn't.
Attempts to reach Brown, who years ago was a Water District official, were not successful.
For those against allowing the artificial turf in front of homes, the issue is not water conservation, as desert landscaping is allowed also saves water. The opponents of fake grass say the issue is how it could make the neighborhood look.
"There's a certain look we want Summerlin to have," said Ronni Land, a real estate broker and seven-year Summerlin resident.
"His lawn looked nice," Land said of Peltier's artificial turf. "But the board has no way of making his neighbor use the same product. If we say you have to use one product, the board will get sued by the other manufacturers. And we don't know what his will look like in five years."
The Summerlin North Community Association voted 4-2 to ban artificial turf on front lawns. The artificial turf can still be used in areas not visible from the street.
Some of those supporting the ban expressed concerns similar to Land's.
Board member Don Brozzala said he has gone by Peltier's home several times and the artificial turf looked good.
"But I don't know what it will look like in a year," he said.
Board member Bob Sidell said: "I don't think any of us know what it would look like in five to 10 years. And what if it doesn't look good from the start?"
Board President Hal Bloch, who said he votes only to break ties and so didn't vote Wednesday, said he was concerned some were getting the impression that the association is not sensitive to saving water. But Bloch said that is far from true. For example, the association will spend $410,000 to replace the grass on a roundabout with desert landscaping, he said.
Bloch and others also referred to a recent meeting of association delegates, who represent homeowners in each subdivision, where the delegates were overwhelmingly opposed to allowing artificial turf on front yards. But Peltier said that straw poll was unreliable because it came after Bloch presented a list of reasons why the fake grass shouldn't be allowed.
Robert Keyes said he wants to be able to put artificial turf in front of his Summerlin home.
"I don't like a rock landscape," he said. "This is a sensible alternative."
Board members David Dean and Steve Greco, who voted to allow artificial turf on front yards, said homeowners should be allowed to choose what kind of water-conserving landscaping to have.
Dean also said that some desert landscaping can be unsightly too.
Christina Braybrooke, who lives near Peltier, said she and all of the neighbors she has spoken with like Peltier's artificial lawn. Braybrooke said she thinks the board voted it down because "they're just afraid of something different."
But while Summerlin is holding back now, Kevin Wiggins, a sales manager for SynLawn, an artificial turf company, said other area communities, including neighborhoods in Anthem and Red Rock, allow the artificial turf.
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