Aurora cracks down on lawns, golf courses in effort to conserve water

Aurora will no longer allow “cool-weather” turf grasses to be installed for golf courses or new home developments after the City Council adopted new rules to curb the city’s water use Monday night.

The new ordinance, passed unanimously, bans cool-weather turf such as Kentucky bluegrass, fescue or ryegrass and limits the amount of the grasses that can be in backyards. It also prohibits these types of grasses from being used in common areas unless they’re active recreational areas. Similarly, the turf can only be placed in commercial and multifamily developments as well as schools if they are active recreation areas, not for aesthetic purposes. Ornamental water features would also be prohibited.

There are some exceptions, including for site plan applications submitted to the city prior to Sept. 30.

In both backyards and residential front yards where backyard sizes don’t allow for turf, residents can only have 45% or 500 square feet of the yard, whichever is less, be covered by the grasses.

Mayor Mike Coffman backed the proposal, noting that 50% of Aurora’s water use is for lawn irrigation. The ordinance states that “water scarcity in the arid west is compounded by water availability and population growth,” and that “water used in irrigation and ornamental water features severely limits the amount of water that can be recaptured by Aurora Water’s Prairie Waters potable reuse system.”