Glendale staffers prepare recommendations for reversal of ban on artificial grass
The City Council is set on Tuesday to once again discuss how to regulate the installation of artificial turf on residential front lawns.
City staffers have narrowed recommendations for council members to consider when adopting an ordinance to allow swapping real grass for fake grass on frontyards — a type of landscaping which is currently prohibited in Glendale.
A consultant hired by the city recommends that 50% of a frontyard remain as live plants, while up to 40% of the remainder could be artificial turf.
Another recommendation from the city staff suggests capping the amount of fake grass at 65%.
Councilwoman Paula Devine said she’d prefer the 50% range, but added that the goal of the ordinance ultimately is to ensure every homeowner knows exactly what they would be allowed to do.
“I want to make sure the color, the length, the percentages are cut and dry,” she said in a phone interview on Friday.
Council members asked at a meeting in October what should be done with water runoff, since artificial turf is not permeable like real grass.
That was a concern raised by Councilwoman Laura Friedman, who said at the same October meeting that artificial turf will prevent water from heading down into the aquifer during the ongoing drought.
One possible option city staff members are recommending is mandating grass borders between lawns and property lines to allow water runoff to be captured.
Plans are to require residents to obtain permits prior to artificial-turf installation.
However, no matter how much the process is simplified, putting in artificial turf is estimated to cost between $7,000 and $17,000, according to city staff estimates.
Devine said the city is just giving local homeowners a choice.
“You’re not going to see this all over the city,” she said. “I think it’s going to be just here and there, not everywhere.”
On a separate item during the same upcoming meeting, the council is expected to consider adopting an ordinance outlining what types of plantings can be allowed on parkways — strips of landscaping that run along the sidewalks in front of homes.
Homeowners will need to obtain a permit if they want to landscape with live plants on the parkways outside their houses. Plants such as ones with fruit, and trip hazards such as boulders and loose gravel, are not allowed.
Artificial turf also won’t be permitted in parkways because it could adversely impact city trees that need water, said Roubik Golanian, the city’s public works director.
“We have street trees in parkways and those require proper irrigation,” he said. “Artificial turf will not provide for proper penetration of water into the parkways.”
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Arin Mikailian, arin.mikailian@latimes.com
Twitter: @ArinMikailian
