City Hall landscape to get a drought-friendly revamp

The landscape outside City Hall is getting a face-lift that will include drought-tolerant plants and trees.

About two-thirds of the grass and some existing trees will be yanked for the project that’s part of a larger effort to rehab other parts of the building for its 75th birthday next year, said Deputy City Manager John Takhtalian.

The commemoration will also dovetail with ongoing messages of conservation throughout the drought, said City Manager Scott Ochoa.

The existing landscape will be replaced by western redbud trees and their purples leaves and a variety of shrubs such as lemonade berry.

“Our overall water consumption will be significantly reduced, while not giving up the aesthetic appeal of our public space,” Takthalian said.

The landscape update started over the weekend and is expected to last about two months.

In-house arborists and landscape architects worked on designing the project, a process that didn’t seem likely to happen with the current arrangement, Ochoa said.

“When you look at the trees, they were planted in such a way they crowded one another out … it was done in a willy-nilly fashion,” he said.

Ochoa said the new design is simple and tasteful and accentuates City Hall’s entrance.

It cost a little more than $30,000 out of the $250,000 pool for City Hall renovations that were approved in this year’s adopted budget, Takhtalian said.

The existing landscape is currently on a reducing-water schedule, which will be even further cut back after the upgrades are completed.

A drip system will also replace the irrigation system so that less water is used, Takhtalian said.

Low wattage LED lighting will also be installed to accent architectural features.

A goal of the project was to set an example of environmental stewardship, Takhtalian said.

“We wanted to show that drought-tolerant plants on private property doesn’t necessarily mean ground gravel and cacti,” he said. “You can have color, you can have texture, you can have a different variety of plants while still making a positive impact on your water-reduction goals.”

After the landscape project is completed, it will take a few months for the plants to fully establish, Takhtalian said.