Committee Advances Jaquez Lewis’ Bipartisan Bill to Encourage Water Efficient Landscaping

Legislation would require HOAs to provide homeowners with a slate of water-wise landscape designs for lawn replacement

DENVER, CO – Today the Senate Local Government and Housing Committee voted to advance Senator Sonya Jaquez Lewis’, D-Longmont, bipartisan bill to reduce barriers facing Colorado homeowners in homeowners associations (HOAs) who wish to replace their lawns with water-wise landscaping.

Cosponsored by Senator Perry Will, R-New Castle, SB23-178 would promote water-wise landscaping, emphasizing native plants that better sustain Colorado’s local ecosystem while requiring little or no irrigation. The bill requires HOAs to select and pre-approve water-wise landscape designs for homeowners to choose from.

“Colorado, like many states in the West, is experiencing prolonged drought. Combined with chronic water overuse, the American West is running out of water,” Jaquez Lewis said. “By making it easier for Colorado homeowners to replace their water-guzzling lawns with water-wise landscapes, we can drastically cut down on our overall water usage while maintaining beautiful, unique yards natural to Colorado's climate.”

The bill would also prevent an HOA from requiring hardscape on more than 20 percent of a landscape area and prevent an HOA from prohibiting vegetable gardening in a homeowner’s front yard.

About half of the water used in single-family homes in Denver goes toward “outdoor use,” according to Denver Water. Last year, the legislature passed legislation to create the Turf Replacement Program, which provides financial incentives for voluntary replacement of irrigated turf with water-wise landscaping. SB23-178 complements that initiative by helping homeowners who may not need financial incentives but are hindered by other barriers.

SB23-178 now heads to the Senate floor for further consideration. You can follow the bill’s progress HERE.