As Colorado continues to suffer through harsh drought conditions, the state legislature is considering removing barriers for some residents to save water on lawn watering. 

Around 60% of Coloradans live under a homeowner association (HOA). If passed into law, Senate Bill 178 would allow those homeowners to swap their grass lawns for landscaping that needs less water to maintain, forcing HOAs to accept the alternative landscaping. 

Colorado lawmakers are tackling the legislation as the federal government — and the states that rely on the Colorado river — are scrambling to save the river system that has fueled growth in the West. 

SB 178 unanimously passed its first vote in the Senate Local Government and Housing Committee Tuesday. 

“This bill is about what we can do in urban and suburban areas around conserving water. Many homeowners want to be a part of the solution,” said bill sponsor Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis, D-Longmont. “We are trying to reduce barriers for folks who want to do this.” 

Under current law, HOAs cannot entirely prohibit low-water landscaping, but, in practice, such proposals are often rejected for subjective aesthetic reasons, Jaquez Lewis said. Current law also does not require the landscaping review process to be transparent, fair or timely. Because of this, proponents said, homeowners often don’t know how the process works or what landscaping will be accepted. 

SB 178 would require HOAs to pre-approve at least three water-saving landscaping designs that homeowners could choose to implement. It would also prohibit HOAs from banning fake turf grass in backyards and vegetable gardens in any yard.

This effort comes as the Colorado River Basin — which provides water to Colorado and six other states — has experienced the driest 22 years on record. Some 40 million people rely on that river system, which faces prolonged drought conditions and overallocation. 

Along Colorado’s Front Range, outdoor water use accounts for nearly 55% of the residential water use, the majority used on lawns, Colorado State University estimates. In Denver alone, residents use up to 120 million gallons per day to water lawns, according to 2019 reports.

While lawmakers unanimously supported SB 178 on Tuesday, some witnesses spoke against it.

John Kreger of the HOA management company Associa called the bill “punitive” to HOAs. 

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“The bill goes well beyond transparency and is actually more about prescribing a one-size-fits-all law on HOAs and eliminating flexibility and self governance,” Kreger said. “This will unfairly burden the HOA board.” 

Under the bill, homeowners would be able to sue HOAs that violate the new law to recover damages equal to actual damages plus $500 and attorney fees. Kreger said this would result in HOAs increasing fees on homeowners to pay for potential litigation. 

Some Republican lawmakers questioned whether the bill would violate the local control of HOAs, pointing out that homeowners agreed to follow an HOA’s rules and regulations when they moved into their home. 

Ultimately, though, the committee voted, 7-0, to advance the bill to the full Senate for consideration.

Republican supporters, including co-sponsor Sen. Perry Will of New Castle, emphasized that the bill would not cost HOAs or the government any money, as it would simply open the door for homeowners to do what they want with their own property. 

“I think we can all agree that saving water is a good thing,” Will said. “We have to face hard choices when it comes to saving water. When a suburban homeowner wants to voluntarily replace their lawn with low-water plants, that is not a hard choice. This is a low-hanging fruit. Governments and HOAs should at the very least get out of the way and let them proceed.” 

The bill is backed by nearly two dozens organizations, including the Colorado River Water Conservation District, Colorado Water Congress and the governments or water districts of Boulder County, Douglas County, Clifton, Grand Valley and the Ute tribe. 

SB 178 builds off of a bill passed by the legislature last year, which required the Colorado Water Conservation Board to develop a statewide financial incentive program to inspire voluntary grass replacement for homeowners, local governments and nonprofits.

The $2 million “Turf Replacement Fund” must be developed before this July, and could include expanding statewide existing city programs that pay between $1 and $3 per square foot of grass that is removed. 

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