To the surprise of many homeowners, grass lawns are the largest irrigated crop on American soil. It is said that the average homeowner in America uses 75% of their water on keeping the lawn green. This is why some homeowners are looking to replace their grass with other types of landscaping, especially in areas that have experienced drought over the recent years.

If you own a home in Palm Springs and are looking to replace your lawn with a more drought-friendly desert landscaping scheme, you could receive help in your efforts to do so. There is a new program in place to give help to Palm Springs homeowners in converting landscaping to drought-friendly designs. Some homeowners may be surprised at the amount of assistance they can receive.

Recently the Palm Springs City Council voted across the board to match rebates offered by the Desert Water Agency at the latest meeting on October 27, 2022. Homeowners and HOAs in Palm Springs can qualify for $6 per square foot in rebates to get rid of their lawns. The Desert Water Agency is prepared to manage these matching efforts.

It was recommended that the city of Palm Springs set aside $150,000 for this purpose and the council went above and beyond allocating a total of $250,000 for the program. These funds will be available through the end of June 2023.

There were a few details about the funds that were not completely agreed upon. The biggest of them being where artificial turf is concerned. There was a staff recommendation to ban rebates for anyone installing an artificial turf lawn to replace grass. There was also a request that the city mandate the use of certain materials that are the most beneficial for Palm Springs desert landscapes. Both of these requests were denied at the meeting.

Many council members and the mayor thought it best to let Palm Springs homeowners choose how they prefer to replace their grass with new drought-friendly and desert-beneficial landscaping.

The city of Palm Springs is the fourth in cities of the Coachella Valley to offer matching funds in addition to those given by the Desert Water Agency. This is a step in helping the state of California reduce its water consumption and help ease seasons of drought.

The city council hopes the program will be up and running for Palm Springs homeowners by December 1.

For more information on real estate in Palm Springs and Surrounding areas please contact us any time.