SIDE STREETS: It's hard to obey both lawn and water cops

Jim Pondrom can't believe how many police patrols he gets at his Pronghorn Meadows home on Colorado Springs' far eastern edge.

But it's not the gun-toting, protectand-serve, gotta-meet-my-speedingticket-quota kind of police.

"I see the ‘water police' and the ‘lawn police' routinely patrolling the neighborhood," Pondrom said in an e-mail.

Remember the water police, those city employees and some self-appointed people who patrolled neighborhoods during our lengthy drought to ensure folks weren't violating twoday-a-week watering restrictions?

And residents of some homeowners associations are familiar with lawn police - HOA officials who walk their neighborhoods with cameras and notebooks looking for overgrown, underwatered or weed-infested lawns.

Pondrom sees both because he is among about 7,000 or so homeowners who live in unincorporated neighborhoods served by the Cherokee Metropolitan District.

The district was forced to impose strict watering rules in 2006 after a court decision stripped it of 40 percent of its water well production. From April through October, residents get two mornings and evenings a week to water their lawns. Period.

November through March, they get just two days a month, said Kip Petersen, Cherokee's general manager.

During the winter, Cherokee residents use about 2 million gallons a day. During the summer, usage jumps to 6 million gallons a day, even with the restrictions. So Petersen sends out patrols to enforce restrictions.

Through June, his patrols had issued 700 warnings, 75 second notices with accompanying $50 fines, 10 third notices with $100 fines, three $350 fines for fourth violations and one $600 fine for a five-time loser.

"Actually, we get pretty good voluntary compliance," Petersen said, noting that some just can't stand a dead lawn and repeatedly violate the rules.

At the same time, Pronghorn's HOA sent about 50 "violation notices" for dead lawns and other landscaping ills.

"I got a letter from . . . the HOA board warning me that I need to replace my lawn," Pondrom said.

Pondrom said it was impossible to preserve his lawn this year, when - until this week - just 3 inches of rain had fallen in the district and temperatures often were approaching 100 degrees.

"My front yard, in spite of aeration, fertilizer, and as much water as I could put on it, is nothing but a patch of dead grass," Pondrom said.

He is not alone. Folks in Woodmen Hills and other areas are feeling whipsawed by HOAs demanding green lawns in the face of heat, drought and watering restrictions.

Petersen said he's been hearing the complaints. He is quick to inform homeowners that HOAs can't require replacement of lawns or issue fines if their water provider is under emergency limitations, as is Cherokee.

"Enforcement action must be suspended during periods of restriction," Petersen said. "They can't do anything until restrictions are lifted and homeowners are allowed to reseed or sod."

In the case of Pronghorn, no fines are being contemplated, said Bruce Beers, neighborhood property manager. He said the HOA simply wants to talk to homeowners with dying lawns to learn their plans for restoring them once restrictions ease.

"The HOA is just asking what they are going to do with their lawns," Beers said. "No one has been fined. We are just asking them to contact the board. We understand we had a terrible winter and it's been dry all summer. Things look terrible."

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Tell me about your neighborhood: 636-0193 or bill.vogrin@gazette.com