The city of Durango has adopted state-mandated standards limiting the use of nonfunctional turf – grass or artificial turf placed in areas without an intended functional use – for new developments and some redevelopments.
The ordinance also restricts planting nonnative and invasive species, aligning with new state standards.
The updates will appear in the city’s landscaping section of the development code. City Planner Leanne Bernstein said the rules apply to residential projects with three or more units as well as “commercial, institutional, industrial, common interest properties and streets right of way.”
The state mandated standards are a result of Senate Bill 24-005 and House Bill 25-1113, which Bernstein said were passed based on increasing water supply pressure due to climate change and because the use of nonnative grasses for landscaping requires a lot of water.
Functional turf describes grass or artificial grass found on golf courses, playgrounds and sports fields, for example, Bernstein said.
“It has civic, community and recreational purposes,” she said.
Nonfunctional turf describes grass or artificial turf that lacks a functional purpose. The grass in a right of way between a sidewalk and a curb or within a parking lot is nonfunctional, she said.
HB 25-1113 requires the standards apply to residential developments of 12 or more units, although the city will apply the standards to developments of three or more units. Bernstein said single-family and two-family residences would not fall under the new landscaping standards.
“This is a greater threshold that better promotes this goal of saving water because it will apply to more properties,” she said.
She said SB 24-005 restricts nonfunctional turf from being replaced with artificial turf.
“In the situation where there’s a sports field or a picnic area or an amphitheater where you’re having functional turf, artificial turf would be allowed. But the scenario where you’re just ripping out otherwise nonfunctional turf, you can’t just replace it with artificial turf,” she said.
Eriks Lindemanis, a government affairs associate for public affairs firm Group 76, provided a public comment representing the Synthetic Turf Council. He said his goal was to address what he called misconceptions in the ordinance regulating nonfunctional turf.
“There is no scientific evidence that turf causes heat more than, say, a parking lot,” he said.
The ordinance referenced the Colorado Legislature’s findings of “negative environmental impacts” caused by artificial turf such as aggravated “heat island effects in urban areas and releasing harmful chemicals, including plastics, microplastics, and perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals, into the environment and watersheds.”
Lindemanis said synthetic turf technologies are different methods from past technologies to combat heat effects and Synthetic Turf Council member manufacturers voluntarily test their products to “verify the absence of intentionally added PFAS (polyfluoroalkyl substances).”
The Synthetic Turf Council’s membership consists of “synthetic turf manufacturers, components manufacturers and suppliers, builders and installers of both sportsfield and landscaping, testing labs and other individuals and companies,” he said.
He said synthetic turf reduces water use and protects water quality versus high-maintenance grass systems.
“A single full-sized synthetic sports field can save millions of gallons annually depending on the local conditions and usage. At the same time, because synthetic turf requires no fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides, which eliminate chemical runoff that pollutes nearby streams, lakes and groundwater,” he said.
cburney@durangoherald.com
