One thing that the past couple of decades—and the combined recorded history of humanity—has shown us, is that the wealthiest in our society have a tendency towards … dissociation with reality. A couple of weeks ago the California “drought shaming” policy that had been enacted in the Bay Area ended. Right on cue, the Blackhawk, California community’s homeowners association decided it was time to tell their residents to get to spraying that precious water onto their lawns.
"A lot of lawns were just let go, and it's created some problems of the atmosphere of Blackhawk not looking proper for the type of homes we have in here. ... You want everything to look nice," Blackhawk homeowner Gary Schenck said.
The association declined to comment, but Schenck confirmed he got a letter demanding the improvements be made. He agreed to meet Blackstone outside the gates.
"They've recommended you put in tanbark and drought-tolerant plants. They've offered suggestions. ... If you don't put in proper landscaping, they're gonna ask you in a nice way to improve it," Schenck said.
In their defense, they’re rich! Brown grass is for plebeians! If the residents of Blackhawk want to show that they have souls, the law is still on their side.
"It's illegal. It's a state law right now that homeowners associations cannot fine anyone for refusing to water their grass," NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory senior water scientist Jay Famiglietti said.
Good news is that we have gotten some water in California, a ton more than we’ve had in years. The bad news is that we are still in a drought and just because you want your lawn to look like something out of Edward Scissorhands, it doesn’t mean you should do that.
Some residents in the exclusive neighborhood have responded to water restrictions by replacing grass with drought-tolerant plants. Others have torn up their lawns and gone to artificial turf. But in Blackhawk, green grass remains a point of pride.
"Home values have to stay up in here, and if you start cutting back so much where the lawns are dead, people aren't going to want to buy in here," Schenck said.
There are native plants to California that can handle the arid conditions faced out West. That’s why they are native to California.