Senate committee sends turf‑limiting bill to floor after debate over landscaping, water use

The Agricultural Natural Resources Committee voted 5–2 to advance House Bill 11‑13, a bill that would expand limits on nonfunctional turf to new multifamily residential developments and require local jurisdictions to adopt policies addressing turf in new and redeveloped single‑family properties by 2028.

Sponsor Senator Dylan Roberts said the bill builds on last year’s Senate Bill 5 and is intended to reduce unnecessary outdoor water use by encouraging developers and communities to favor low‑water landscaping alternatives. “We know we face, increased demands on our state's water supply, and nonfunctional turf is a major user of water,” Roberts said.

The bill applies only to new development and re‑development after its effective date and does not require removal of existing turf, Roberts and other supporters emphasized. The committee adopted L010, an amendment that defines “functional” turf and allows real or artificial turf in areas used for recreation or communal purposes — playgrounds, sports fields, picnic areas and amphitheaters — while limiting nonfunctional turf in other new residential settings.

Supporters told the committee the change is modest but necessary. Chelsea Benjamin, policy advisor at Western Resource Advocates, said the bill “is a logical next step to encourage water‑wise landscapes and reduce water used on nonfunctional turf grass like Kentucky bluegrass that is only walked on when it is mowed.” Summit County Commissioner Nina Waters, testifying remotely on behalf of a headwaters committee, said local programs in her county have successfully replaced turf with native landscaping and highlighted concerns about heat retention and microplastics from artificial turf.

Industry witnesses urged caution and time for innovation. David Schloop, president of Rocky Mountain Sod Growers, and Craig Giesbrecht of Greenbelt Turf Farm said grasses and improved hybrid varieties can offer water‑saving alternatives and provide cooling, erosion control and soil benefits. “If we want to save water, stop watering,” Schloop said, arguing the industry has developed lower‑water turf options.

Proponents and several industry groups said the 2028 implementation runway and the L010 amendment give time for market adaptation and for local communities to adopt codes that fit local needs. The sponsor described the approach as locally controlled: the bill requires jurisdictions to adopt policies but stops short of a statewide mandate on specific turf replacement or removal.

Senator Roberts moved the amended bill to the Committee of the Whole; recorded votes on the motion were: Senators Catlin (yes), Henderson (yes), Marchman (aye), Pelton B. (no), Pelton R. (no), Roberts (aye) and the Madam Chair (yes). The committee recorded a 5–2 vote in favor of referral.

The committee adopted the L010 amendment to clarify the definition of functional artificial turf. Several witnesses asked for additional local incentive programs and expressed concern about unintended consequences such as heat islands, microplastics from synthetic turf and fire risk from certain low‑water plantings in some climates.

The bill will go next to the floor for further consideration.