Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Water Conservation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Resident asks commission to consider more flexible watering days, citing garden care and mildew concerns
Summary
Gary Cohen, a long-time South Pasadena resident, urged the commission during public comment to discuss modifying the city's restricted watering days to better accommodate individual circumstances, citing gardener schedules, mildew risk and difficulty hauling heavy garden waste.
Gary Cohen, identified in the meeting as an in-person public commenter, asked the Natural Resources and Environmental Commission on Feb. 25 to place the city's restricted watering-day schedule on a future agenda for discussion.
Cohen said current rules allow sprinkler irrigation on Tuesdays and Fridays before 9 a.m., and he described a household schedule and gardener availability that make those times impractical. He told commissioners that because his gardener can work only after Monday and on Tuesday, watering early Tuesday mornings leaves the yard and plant material wet during garden cleanup; the wet vegetation is heavier and harder for him, at age 74, to bag and move to the curb. Cohen said he supports conservation but asked the commission to consider modifications such as permitting additional days (he suggested Wednesday and Saturday) or allowing afternoon/Wednesday morning watering in specific cases.
Cohen said he contacted Mike Cutcher and was referred to Artie Caspian, identified in the meeting as the city's environmental service and sustainability manager, and that staff had not yet returned a follow-up phone call. He asked for further discussion and said he did not wish to formally agendize the item at that time but wanted the commission to consider community flexibility.
No formal action was taken during the meeting on watering restrictions; staff and commissioners acknowledged the request and noted the topic could be discussed in future outreach or code-review work. Staff later listed upcoming public programs (landscape academy, compost giveaway and a sustainability fair) as opportunities for outreach on irrigation and conservation topics.
