Committee considers turf-buyback rebate and hears staff updates on Earth Day events and water rebates

At the meeting staff reported community engagement and program updates: Earth Day tabling and library activities, a community cleanup set for May 9 at JC Park, and rebate program totals showing 137 toilet replacements and 18 irrigation checkups to date.

Alex, a staff member, also described coordination with the Parks & Recreation Board on a possible Bird City designation and invited committee volunteers to join a subcommittee to pursue the certification.

During future-agenda discussion, committee members proposed exploring a turf-buyback program that would pay homeowners for converting irrigated turf to native or lower-water landscaping. Members cited the City of Denton example: a $3-per-square-foot rebate with a typical cap (Denton’s program was cited as $3 per sq. ft. up to $150, which equates to 50 square feet in the example discussed). Committee members stressed the need for modest, budget-limited incentives, verification (photos or site visits) and program rules that avoid exhausting the program budget on a few large projects.

"If every lot over there on Marsh decided to put a pollinator garden, that's probably good," one committee member said, urging a broad, accessible program design rather than a few large payouts. Staff agreed to review Denton’s implementation, uptake and application requirements and report back.

Next steps: staff will research program designs and uptake from other cities, consider verification methods and propose potential budget limits and administrative requirements at a future meeting.