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City estimates $2.8M net cost to convert 264,000 sq ft of nonfunctional turf; project includes SNWA rebates
Summary
Parks staff estimated the city will remove about 264,000 sq ft of nonfunctional turf across 16 locations, at roughly $12 per sq ft, with SNWA rebates reducing the city's share to about $2.8 million and annual water savings equivalent to roughly 22 Olympic-size pools.
Doug Guile presented detailed site estimates and cost projections for the turf conversions the city expects to complete by Dec. 31, 2026. He told the board the preliminary estimate is approximately 264,000 square feet of nonfunctional turf across 16 parks and streetscape areas and that at an estimated $12 per square foot the gross cost would be about $3.1 million, with an SNWA rebate of about $360,000 reducing the city's expected net cost to about $2.8 million.
Guile translated projected annual water savings into familiar terms: "We're gonna save 22 the the equivalent of 22 Olympic sized swimming pools of water every year as a result of this," he said, citing the conversion math (city savings ~14,570,000 gallons per year; Olympic pool = 660,000 gallons). Board members asked about the high per‑square‑foot cost estimate and whether recent SNWA remapping materially changed site totals; Guile said the SNWA update reduced the scope and that the city would prioritize larger sites such as center medians at Scott Robinson and seeding/overseeding work at Sea Strand.
