At a time when the bottom line for all real estate development in Southern California needs to be sparing use of water, many Glendale projects propose to build and landscape extensive and very steep hillsides. Retention on such slopes is minimal, requiring frequent applications of water.
When the prospect of rationing is looming and has already been implemented in many of the surrounding municipalities, shouldn’t our City Council and the various boards and commissions have had the foresight to have planned for such an event in Glendale? Even the installation of a so-called Xeriscape — utilizing mainly drought-resistant native plant material — requires at least two years of a conventional watering pattern to establish themselves.
Landscaping is most likely the primary user of water in a residential situation. The people in our city who do the planning and control the issuance of permits and variances need to have the long-range vision and the courage to do the unpopular but “right thing” and just say “no” to projects that drain resources.
