Artificial Turf

I have a sister who is wealthy enough to have installed artificial turf in her backyard (“Council, residents weigh in on allowing artificial turf in front yards,” Aug. 11). To her, it made sense because she has three dogs. In order for her to maintain the aesthetic of a green lawn with no yellow spots from dog urine, she wanted to try the artificial turf. After three years of having her artificial turf, there are no yellow spots, but her grass has lost its initial luster and color, and it does not resemble anything in nature.

CITY HALL — Parents from Glendale Adventist Academy on Wednesday rallied for the installation of artificial turf on the school's playground, pointing out instances when several children fell on the asphalt and suffered cuts, bruises and broken bones. The school submitted an application with the city's Community Planning Department to install artificial turf on its 14,800-square-foot playground in the 700 block of Kimlin Drive, replacing the current asphalt material. The kindergarten through 12th grade school is located in a residential zone where artificial turf isn't allowed in publicly viewable areas — a rule that has been the source of debate and contention for months.

Code enforcement officials have issued six notices of violation to residents who, despite a citywide ban approved nearly three months ago, kept their artificial front lawns. Glendale allows artificial turf in backyards, away from public view, but the City Council this year decided to continue to ban the faux grass from front yards, putting some residents who had already undergone the installation on the wrong side of the law. One of them, David Wood, has long battled to keep his artificial turf.

Holding a bag of fertilizer and a bottle of weed killer in the air, Councilman Ara Najarian used what he called two examples of poison to convince his colleagues to allow artificial turf in residential front yards. “Real grass is as unnatural as the opponents' claim the artificial turf is,” Najarian said Tuesday. “There's no natural grass like that growing indigenously.” But none of the props or impassioned pleas were enough as the City Council declined to pursue legalization.

CITY HALL — The era of fake front lawns in Glendale was put off for a while longer Tuesday after the City Council, citing concerns over wear-and-tear and aesthetics, voted to relegate artificial turf to backyards and other out-of-sight areas as part of an overall measure to start cutting down on irrigation. With an eye to severe cutbacks in state water imports this summer, City Council members adopted revised regulations that would allow up to 49% of front yard landscaping to consist of non-live plant material, such as decorative rocks, mulch and bark.

An environmental testing firm has determined that the amount of lead in the artificial turf at the Glendale Sports Complex is far below federal and state limits - a potential chink in the armor of those who have argued strongly at City Hall against allowing the material in residential front yards. The findings were submitted to the City Council this week in a report by Glendale-based Environmental Consulting Services after some on the dais had asked to test the turf amid assertions from the public that allowing the faux grass in front yards presented a public health hazard.

Darleene Barrientos The dream for artificial turf at Glendale High's Moyse Field might just remain a wish for some as a majority of school board members questioned the wisdom of seeking a loan from the city to pay for it. At the Glendale Unified School District's joint meeting with the city last month, the City Council expressed support for a $1.3 million loan for the project. The loan would be paid back with tax revenues over 20 years from the Americana at Brand shopping center.

Is there is anything objectionable about the use of artificial turf in residential landscaping (“Council to consider fake turf,” Aug. 14)? On Saturday, the Los Angeles Times reported that the company that makes AstroTurf has just entered into an agreement with the state of California to reduce the quantity of lead used in its products. The article stated that lead has been used to keep green colors from fading in artificial turf and that people absorb harmful levels of lead through their skin, or by touching the turf and then touching their food or mouths.

CITY HALL — In a lead-up to a second look at the city’s ban on artificial turf in front yards, three companies are in the process of installing nine samples of artificial turf at City Hall for residents and city officials to see, touch and walk on. In February, the City Council voted to allow the fake grass in backyards, but city codes still ban the material from areas visible from the street. The council will revisit the issue next year, officials said. The issue attracted vocal supporters and opponents, and generated a blitz of media attention earlier this year when contractor David Wood was told he’d have to remove the artificial turf he installed in the front yard of a house he built in Montrose.

To the handful of residents who thought they'd be able to keep artificial turf they installed in their front yards prior to the city solidifying its ban on fake grass last summer - think again. Some residents who installed the turf before August, when the City Council took a hard line against allowing the stuff in front yards, had hoped that they'd be grandfathered in under the ban. But city officials on Tuesday confirmed that any existing violators would have to restore their properties to comply with the law. The clarification came almost two months after Glendale began sending notices of violation to residents with faux turf in their front yards.

Code enforcement officials have issued six notices of violation to residents who, despite a citywide ban approved nearly three months ago, kept their artificial front lawns. Glendale allows artificial turf in backyards, away from public view, but the City Council this year decided to continue to ban the faux grass from front yards, putting some residents who had already undergone the installation on the wrong side of the law. One of them, David Wood, has long battled to keep his artificial turf.

I have a sister who is wealthy enough to have installed artificial turf in her backyard (“Council, residents weigh in on allowing artificial turf in front yards,” Aug. 11). To her, it made sense because she has three dogs. In order for her to maintain the aesthetic of a green lawn with no yellow spots from dog urine, she wanted to try the artificial turf. After three years of having her artificial turf, there are no yellow spots, but her grass has lost its initial luster and color, and it does not resemble anything in nature.

The Glendale News-Press article on Sept. 4 titled “Smart meters in the frame” was very informative. Jim Sepe holds the title of “chief technology officer” for Ceiva. I doubt that he is a guinea pig for the new project his employer is proposing, but is just using another snake oil sell about smart meters. Does anyone with a shred of common sense need another energy consuming gadget to advise them that when they lower temperatures or activate air conditioners, power use will either decline or rise in use?

Mayor Laura Friedman on Tuesday took issue with a report by an environmental testing firm that showed lead levels in artificial turf at city sports fields was far below federal standards. Friedman has cited potential health hazards presented by high levels of lead in artificial turf in opposing changes to city codes that would allow property owners to install the faux grass in front yards. During the review of the proposal, some on the dais had asked city officials to test the artificial turf at the fields at the Glendale Sports Complex.

An environmental testing firm has determined that the amount of lead in the artificial turf at the Glendale Sports Complex is far below federal and state limits - a potential chink in the armor of those who have argued strongly at City Hall against allowing the material in residential front yards. The findings were submitted to the City Council this week in a report by Glendale-based Environmental Consulting Services after some on the dais had asked to test the turf amid assertions from the public that allowing the faux grass in front yards presented a public health hazard.

Holding a bag of fertilizer and a bottle of weed killer in the air, Councilman Ara Najarian used what he called two examples of poison to convince his colleagues to allow artificial turf in residential front yards. “Real grass is as unnatural as the opponents' claim the artificial turf is,” Najarian said Tuesday. “There's no natural grass like that growing indigenously.” But none of the props or impassioned pleas were enough as the City Council declined to pursue legalization.

CITY HALL — Parents from Glendale Adventist Academy on Wednesday rallied for the installation of artificial turf on the school's playground, pointing out instances when several children fell on the asphalt and suffered cuts, bruises and broken bones. The school submitted an application with the city's Community Planning Department to install artificial turf on its 14,800-square-foot playground in the 700 block of Kimlin Drive, replacing the current asphalt material. The kindergarten through 12th grade school is located in a residential zone where artificial turf isn't allowed in publicly viewable areas — a rule that has been the source of debate and contention for months.

I was thinking about the nature of arguments these days. More often than not, they seem to be one-sided exchanges. This is especially true with e-mail, where it's easy to defend one side of an argument. Simply fire off your electronic opinion, and if you don't want to read the opposing viewpoint, the debate is over and you win, shallow though that victory may be. Maybe that's why I like the Mailbag section of this paper. It's a more interactive open forum where you readers can agree or disagree with the goings-on in the community or the opinions of us columnists.

Regarding the May 13 article “Turf comes up again,” I hope that the City Council is aware that there is something inherently wrong, especially given recent horrific events in the Gulf of Mexico, about resorting to artificial turf manufactured using petroleum products in order to save water and to avoid brown front lawns. In addition to moves by governments worldwide toward solutions by which we can wean ourselves off oil and its related products, there is the issue of climate change and ocean-surface warming associated with weather extremes and species die-off.