Water Water Everywhere..

Our house came with sprinklers, lots of sprinklers - every 6 feet or so. If we had a lawn, that would be great. But we don't. In California's climate, a lawn is a waste of water. Instead, we have lots of woodchips, a bunch of plants that came with the house, and oodles of potted plants.

Rather than waste water by watering the plants that came with the house and the barren spots, we thought it would be environmentally conscientious to replace some of the popup sprinklers (the ones that water the barren patches) with manifolds and some drip lines that target the areas where there are actually things growing.

Seemed a no-brainer to me. The Homeowner Association thought otherwise. They had this to say:

Any changes or additions must have no financial impact on the HOA now and in the future. This includes:

1. If the home is sold, the pop-up sprinklers must be replaced and in working order prior to sale, or the new owner must agree to accept financial responsibility for replacement of the sprinklers. (In lieu of this requirement, you might consider leaving the existing sprinklers and adding the drip system to cover your current requirements.)
2. You accept responsibility for maintenance of the drip system.
3. You agree to be billed, as part of your normal HOA assessment, for any additional landscape costs, if any, as a result of the drip system.
4. You agree that the potted plants will be consistent with the look and feel of the community.
5. You agree to be guided by the Board as to the number of pots on your property.

Let me think about that for a minute.

Ok, item 1, I can just add my own additional drip system rather than taking advantage of all of the work that's already been done.

That seems a little extreme. Assuming I do it "on the cheap," I'd just hang something off of my garden faucet. But weren't you the same people who sent me a letter (real mail, 72 point font) saying I couldn't leave my garden hose in my front yard? I can't imagine you would appreciate an ugly box hanging off my front faucet to run my additional drip lines.

Item 3 - seems reasonable. But since I'll be saving you water, will I be reimbursed for what I save? No, I thought not.

Item 4 - my potted plants will be consistent with the rest of the community. Let's see; there's the neighbor with the dead lavender - that's certainly something to strive for. Hers is lying down on its side - do I need to do that? I suppose I can, but it looks, uhm, lame. Board-approved, but lame nonetheless.

And, of course, item 5 - I agree to be guided by the board. Yeah, I'm sure I'll do that. Sight unseen following the board's guidelines. Are you guys growing (and processing) poppies? Did I strike you as the type to blindly follow leadership? Did you know that many years ago a colleague told my boss I "needed therapy" because I refused to blindly follow him (the colleague, not the boss - the boss I would have blindly followed)? Yeah, I'll give that a miss.

Ok, I'm done thinking. No, thanks. I'll continue wasting water like the rest of the community. But thanks for giving it some thought.. Really, I appreciate your open-mindedness and concern for the environment.