Opinion: HOA homefront – Drought emergency is back; did your community notice?
California has experienced many drought periods, but in January 2014 the drought situation became sufficiently severe that then-Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of drought emergency. Soon thereafter, several laws were added to the Davis-Stirling Act, Civil Code Sections 4735 and 4736. Civil Code Section 4735 does not allow governing documents to directly or indirectly prohibit low water-using plants or artificial turf. During a time of declared drought emergency, under subpart “c” of that statute, the HOA cannot penalize homeowners for letting their yards “go brown.”
-Written by Kelly Richardson, contributing columnist.