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A new state law prohibits HOAs from outlawing xeriscaping and other conservation techniques, but they are allowed to set reasonable regulations on such methods. How do you feel about the bill? Is this a positive step for homeowners?

Irma Myers Donihoo, Plano: Yes, this is a positive step forward. I hope that new subdivisions will choose to xeriscape with native plants and grasses from now on and realize we will most likely never be out of drought conditions.

Jeff Buttimer, Plano: A positive development. Hard to believe that it’s a new law. It should have happened a long time ago. Why is our state legislature always so behind the times? Outlawing texting or phone conversations while driving is another obvious example where other states are way ahead of Texas in being more progressive about common sense issues. I’m curious to see how HOAs and cities are responding to requests for solar or wind energy.

Rick Schaap, Plano: Anything that reduces the power and authority of the HOAs is a good thing. The fact that people can also benefit from rainwater collection and drought-tolerant landscaping is just icing on the cake.

William Hill, Plano: It’s nice to see that someone in higher authority is finally coming down on HOAs. Some of them have tried to act like mini governments and force their rules on the homeowners. Some are OK, but others they think their ideas are the only way. They need to let the average homeowner use ways to save water, compost and make their homes look nice and not like a forest like some people want.

Sheila Swenholt, Plano: This is a wonderful step in the right direction. Texas can’t keep ignoring the lingering drought and the increasing population. The water supply needs to be saved for people and livestock, not lawns.

Sandy Elkins, Plano: Don’t like HOAs? Don’t move into an area that has one.

Olan Knight, Murphy: Though the overview sounds good, I’d need to actually read the text of the bill in order to make an informed decision regarding its merit. For example, while rain barrels are in theory a good idea, I certainly don’t want them visible from the street in my neighborhood, and I most surely do not want someone composting against my fence. The details matter and can make the difference between a good law and a bad one.

John Williamson, Plano: I think any law that limits the power of HOAs is a positive step in the right direction. It’s bad enough that the government has the right to tax your property as long as you live so that you never really own your own home. To have HOAs sticking their noses into every area of a homeowner’s life is simply a second tier of non-elected government taking away rights for which they have no legitimate justification. If I ever win a lottery and can afford a house, the first question for the real estate agent will be where are there no HOAs?

Arnell L. Engstrom, Plano: I must be less than with it because I did not know what “xeriscaping” meant. It is a portmanteau word derived from “xeros” (Greek for dry) and “landscaping.” Certainly, all reasonable means of conserving water should be encouraged, especially in this area where the amount of rainfall is sporadic from season-to-season and year-to-year. Let the elected officials of our state, cities and towns — rather than the arbitrary HOAs — make the pertinent decisions about what is and what is not allowed concerning watering practices.

Vicki McManus, Plano: Yes, I think it is a good law. From all I have read in the paper, many HOAs have too much power over the homeowners. Actually, there should be more to the law so an HOA cannot take someone’s home away to pay their dues. They also seem to nitpick about things. We live in a good neighborhood without an HOA and 95 percent of us take care of everything without any help.

Garry Beckham, Plano: Yes, this bill is a welcomed change. Allowing homeowners to do common “cents” landscaping and other water-reducing efforts is a must. Right now, we worry about only being able to water the yard with the irrigation system once a week. If Collin County doesn’t get control of the housing expansion that is ongoing and the North Texas Municipal Water District doesn’t find alternate water resources, we will all welcome the desert-like front yards that xeriscaping defines. To have a sip to wet our lips will be very difficult when the water faucet only drips.

Lisa A. Fox, Plano: I drive over Lake Lavon weekly and am dismayed and frightened by the sight of that body of water, and this region’s water supply drying up. The state continues to recruit businesses and residents to relocate here with, it appears, little regard for how we will support this increased population with our limited water supply. The climate and soil of Texas is not conducive to recreating the lush green lawns and gardens of the eastern and Midwestern states. It is time that we accept the fact that living with draught conditions is the new normal for this region and adapt our lifestyles accordingly. The use of xeriscaping, composting and water conservation should be promoted, not hindered, by homeowners associations.

Joel Roemen, Sachse: Legislation to limit the authority of HOAs is long overdue. For the past 15 years, far too many petty tyrants have used their authority to terrorize homeowners. My opinion is this bill does not limit HOAs authority enough, and yes, this bill is a positive step for homeowners.

Pat Patterson, Plano: HOAs can’t ban it? How about a law requiring low water usage for landscaping and lawns? As long as the Dallas-Fort Worth population keeps growing and we have droughts three out of every four years, we’re going to be looking at Phoenix-style cacti gardens in a decade or two without more drastic action.

Mark Horner, Sachse: Anything that clips the wings of HOAs is a positive step forward. I understand their purpose and somewhat agree with it, but when a conflict develops due to personality differences, they need to be reined in.

Ted Gold, Plano: HOAs can be a wonderful asset for a community or an overzealous monster. I think my HOA is a reasonable asset. A word of advice to potential homebuyers: Read the covenants, conditions and restrictions of the HOA before you buy, not after you move in. You may be glad or you may be sad.

Carla Parvis, Plano: I support this new law. Texas has a water shortage and HOAs should not be allowed to restrict homeowners from planting native Texas plants that can survive our hot summers and help save a precious resource. You can’t drink a lush green lawn.

Fred Frawley, Plano: It sounds as if the new state law is similar to the change in the federal telecommunications law in the mid 1990s that prohibited HOAs and local governments from banning the use of small satellite dishes for TV reception. However, the placement of such equipment was still subject to location restrictions. It seems like this is another reasonable measure, given increasing awareness of resource conservation.

Sally Peterson, Frisco: Have you looked at some of the yards in the trails? Some are shameful, so xeriscaping sounds like a reasonable request.

Supporters of the Ignite High Point Initiative have put their imaginations to work lately.
They have been working to implement the revitalization ideas of Miami-based urban architect Andres Duany and his team of planners, engineers and other professionals.
Representatives of The City Project on Thursday showed the City Council several architectural renderings for possible uses of “the pit” — a vacant parking lot on W. High Avenue across from the High Point Depot that has drawn interest as a possible public gathering space.
The drawings — by High Point architect Peter Freeman — depicted an all-purpose site that could accommodate public events, artists and craftsmen.
“The idea is to create an incubation space for young people so we can entice them to come to the area when they decide where they’re going to live after university, and have an exciting place with night life and an arts district,” said City Project board Chairman Richard Wood. “We’re trying to put the infrastructure in place to make it a safe space. Pottery, art work, craft beer — there are all sorts of things folks may want to show and sell.”
The site would need a lot of work to make it suitable for just about any use. Currently, there are no plans to do anything with it. It’s one of several ideas The City Project is working on in advance of the Duany team’s master plan, which will lay out recommendations for revitalizing Uptowne, the High Point University area and the furniture market district.
“The idea is to really do this at a high level and engage students from the design schools and universities to come in and do competitions,” Wood said of the proposals for the pit.
He said the organization also is planning to solicit proposals from firms that could study the concept of “dieting” a portion of N. Main Street to one lane of traffic in each direction between Montlieu and Farriss avenues.
“It’s going to be a long study. We don’t know how quickly that will happen. The funds are available to bury the power lines and extend the sidewalks a little bit,” he said.
The city has not committed to doing anything with the road dieting idea, but some leaders expressed support for the general concept.
“If you’re going to generate that traffic we’d like to see in Uptowne or even downtown, for that matter, I suggest we look at the road dieting before you try to bring in all these businesses and then say, ‘We’re going to tear up the road,’” said Mayor Bernita Sims. “My suggestion would be, let’s really look at that road-dieting piece and how that would happen.”
Wood said another priority is to develop a master plan for landscaping the area in front of the High Point Neal F. Austin Public Library into a public gathering place.
Wood said the High Point Regional Association of Realtors has contributed $15,000 to commission a study of the concept and that the city may be asked to allocate $4,000.

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Texas homeowners wanting to add some drought-resistant landscaping to their property will now face less resistance from their homeowners associations.

Senate Bill 198, which covers the “protection of drought-resistant landscaping and water-conserving natural turf,” is now in effect. It restricts an HOA from enforcing rules that “would prohibit or restrict a homeowner” from using native plants or other landscaping requiring less water.

However, HOAs may still require a homeowner to obtain pre-approval for aesthetic reasons.

In Plano, Judy Hawthorne and her husband do not live in an HOA neighborhood and have slowly begun incorporating drought-resistant plants into their rose garden.

“We started growing roses in 1989, but we have tried to cut back on that,” she said. “We’ll fill this bed with more drought tolerant plants.”

As some of their plants die off due to age or the drought, the Hawthornes are turning to plants that require more sun and less water. That includes fountain grass, a native plant they only water once per week.

The changes in their watering schedule have reduced their water bill by enough that they have noticed a difference in their usage between August 2012 and this year. Hawthorne calls it “a start.”

While the new law can require a homeowner to seek authorization, it also states the HOA’s approval may not be “unreasonably denied or withheld.”

The law also applies to water-saving devices such as rain-barrel harvesting systems.