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Oviedo May Offer Incentives For Residents To Replace Landscaping

Posted: 4:55 pm EST November 26, 2007Updated: 2:53 pm EST November 27, 2007

The city of Oviedo may soon take drastic measures to conserve water. Channel 9 got a glimpse of the new plans, Monday, which could make new neighborhoods in the city look more like Arizona than Florida.

Homeowners may find themselves ripping up their yards and planting greenery that doesn't need watering. It's all part of a plan to ensure Oviedo has water by the year 2013.

Three weeks into her new home with beautiful landscaping just the way she wanted it, Oviedo resident Sandy Peck may be asked to rip up her yard to conserve water. It's part of a proposed ordinance on the table that would mandate developers to create drought tolerant yards, irrigation and appliances.

"If we do nothing we'll be out of water by 2013, no doubt," said Stephen Schenck. Councilor Schenck said the city is also re-piping to recycle water.

"It goes out gets cleaned up and comes back, eventually," Schenck added.

He said the city has a consumption use permit that tells them how much water they can pull from the ground and the city is already capped. That's how serious the problem is and that's why they need residents on board.

"Florida friendly plants and grasses use much less water," Schenck stated.

Oviedo residents will be offered financial incentives to do what the city did at Friendship Park that, it claims, has saved 60-percent on water usage since being renovated seven months ago.

And it's not just landscaping. The city will also offer residents incentives to install low flow toilets like that can save half the water and low flow shower heads. But Sandy Peck is still not sure the incentive is enough to re-landscape her entire yard.

"It would not replace the entire yard money out of pocket," Peck said.

The proposed ordinance will be voted on in January. In the meantime, city leaders are meeting with developers and homeowner associations Tuesday night at 6:30 at Stenstrom Elementary School to fill them in on the proposed ordinance, get feedback and residents can pick up a book that list fl friendly plants.

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