Quote:
Originally Posted by diane reynolds
I am not commenting about the not getting a permit for the landscape, but I totally applaud any homeowner who removes all the grass and replaces it with native groundcover so that poison and water can be eliminated. If the developer had any sense, he would have required solar panels on all homes and landscaping friendly to our FL climate, especially when building new homes. The Villages, with its polluting gas golfcarts, immense use of water for lawns, and no alternative energy use like solar and windmills, is a travesty. The developer could have led the state in innovations in this area, but as usual money rules!
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1. I agree with native ground cover, minimal need for pesticides that are toxic to birds, mammals, and fish, or artificial chemical fertilizers. Or decorative rock beds. I also don't understand why so many landscapers insist on using the more toxic solutions when less - or even non-toxic solutions (such as diatomaceous earth) are available and affordable.
2. Gas golf carts pollute less than gas motor vehicles, and the equipment needed to supply charging stations for electric vehicles also are high polluters.
3. I agree 100% with solar, however there ARE homes in the Villages that have solar panels. It's absolutely allowed and any homeowner whose home can carry the weight of the panels can apply for them and get approved. The double-wides and single-wides in the Historic Section might have difficulty because their roofs aren't designed to accommodate things put on top of them. You could certainly enquire though.
4. In most of the Villages, the water used to water lawns comes from the retaining ponds and their own water filtration system for grey water re-use. That's part of what the retaining ponds are for. Rain run-off is pooled, and then the pooled water is churned back into the area to serve as external non-potable use. This is actually a pretty significant ecological breakthrough. Not many developments of this size use this kind of technology and eco-scaping. So in that, the developer has done a pretty awesome job.