Quote:
Originally Posted by JRcorvette
The Golf courses are the biggest users of water by far. Why will the Villages not allow more water friendly landscaping? We should be allowed to have a much larger % of stone landscaping in our yards subject to approval of course!
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The story goes that the developments in Florida need to get some sort of approval from the area Water Management District (SWFWMD for most of the Villages). That approval came with a requirement for a certain percentage of permeable area. Stone is allowed in some Villa types and not others in order to maintain that percentage.
Yes, stone is permeable in that the water can move around and past the stone. However, much/most/all stone landscaping is placed over a weed barrier. Accurate or not, the claim is the SWFWMD considers the stone + barrier combination to be impermeable. Replacing sod with stone + barrier changes the agreed upon percentages putting the Villages out of compliance with their agreement with the SWFWMD.
Again, that is the story as I have heard it but I have not seen any documentation supporting the story.