CCFJ.NET:  Settled lawsuit over grass leaves few answers

Article Courtesy of The Orlando Sentinel

By Kevin Spears

Published September 5, 2016

A legal battle between an Orange County homeowner wanting to eliminate irrigation and fertilizing in her yard and a neighborhood association favoring lush lawns has ended in a secret settlement, disappointing those hoping for an environmentally favorable precedent.

Renee Parker was sued by a homeowner association in 2012 for planting drought-tolerant landscaping in a neighborhood dominated by pampered lawns. Although the case was widely watched for an interpretation of state law, Parker said the court fight left her ill from stress and not able to continue.She was not available to speak in person and in emails shared photos of her yard, now covered with a new, conventional lawn. “The house is for sale,” Parker said of her home in the Summerport community near Windermere and west of Orlando. At issue was a 2009 state law crafted to protect Floridan Aquifer, river and lake waters from overuse and pollution by promoting use of turf and plants that don’t need irrigation and chemicals.  Read more: