Montebello Condominium Unit Owners Association

Advisory committee on Landscape Design and Management

Questions for Communities

1. Please describe your community from a landscape perspective, e.g., high-rise/garden, # of residents, acreage, amenities—playground/pet, mix of turf and non-turf areas, etc.

 

2.  What is your community-sanctioned or board adopted goal regarding use of pesticides and herbicides in lawn care?  (There may be more than one; these may fall into "primary" and "secondary".)

 

3.  What approach were you taking prior to the current one?  What was the reason for changing direction?  When did you start in the "new" direction?  How long do you estimate it will take to reach your goal(s)?  Where are you now in the process? Does you new policy involve a) substitution of natural chemicals for synthetic ones (which ones), b) reduced turf area (more planting beds, ground cover, or natural areas), c) different turf management practices (increase mowing height)?

 

4.   What process did you use to change your program from what you did before to what you're doing now?  (e.g., community involvement, RFP, presentations to community reps, etc.) Was there an active group in the community advocating reduction of chemical use?

 

5.  How did you navigate the trade-off between the aesthetics of a “perfect lawn” and reduced chemical use?  Why did you make the choice you did, e.g., resident health, better for the environment, etc.?

 

6.  Who (professionals, advisers, consultants, etc.) did you use to define or shape  the goal(s)?   How did you identify your "experts"?  What criteria did you apply to your candidates?  Did you have a list of questions you asked of all the candidates?  Would you be willing to share that? Were there any recommendations you received that were unanticipated? Were there any recommendations that you did not adopt?

 

7.  What did you do to help residents understand the pros/cons of various approaches?

 

8.  What benchmarks did you establish as you began the process? 

 

9.  How are you measuring results?  How are you recording results?  Who does that?

 

10.  What issues (both anticipated and unexpected) have arisen that you think we should be prepared for?  How did you resolve them?

 

11. Have you achieved any savings in landscape costs as a result of the change in practice? How much?

 

12.  If you had to do it all over again, what, if anything would you do differently and why?

How did you navigate the trade-off between the aesthetics of a “perfect lawn” and reduced chemical use? 

LAWN CARE