Turf removal at Lazy Creek Park angers nearby residents

Large parts of the grass area in Lazy Creek Park have been left to die and are being removed by city workers. Menifee 24/7 photos: Doug Spoon

Just a few weeks ago, Lynn Dreher was praising city officials for the new playground equipment placed in Lazy Creek, across the street from where she lives in Menifee.

Today, those words of praise have been wiped out along with the huge chunks of grass that have been ripped up, to be replaced with "water wise landscaping" (planters) as part of a turf conversion agreement the City has with Eastern Municipal Water District.

According to Robert Lennox, the City's community services director, the grass areas being replaced are considered "non-functional" turf areas in parks throughout the city. But what constitutes "non-functional"?

That's what has Dreher and her neighbors surrounding the park so upset as crews continue to dig up patches of grass bordering the park -- some areas appearing to be as much as 30 feet wide.

"When this was first announced, it was explained that 'unusable' areas (hills) would be replaced with drought tolerant plants," Dreher said. "I thought they might pull up the turf around Lazy Creek Recreation center, but looking at the park now, it's clear they are pulling up nearly 50 percent of the grass where children play.

"I have seen the conversion done at Peterson Park and it does not compare to the large area of grass removed from Lazy Creek. Peterson Park did not have open grass areas removed. They are eliminating areas directly next to the playground where children play football and tag."

In an email to Menifee 24/7, Lennox included a copy of the letter the City received from EMWD, stating that the City qualified for funding/rebates for turf removal projects at seven city parks, covering 238,431 square feet at a cost of $476,862. This was made possible through a grant EMWD received from the California Department of Water Resources, the letter stated.

"Non-functional turf as defined by EMWD as landscape areas primarily used for aesthetic purposes, including, but not limited to, front yards, median strips, and parkways," Lennox wrote. "The areas being converted in the affected parks are not consistently used by park patrons for active recreation and are part of the parkways. Additionally, the proposed sidewalk adjacent planters at Lazy Creek provide a safety buffer for children who play in the park turf areas, to discourage any play near the right of way."

Dreher said she understands the need for water conservation, but she believes the project goes way too far and that children do play in the areas affected, many quite a distance from the sidewalk. She and her husband John voiced a complaint to the City's Parks, Recreation and Trails Commission last week.

"I explained that unfortunately we are upset with the destruction of our park, which began last week," Lynn Dreher said. "I told them that the huge area of grass is being removed adjacent to the playground and that huge sections are being removed all around the park, including the entire front entrance by the recreation center. They explained that they weren't allowed to comment, but said they would look at the pictures and thanked me.

"We see children every day playing football, tag, and sometimes soccer. There are also adults running their dogs in these areas who have expressed their concerns about the changes, They also removed grass behind the volleyball court and the back trees where people would picnic in the grass on the weekends. A buffer area for the kids is fine, but when you need a bulldozer to clear the grass area of so-called unusable grass, that seems to me to be maybe too much area."

Meanwhile, the work continues. According to the terms of the turf conversion agreement, the project must be completed by June 30.

"The project is important for the ongoing conservation efforts of the water district and of the city," Lennox said. "As such, the areas identified for conversion were selected for long term savings (water and costs), as well as the immediate practical application. While Southern California may be showing signs of coming out of the recent drought, we have to be prepared for additional water crisis that will impact the region in the future."