SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – After years of saying no to artificial grass, a north Scottsdale community decided that one local company has a product that is enough like the real thing to be allowed to grace its front yards.

Scottsdale Ranch, an upscale community of 4,000 homes, amended its covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&Rs) to allow residents to install NewGrass™ synthetic grass products from Scottsdale-based NewGrass, Inc.

For years, Scottsdale Ranch, like many other communities, argued that artificial grasses look too fake and would hurt property values.

“Scottsdale Ranch has homes that are beautifully landscaped, and the community wouldn’t have changed its CC&Rs to allow NewGrass if our products weren’t as natural-looking as the real thing,” said Trevor Brooks, NewGrass Executive VP, Marketing.

The approval of NewGrass at Scottsdale Ranch comes as affluent communities nationwide continue to debate whether to allow artificial grasses in their front yards.

Over the years, longtime resident Gene Galinski has seen artificial grasses that looked too much like plastic … and didn’t get the community’s approval.

“NewGrass is the first product we’ve seen that provides the appearance of a well-manicured lawn,” Galinski said.

The ongoing debate goes beyond landscape aesthetics, however. Particularly in the arid Southwest, the argument also touches on water conservation and the simple freedom from maintenance and care that a synthetic lawn offers.

More than 50% of the average homeowner’s water bill goes towards maintaining their lawn, according to the American Water Works Association.