Meeting Date01/03/2023
Public Comment TopicPublic Participation of non-agendaed items and consent agenda
Choose Which Item Your Comment Corresponds WithItem A
NameThomas Lemere
Comments to be read into record

First Id like to say I appreciate Lake Worth Beach commission and the work they are doing to make Lake Worth a great place to live each day. However I must object to the measures to prohibit the use of artificial turf. The code does not say anywhere that artificial turf is not allowed. The code also says that if I abandon my house then artificial turf can stay. I'll also repeat what others have spoken about with the dire water constraints. Saving water because artificial turf does not need to be watered is a huge bonus. Also the fact that chemicals not need to be sprayed all over the place by landscapers to get rid of bugs or other concerns outdoors is a huge win as well. For me, my turf is my pool decking. When I had my pool inspected the turf was fine. I'm not suggesting that the whole town be covered in artificial turf. However if local residents want to use it in their backyards to save on their own water bill and just water in general It's a huge plus for the resident and the town for the reasons I gave above. Artificial turf certainly meets sustainability requirements on many levels. It's a huge upgrade over the minimum requirements that are listed in the code such as mulch which is not live ground cover as well but is allowed. Residents having to rip up their entire backyard and then get a survey, and then get new pool decking, And then landscape cover that will be a guessing game because there's no approved list of ground cover in the code and a code that doesn't say anything about artificial turf not being allowed seems absurd to me. Who has money like that to rip up their entire backyard because of a code with ambiguous and subjective language. I certainly don't. People buy these houses to live in Paradise and live how they want to live. Artificial turf is a perfect ground cover for outdoor living. I agree with some of the other comments where I would urge the commission to allow for artificial turf In certain areas of a resident to include the backyard. Again I'm not suggesting everybody's yards be covered fully in artificial turf front and back and sides because that also is absurd.

There has to be a common ground here and I'm not even sure why artificial turf is not allowed to begin with and the only answer I've ever heard is because "It's in the code" which it isn't.

I don't think residents ask for much. We pay our utility bills which are getting higher and higher. We pay the property taxes. And I for one along with others that I know of contribute a great deal to this community. All we want to do is keep our turf.

I appreciate you hearing my comments and Happy New Year.

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