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8 | THE COLONY NEWS | JANUARY 2026 | Landscape Committee History. In case you were unaware, during the earlier years of The Colony, the Landscape Committee's role was more hands-on. They oversaw the contractors, the landscape contract, irrigation issues, examined the plants/trees as they were delivered for planting, and handled homeowner concerns. As the community matured and the irrigation system, plants, trees, and the volunteers grew older, the load of responsibility on the Landscape Committee had greatly increased. They requested the Board to hire a Landscape Superintendent and one was hired in 2014. With this, the Landscape Committee evolved to be the Landscape Advisory Committee. Water Usage. The Colony is served by two separate local water districts. Rancho California Water District covers the Clubhouse, central, and south-western part of The Colony. Elsinore Valley Water District covers the northern, eastern, and south-eastern areas, and each water district does business entirely differently. We have had speakers from both districts who described the shortage of water now and for the future. Both water companies purchase part of their water from the Metropolitan Water District, which has also offered rebates. The question of turf renovation of the common areas first arose in 2010 when Murrieta was hit by a very hot spring. As a result, the water districts installed a tiered rate/billing structure, with the highest cost being for turf areas. The water was turned off or significantly reduced for one to two months in certain areas. The plants and trees suffered as a result and some never did recover. We initiated projects to reduce water use. We researched and planted Buffalo grass in G19 as a trial area. We increased the diameter of the tree wells so the trees get more water. We instigated a blocked-sprinkler program, pruning the bottoms of shrubs so the sprinklers are able to reach the areas they were intended to reach. We updated our irrigation control system. We seriously researched the use of recycled water. In early 2010 the Main Gate entrance turf had been removed and replaced with drought-tolerant plantings, boulders, rock, and gravel by Valley Crest (our landscape contractor at the time). Master Plan. For some time the Landscape Committee had been working on a Master Plan to conserve water, but it was decided that the help of a landscape design architect was needed. At least four firms were interviewed, and VanDyke Landscape Architects was hired in 2013-14 to develop a Master Plan for all our common landscape areas. Their focus was to reduce about 70% of non- functional greenbelt turf to save water and costs, enhance the landscape aesthetics, and eventually reduce maintenance costs if possible. We suggested VanDyke not use a desert palette of rocks and cactus, but rather use a Mediterranean palette (more lush). In Sept. 2015, VanDyke presented a Landscape Master Plan covering the whole Colony, and they also held a Town Hall meeting for all residents. The illustrations presented at this meeting showed plants at full maturity (five years later), resulting in resident disappointment when the small plants were planted. However, now those plants are bushy and actually look like the illustrations. To some extent, we're still dealing with disappointment when new areas are renovated. We asked that areas should be kept fairly uniform in appearance throughout The Colony and convert the wasteful and costly overhead watering to drip irrigation. The VanDyke Plan also included probable costs for renovating each common area. Their estimate for completing the Plan (doing the whole Colony) was $3,319,539. This was a lot of money, and the Board was being very frugal. So, we decided to use VanDyke for the Main Gate, the Nutmeg Gate and east side of Avenida Florita. But to offset the high cost associated with continued involvement with VanDyke, we decided that with the help of our landscape contractors, landscape staff, and the Landscape Advisory Committee, we could design the rest of the work ourselves, since no further permits were required, saving half the cost. All this work was to be done with money already allocated by the Board each year from the Reserve account, not from the annual operating budget. The Reserve account includes money which has been set aside over the past 25+ years for future landscape repairs/ renovations. The Colony monthly water bills (which we are trying to reduce) are paid from the annual operating budget and directly affect our dues. Using VanDyke's plans, in 2015 we began with the Main Gate renovation since the Clubhouse remodel was under way and there was a desire to have an inviting main entry to the community. The City had to be involved since the project bordered a City street. The project was put out to bid. The cost for the re-constructed water features (waterfalls), irrigation, improved lighting, plants, and rock mulch was $98,000. The Nutmeg Gate/Avenida Florita project offered a Rancho California Water District rebate which we eventually got — the Board put that out to bid in two sections, Nutmeg Gate and the east side of Avenida Florita. Total estimated cost by VanDyke was $300,932, but the Committee challenged everything, and the actual cost turned out to be $203,936. And we got $94,098 rebate for that, so the net cost was $109,298. We applied for and got a $25,000 grant for turf removal in G21 (the area behind Colony Dr. and Corte Albara) from Metropolitan Water District. Net cost after plants were purchased was $5,917. Costs of water. We found that during times of drought, the water districts immediately cut water budgets to landscape areas and imposed penalties and surcharges. This means that though we control usage, we can't control the overall cost. We are tracking usage, which has gone down due to reduction of costly overhead spraying, and our bills for irrigation are lower than before. If we hadn't undertaken reduction of water use since 2015, the irrigation costs would now be astronomical. New housing developments don't even allow lawns or turf in common areas now. We can see the writing on the wall regarding LANDSCAPE ADVISORY By Jan Foster, LAC Chair, 951-698-0170 continued on next page

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