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8 | Four Seasons Hemet Herald | MARCH 2026 | Change is Coming! Have you heard that the state wants to protect potable water (drinking water)? As a result, Assembly Bill (AB) 1572 mandates that "non- functionable turf " (grass), irrigated with potable water in homeowner associations common areas, along with spray irrigation, be replaced with plants and drip irrigation to reduce the use of potable water. The Landscape Committee hosted an Open House on Jan. 29 to explain these changes. The Open House was attended by nearly 100 residents who heard presentations from our Landscape Committee Co-Chair, our HOA General Manager, Eastern Municipal Water District, and our Landscape maintenance contractor Harvest. The discussions addressed the changes to be made in our landscaping, predominately located in our East Legends neighborhood, including three landscape themes for review. Residents were requested to choose preferences for the proposed landscape themes and offer any other suggestions. We are fortunate that the remainder of our Common Area landscaping is irrigated with recycled water that is not subject to the changes mandated by AB 1572. Our Landscape Committee and HOA Board of Directors have reviewed options for the mandated changes. A major consideration is how to finance the required changes. Fortunately, the state and EMWD have rebates available to off-set the cost of the required changes. The Landscape Committee, HOA General Manager, and Harvest have initiated the inspections and documents to apply for available rebates. Other options were also investigated, including extending recycled water to the East Legends, use of artificial turf, or non-compliance. However, no rebates are available for extending recycled water or use of artificial turf. Non-compliance will result in substantial fines. Each of these options would result in substantial additional costs to all residents, and possibly requirement of a Special Assessment. Therefore, these options have been ruled out. As these landscape changes are reviewed by our Landscape Committee and approved by our Board of Directors, the goal is the same: to provide the most attractive landscaping possible at the best price which includes taking advantage of available rebates to reduce the financial impact. On a final note, our Landscape Committee has two openings for volunteers. While we have been blessed with East Legend residents as former Committee members, we currently do not have an East Legends resident as one of our members. We welcome applications from any Four Seasons resident, but encourage an East Legends resident to join our Committee. See Something at Needs Fixing? The more eyes we have on the lookout in the community, the better. If you see broken irrigation, f looded areas, or dead/dying plants, please take a photo and email it to Maria Donti: maria. donti@fsresidential.com. Landscape Committee

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