Calif. HOA: Drought or not, lawns must be green

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California may be in a drought emergency and facing its lowest amount of rainfall in 119 years, but that doesn’t mean a brown lawn is permissible in one California community. A homeowners association in the San Francisco Bay area is issuing citations to residents who stopped watering their lawns in order to conserve water, as Gov. Jerry Brown has urged.

John Glisar, a resident at San Lorenzo Village since 1985, received his first warning from the association about two months ago, asking him to maintain his yard or face a fine, according to a local television report. This month Glisar got another warning, reading: “yard maintenance: lawn brown and dying.”

Glisar tried to appeal the violation directly to the association board, and was issued a written warning saying: “30 days to get green from 1/21/14.”

The homeowner told the TV station he has no choice, and will begin watering his lawn as much as he can in order to comply, since he cannot afford the $100 to $1,000 fine the association is threatening.

Another resident, Vanessa Guzman, has also received citations from the association for the condition of her yard.

“I think it’s really ridiculous,” she said. “We’re in a drought right now, time to cut back on water.”