Aurora resident Helene Wright has been getting nothing but compliments on her new lawn since officials with Aurora Water swooped in and cleaned it up for her in June.
“They took out all of the weeds, the roots of the trees, they put in rocks and mulch and quite a bit of different plants,” Wright, 77, said. “I’ve had a lot of people come up to me and say, ‘Helene, this is so beautiful.’ “
Wright, who lives in the 3100 block of Blackhawk Street, was a recent recipient of Aurora’s Greatscapes program, a new Xeriscape renovation and maintenance assistance program for low-income homeowners who may be having trouble keeping their yards in line with the city’s code.
“A lot of people who are not maintaining their landscapes are elderly or disabled, and this is a great way to help them have a yard that they’re proud of without a lot of maintenance,” said Gabrielle Johnston, spokesperson for Aurora Water. The new yards “also use very little water on top of everything else.”
Typically, the program starts when city code enforcement officers identify properties with dead lawns, dead trees and overgrown shrubs, and then check and see whether the inhabitants meet the income and home ownership requirements for Greatscapes. But Wright was proactive.
“I needed some help — my front yard looked like heck,” Wright said. “My husband had been ill and I was taking care of him and working and trying to do all of it myself. I could not take care of the lawn, and it ended up turning to weeds. So, I called the city.”
After she was accepted into Greatscapes, Aurora Water conservation specialists came to her home and designed and built a Xeriscape yard that used little to no water and virtually takes care of itself. The specialists also show each participant how to maintain the lawn.
The city allocates up to $5,000 per yard, which cannot be larger than 1,600 square feet. Wright had to sign a promissory note that says she will adequately maintain the property for five years in order to ensure that her yard remains a pro bono job.
Johnston said that in the two years since the program began, eight residents have received new lawns, and none of them have had any trouble maintaining them. The program is currently budgeted for six yards next year, and Johnston is looking for applicants for next spring.
Ron Moore, Aurora division manager for neighborhood support, said code enforcement officers routinely check on noncompliant lawns to try and get residents into Greatscapes, but most properties end up being rentals. Available slots in the program can go unfilled.
Under the income guidelines, a family of four cannot make more than $61,350 a year.
“This is a great program that helps the yards look good again,” Moore said.
Johnston said Greatscapes was the result of collaboration among several departments.
“It’s had kind of a contagious effect,” she said. “When we install a landscape, we’ve found that it motivates other people to get their yards going.”
Megan Mitchell: 303-954-2650, mmitchell@denverpost.com or
To apply for greatscapes:
Call: 303-739-7662
