Manitou Springs, CO Water Use Rules: Turf Replacement Rebates (2026)

Section 18.03.7.5 sets a Sustainable Site Improvement point system: every new residential and nonresidential development plan must reach a minimum of five points chosen from Table 18.03.7.5-1's menu of incentives before the Planning Director will approve a Minor or Major Development Plan under Sections 18.06.4.12 and 18.06.4.13. The table's Natural Resource Protection category lists 'Use drought tolerant grass in place of high water turfgrass' as a two-point item, sitting alongside options such as native or xeric planting for at least fifty percent of the required landscape area (also two points) and stormwater bioswale routing (five points per twenty percent of impervious area treated).

A developer can stack multiple menu items to reach the five-point floor, so turf replacement is one tool among several rather than a mandatory citywide rule, but it directly supports the General Landscape Standards in Section 18.03.6.3, which already tell every applicant to use appropriate turf varieties to minimize high-water bluegrass and cap high-water-use plant material, including irrigated turfgrass, at no more than thirty percent of landscaped area in commercial, mixed-use, multi-household and industrial development under Sections 18.03.6.7 and 18.03.6.8. Earning five points beyond the required minimum also unlocks a benefit: Section 18.03.7.5.B lets the applicant cut the outdoor amenity space required by Section 18.03.2.7 in half, except for trails and trail connections, which cannot be reduced.

Once installed, any sustainable site improvement used to meet the points requirement must be maintained in perpetuity or replaced with a menu item of equal or greater point value under Section 18.03.7.5.C, and every incentive actually used has to be noted on the recorded development plan.