A homeowner in Superior, Colorado, thought he was making a sensible choice when he allowed parts of his front lawn to turn brown during a historic drought. James Shima and his wife had already tried reseeding their grass in the spring, but the hot, dry weather made their gardening efforts increasingly difficult. With officials urging residents to conserve water, letting the struggling lawn rest seemed far more reasonable than pouring precious water into it. Then a letter arrived that turned an ordinary lawn-care problem into a much bigger dispute.
The notice came from the Rock Creek Master Homeowners Association and classified the issue as a landscaping maintenance violation. Its complaint was simple: brown grass and bare patches needed attention. Suddenly, a homeowner trying to conserve water had to explain why his lawn did not look as green as the neighborhood apparently expected. What followed raised an awkward question about whether a perfect-looking garden should matter more than responsible water use.
The Letter That Turned Brown Grass Into a Rulebook Battle
The notice Shima received was dated June 11, 2026, and gave him 30 days to address the problem. He was asked to submit a photograph showing that the issue had been corrected or provide a plan explaining how and when he intended to fix it. The letter also warned that failing to contact the association within the deadline could lead to escalation of the violation process. For a homeowner already struggling with the weather, that was an unwelcome addition to the summer gardening schedule.
The frustrating part was that the grass had not simply been abandoned out of laziness. Shima explained that he and his wife had made an effort to reseed the lawn, only to watch the hot, dry conditions undermine their work. Their experience highlighted a familiar gardening reality: sometimes even careful maintenance cannot overcome a lack of water. Yet the HOA’s letter appeared to treat the brown patches as something the homeowners needed to correct regardless of the circumstances.
A Historic Drought Made the Timing Even Worse
The timing of the notice made the situation especially difficult to ignore. Colorado was experiencing severe drought conditions, and Governor Jared Polis had issued a statewide drought emergency proclamation earlier that month. According to the Colorado Water Conservation Board, all 64 counties were experiencing drought, with many areas facing extremely low runoff and water supply forecasts. In other words, this was not an ordinary summer when a little extra watering might bring a struggling lawn back to life…