The Emerald Heights homeowner’s association in Escondido recently completed a successful clubhouse upgrade including a landscaping makeover replacing existing turf with a beautiful drought-tolerant design.
The gated community is located within the Vallecitos Water District. It covers 6.2 acres including a private athletic club with tennis and basketball courts, plus a community pool and spa. The landscape of turf and trees surrounding the clubhouse area was not healthy. But it would be challenging to find plant materials well suited to growing in the microclimate under the shade trees.
Emerald Heights HOA representatives met with O’Connell Landscape and Maintenance. Jack Rush, O’Connell’s executive vice president of operations, encouraged the HOA to take advantage of the SoCal WaterSmart turf replacement program.
“It incentivized them by offering rebates to help offset the construction costs [for the clubhouse],” said Rush
