Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Roundup use in common areas

[Joan Huntley (joan.huntley]

I live in Casa Verde Cohousing, the site of Cei's original question. We are
in Colorado Springs, Colorado. This area has had a drought - summer
was brutal -  and future  predictions are equally grim. This area is part
of the country impacted by shrinking reservoirs leading to water shortages.
And, of course, the impact of the water bill for the community is a
concern. So watering our current grass is not reasonable.

Residents of Casa Verde primarily agree with the move to native grasses
that use far less water. What is debatable is the best way to do that. Are
there options other communities have used that do not require Roundup?

Our community is discussing this. Our landscape team will make a final
recommendation to our Board who would approve the transition, based on the
projected costs.

Joan Huntley

On Fri, Oct 2, 2026 at 12:37 PM Elizabeth Magill via Cohousing-L <
cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org> wrote:

> We have a no chemical planticide/pesticide policy but over rode that
> to approve use of round up on a particular invasive (I'm not
> remembering which one). In our case it could be/should be administered
> just on the cut stem and is the recommended path suggested by the
> local environmental authority.
>
> It helped us to make the case when the outsider expert who clearly
> recognized the risks is who made the presentation.
>
> -Elizabeth
> (The Rev. Dr.) Elizabeth Mae Magill
> Join my email newsletter about how we can Act! Be Church Now in the
> resistance. https://actbechurchnow.kit.com/posts
> www.elizabethmaemagill.com
> 508-450-0431 <(508)%20450-0431>
>
> On Fri, Oct 2, 2026 at 10:45 AM Ceil Malek via Cohousing-L
> <cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org> wrote:
> >
> > Our community, Casa Verde Commons in Colorado Springs, is proposing to
> use
> > Roundup extensively to kill old grass in preparation for planting native
> > grass.  The intention is to cut down on water bills and prepare for
> coming
> > climate change, which is admirable..
> >
> > Our landscape committee, which is proposing the project, advocates this
> use
> > of Roundup t because it's time limited, but the chemical will be
> > administered over a three-year period. Final decision will come from the
> > board, not the community.
> >
> > I'm wondering what other communities have done.  Are there viable
> > alternatives to using Roundup?  Do other communities have a model for
> > changing to native grass that doesn't challenge the health of community
> > members, especially the vulnerable ones. We have young children, older
> > people with various health challenges, dogs, and cats whose exposure to
> the
> > chemical Roundup may be especially problematic.
> >
> > Thanks for your help.
> > Ceil Malek
> > Casa Verde Commons
> > Colorado Springs, CO
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