[bengoodger]

To some extent. But we have a diversity of architecture in California, we're not all adobe mission huts and mid century modern homes. Old Palo Alto for example has a preponderance of 1920s/30s Tudor Revival homes, which really deserve an English garden.

IMO the issue here is really the ridiculously low cost of water. If someone wants to have an extravagantly lush lawn let them. But it's only fair that they pay through the nose for it. This makes it clear to consumers what their choice costs. Hitting people in the wallet is a far more effective way at changing behavior than lecturing people about civic mindedness which happens too often in California.