Marion gives green light to fake green grass on nature strips

Marion residents will now be able to install artificial lawn on nature strips after Mayor Kris Hanna cast a deciding vote in favour of amending the streetscape policy

Marion residents will now be able to install artificial lawn on nature strips.

A motion to allow them to fit the artificial turf outside their properties — provided it meets a quality standard — has been narrowly supported by the council.

Mayor Kris Hanna broke a tied vote by voting in favour of a motion by Cr Luke Hutchinson to amend the council’s streetscape policy.

The verge development guidelines endorsed by the council last year excluded artificial turf because of concerns over its installation and maintenance — and the environment.

But Cr Hutchinson argued that while artificial lawn was “not perfect” it was better than the appearance of dolomite verges.

He said it would clear the way for a low-maintenance option to make streetscapes greener.

“We are talking about small numbers of residents looking at this,” Cr Hutchinson said.

“There are no mass rollouts.

“It’s currently unregulated in our city — it’s going in daily and we don’t know about it.”

He argued that Marion needed a “framework in place” to enforce installation standards.

Mayor Kris Hanna said it was a “vexed issue” but ultimately decided to allow it.

”It’s not the best product environmentally but I think (given) the size of the problem, I’m going to cast my vote in the affirmative,” he said.

Flinders University’s sustainability manager, Mathew Jeffrey, said the performance of artificial turf was “second-rate compared to native plants, and heat and drought-tolerant vegetation”.

“The use of fake grass, while marketed as a simple, easy and maintenance-free version of real turf, only acts to provide a hint of colour in an otherwise black and grey environment,” he said.

“It offers little or no benefit managing heat — in fact, it can get very hot and can make it harder for water to penetrate into the ground, potentially leading to additional stormwater run-off.”