Florida Friendly Landscaping Need Advice

I am on the BOD of a HOA with 32 homes. Our CC&Rs prohibit Bahia grass. The BOD would like to delete the "no Bahia grass" provision from the CC&Rs in order to comply with the Florida Friendly Landscaping laws. Is it necessary to go through the process of amending our CC&Rs or are there other ways of accomplishing this change. Any advice is appreciated.

Petunka,

There is no Florida law saying what are F.F. grasses. The U. of Florida leads the way in developing grass specifically for that climate down there. Posted are the 3 reccomended by them.

Marth, like Petunka has said, you will need to pass an amendment to change the grass covenant. P.S. Bahai is one of the reccomended grasses. It is not as "pretty" as some of the others but when water is in shortage, then pretty may not be your priority.

"Drought-tolerant Grasses" from U. of Florida
The three most-used grasses for home lawns in Florida are St. Augustinegrass, bahiagrass, and centipedegrass. St. Augustinegrass, the most popular lawn grass in Florida, does not perform well during extended dry periods. Bahiagrass and centipedegrass, however, both have good drought tolerance, but centipedegrass is adapted to North Florida only. These low-maintenance lawn grasses require less water and fertilizer than other species, and thus less mowing and pest control. A low-maintenance lawn will generally look better during extended dry spells because it relies on less water and fertilizer in general, both of which are reduced during drought.