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Gehrke: Salt Lake City should revisit its ban on artificial grass and give some leniency to property owners

Turf wars are nothing new in city government, but what about an artificial turf war? That’s exactly the fight Matt and Jessica Boardman have waged.

Back in 2016, the Boardmans bought a home not far from the 9th and 9th neighborhood in Salt Lake City, a brick bungalow with a xeriscaped yard and a tall tree that dropped big seed pods.

It was a headache to maintain — they couldn’t rake the rocks, a blower didn’t work and in the spring they were getting weeds coming up through the rocks.

They considered putting in grass, but worried it wouldn’t get enough light because of the big tree.