TUCSON, Ariz., January 11, 2023–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Orion Services Group (“Orion”), a commercial facility services platform backed by Alpine Investors, announced today that it has partnered with Landtamers Landscaping, a leading commercial landscaping services company based in Tucson, AZ. Landtamers is Orion’s fourth partner in the commercial landscaping industry. Orion’s national platform partners with exceptional founder-owned facility service businesses and provides resources to help fuel their next chapters of growth.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230111005358/en/

Founded in 1990 by Chris Potter, Landtamers provides full-service landscape maintenance and construction for hotels, resorts, HOAs, medical facilities, commercial centers, and class-A multi-family properties. Mr. Potter will continue to serve as President of the company.

“Landtamers is the undisputed quality and customer service leader in the rapidly growing Tucson market, and we are excited to support their continued growth. Chris and his team are experts in using native plants and materials to create beautiful, eco-friendly desert landscapes. When I saw their work, I knew this was a company we wanted to partner with,” said Nate Carlson, CEO of Orion Landscaping.

“The partnership with Orion was the right decision for our growing company. Orion provides the resources and expertise needed to support our business as we open new branches and expand beyond Tucson,” said Chris Potter, founder of Landtamers. “We’re excited to join an organization that loves this industry as much as we do and look forward to sharing our expertise in desert landscapes with our other partners in the Southwest.”

About Orion

Orion Group is a commercial facility services company that partners with leading family-owned service providers. Orion invests in leading local businesses with great cultures, attracting the best technical and managerial talent, and creating unmatched growth opportunities for them. For more information, please visit orionservicesgroup.com.

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About Landtamers Landscaping

Landtamers Landscaping is a leading provider of landscape maintenance, construction, irrigation management, arbor care, and pressure washing services. The company has proudly served commercial properties across Tucson for over 30 years, with a focus on sustainable and eco-friendly desert landscapes.

About Alpine Investors

Alpine Investors is a people-driven private equity firm that is committed to building enduring companies by working with, learning from, and developing exceptional people. Alpine specializes in investments in companies in the software and services industries. Its PeopleFirst strategy includes a talent program which allows Alpine to bring leadership to situations where additional or new management is needed post-transaction. Alpine has over $8b in assets under management and has three offices in San Francisco, New York, and Salt Lake City. For more information, visit www.alpineinvestors.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230111005358/en/

Contacts

For business or media inquiries, please contact Madison MacRitchie at madison@orionservicesgroup.com.

Howard Fischer Capitol Media Services

PHOENIX — If you like the look of a green lawn but hate the water use and cost, state lawmakers want you to have options.

Without dissent, the Senate gave preliminary approval Monday to a measure that would ban homeowner associations from telling residents they can’t take out their natural lawns and replace them with artificial turf. The House already approved similar wording.

Monday’s action came after some homeowners complained they faced fine for choosing what they consider a better ecological option than grass.

But Dennis Legere, founder of the Arizona Homeowners Coalition, told lawmakers this measure wouldn’t provide carte blanche for residents to put in anything they want, no matter how it looks.

He pointed out that House Bill 2131 would allow HOAs to adopt “reasonable rules regarding the installation and appearance of artificial turf.” The associations could also regulate how much of a property can be covered with artificial grass.

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But the legislation, sponsored by Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, makes it clear the rules cannot be so strict as to bar all types of artificial grass. Also, the limit on the percentage that can have artificial turf cannot be smaller than the amount of property covered by natural grass.

Lobbyist Kathy Senseman, who represents a homeowner in the middle of a fight with her association in Paradise Valley, argued there’s no reason for a prohibition.

“We’d like natural grass and artificial grass to be treated the same,” she said, calling it more than just a personal preference.

“Homeowners that have done this have saved between 60% and 70% of their water usage since doing it,” Senseman said. “We believe in property rights. We believe in that water conservation.”

The idea is not particularly radical, she added.

“Most new homes are putting in artificial grass to begin with. We just don’t think that HOAs that allow natural grass should be able to also say, ‘You can have natural grass; you just can’t have artificial.’”

Sen. Sally Ann Gonzales, D-Tucson, said that makes sense to her.

“We live in a desert, and we need to conserve water,” she said. “We can’t have organizations prohibiting artificial turf or grass.”

Aside from the permission for HOAs to set reasonable aesthetic standards, the measure has one other key exception.

It spells out that associations can prohibit installing artificial turf if they have “unique vegetation and geologic characteristics that require preservation by the association.”

Senseman said there are reasons for that wording.

“In Tucson, for example, they will have a lot of natural landscaping,” which is part of the overall appearance of the community, she said. The preference there would be to not add artificial grass.

Rep. Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek, said there are communities built around what is already there that do not want the character changed. Consider, he said, The Boulders community that straddles Scottsdale and Carefree. It is named after huge granite boulders on the property.

Adding artificial turf, he said, would not be appropriate.

Then there’s Hoffman’s own residence, in a development built in the middle of about 2,000 pecan trees. The rules there, he said, require 90% of the land to be unpaved. More to the point, Hoffman said, the natural turf keeps the area cooler, which he said is better for the pecans.

This isn’t the first time state lawmakers have moved to adopt restrictions on HOA rules.

For example, legislators have overridden regulations that bar residents post signs about candidates and political issues. Certain rules barring off-street parking also have fallen to legislative action.

And just this year, the House adopted a proposal to allow HOA residents to fly flags honoring “first responders.” That measure, HB 2010, awaits Senate action.

Originally, the law allowed the display of only state and federal flags. That was expanded to include the flags of any branch of the service; the POW/MIA flag; and the Gadsden “Don’t Tread on Me” flag.

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The Scottsdale-based supplier is providing businesses with the highest quality synthetic turf products and installation for long-lasting results

PressRelease
–

Aug 25, 2022

PHOENIX, August 25, 2022 (Newswire.com) –
The team at Arizona Luxury Lawns knows that, in Arizona, artificial grass is often the smartest way for businesses to keep their green spaces looking their best. And to help their commercial clients get exactly what they need, the company offers professional commercial turf installation, ensuring quality results and a seamless process from purchase to installation.

Arizona Luxury Lawns is committed to providing businesses with the optimal grass for Arizona climate conditions. Their synthetic turf options are all made in the US and include a 10-year manufacturer’s warranty and a 5-year installation warranty, so business owners know they’re getting the highest value.

Artificial grass from Arizona Luxury Lawns pays for itself by reducing water and maintenance needs and is designed to last for many years without any fading, even in the Arizona sun. And because it’s easy to clean and drains better than natural grass, it offers commercial business owners an intelligent alternative that requires very little in terms of regular oversight.

Other reasons businesses opt for synthetic grass in Arizona is that artificial grass is environmentally friendly and offers a lush green look all year round. Arizona Luxury Lawns has helped local companies save significant money on commercial landscaping, particularly in harsh summer conditions, all while reducing maintenance costs and improving the beauty of hotel, office, and commercial facility exteriors.

With Arizona Luxury Lawns’ artificial grass installation, Phoenix businesses—and businesses in all surrounding communities—save money, enhance their outdoor spaces, and get a reliably green lawn that requires virtually no maintenance. Specific companies benefiting from Arizona Luxury Lawns’ commercial services include golf courses, luxury hotels, pet housing facilities, offices, and playgrounds. The company also offers artificial turf installation for residential homes.

When it comes to artificial turf, Arizona businesses have a lot to gain from working with one of the area’s most trusted synthetic grass companies. Arizona Luxury Lawns offers the industry’s only 100% satisfaction guarantee and is available to help businesses in a wide variety of industries get the look they want for their lawns at a cost that works with their bottom line.

Interested business owners are encouraged to visit ArizonaLuxuryLawns.com for additional information and to reach out for a quote. They can also find information on the locations Arizona Luxury Lawns serves.

About Arizona Luxury Lawns and Greens

Arizona Luxury Lawns and Greens is one of Arizona’s leading suppliers and installers of artificial grass for residential and commercial projects. Offering unparalleled quality and competitive pricing, Arizona Luxury Lawns helps customers add to the aesthetic value of properties and communities with the highest quality artificial turf, considerably cutting down on maintenance expenses and ensuring a stunning lawn for many years to come.

For more information, please visit www.arizonaluxurylawns.com.

Contact:
Arizona Luxury Lawns
(480) 991-0196
info@azluxurylawns.com

Source: Arizona Luxury Lawns

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The COVID-19 pandemic changed a lot, including the landscape of some of the most serene and sacred parts of Arizona’s desert.

Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) says during the pandemic, more and more people ventured outside, many on off-road vehicles. While some were off-roading the right way, too many people did not, and some are still not following the rules.

We take a look at why this is having devastating consequences on the state’s beautiful landscape.

Where there’s not a designated trail or road, that’s not stopping hundreds of thousands of motorbikes, jeeps and four-wheelers from exploring an area.

“Off-highway vehicles are just like they say. The side-by-sides are referred to as UTVs like Polaris, Razors, Can-Ams, there’s different types,” explains AZGFD Officer Micah White. He’s the Highway Vehicle Law Enforcement Program Coordinator.

According to the department, road proliferation is a major problem. Almost anywhere you look in the state, you can see new roads that have been created by these vehicles.

Once tire tracks are laid, everyone follows.

“If you go back to 2020 at the height of COVID and the lock downs, we saw unprecedented use on the forest,” White said. “It was a new group of users on the landscape and these people didn’t seem to know. They don’t have a land ethic, they didn’t seem to know that there were rules out in the middle of nowhere that you had to stay on roads, you know. That you couldn’t drive like a maniac, that there are rules to riding these machines.”

‘Blatant disregard’

Barriers used to keep the land maintained are often found ruined.

“They run into cattle, you can’t keep a gate together for less than a month and it’s all twisted up and broken,” says Andrew Parry who works for a rancher in the Cottonwood Canyon area.

Gates, equipment, and salt blocks for cattle are destroyed and found in pieces, Parry says, adding that cattle have been hit and killed by speeding off-roaders.

The destruction is widespread.

Video was captured by an AZGFD camera west of Sedona in Bear Mountain where Deanna Bindley lives.

“The blatant disregard, the speeds, the recklessness. There were people two weeks ago right here on the main road ripping donuts right on the main road with people around and cars. It’s absolutely disgusting,” she said.

Bindley says the noise from the machines is destroying the quality of life for residents in the area, terrifying animals and killing the habitat.

“Probably the biggest problem we have with the OHVs tearing up and down our forest service road is all of the dust they create. These machines, even when they are going, lets say 20 miles an hour, they’re creating very large dust clouds and plenty of them are going 40 and 50 miles an hour. We have a significant dust problem and what’s happening is that dust is covering all of our roadside trees, our juniper trees, and killing them,” Bindley said.

Fines for habitat damage

“Out here in the middle of nowhere, we don’t have speed limit signs and so people take that to mean that you can drive as fast as you want, and that’s not the case,” White said. “It’s illegal to drive cross-country where it’s prohibited by rule if you’re driving cross-country that’s a criminal violation. If you’re causing habitat damage, that’s also another criminal violation, and if you’re destroying native plants you can be civilly assessed the value of those plants and that can get really expensive depending on the amount of damage, the amount of destruction that you’re causing.”

White says cross-country travel is a misdemeanor criminal violation, and if you’re caught, you could be arrested or cited. Fines for cross-country travel range from $475 to $1,000 depending on where you are in the state.

The cost of the fine can increase substantially if you cause habitat damage. According to AZGFD, a recent case was deemed a felony because of the severity of the damage, and the rider was ordered to pay $10,000.

However, enforcement of these laws will only go so far. They need the community and the riders to take responsibility.

That’s where Jay Hoff, the owner of Desert Dog Off-Road, comes in.

“Unlike traditional road driving, there really hasn’t been any kind of training for people to drive off-road but there is, you know, a courtesy level of driving habits that should be adhered to out there. Staying right on the trail, using moderate speed when coming around corners, understanding how a vehicle needs to get up a hill and down a hill,” Hoff said.

He provides maintenance for these vehicles, as well as tours.

“Staying on the trails, staying to the right, being a cautious driver, being a good steward of the environment, these are all things that people should all consciously do so that we can continue to enjoy what we have here,” he said.

More closures in the future?

White says if the problem doesn’t stop, he’s concerned land management agencies will be forced to make closures. Desert Wells in La Paz County has already been closed because of off-road vehicle damage and more restrictions will follow.

It might be the only way to save our land.

“I appreciate this. I didn’t think this was ever going to happen,” Parry said.

AZGFD wants everyone to enjoy Arizona’s beautiful land but will investigate reports of behavior that destroy it.

In Arizona, all off-road vehicle operators are encouraged to complete a safety education course before hitting the trails. This is hands-on training for licensed drivers 16 and older conducted by certified AZGFD instructors.

PHOENIX — A bill making its way through the Arizona Legislature would require homeowner’s associations to allow people to put in artificial grass where natural grass is permitted.

Republican state Rep. John Kavanagh of Fountain Hills introduced the bill after hearing from a Paradise Valley woman who installed expensive artificial grass but was told by her HOA that it was prohibited.

“Most HOAs are reasonable but you’ve got some bad ones,” Kavanagh told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show on Tuesday. “That’s when the Legislature has to step in and protect people’s rights.

“She asked me to basically change the law and I agreed.”

Kavanagh does not believe there will be any pushback, saying he got an agreement with HOA groups that would allow them to adopt reasonable rules regarding the installation and appearance of artificial grass.

“As long as they can be assured it’s good quality, it’s kept in good form, they had no problems,” Kavanagh said.

Kavanagh added the bill is also good for conservation efforts with the state facing a water shortage.

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Arizona homeowners associations could no longer impose outright bans only on artificial grass under a bill signed by Gov. Doug Ducey on Wednesday.

Proponents hope removing hurdles for homeowners who want to install artificial turf will prevent overreach by HOAs, though some say amendments made to the proposal actually allot too much power to community associations to add restrictions on turf.

Those changes caused some early backers of the initial version of the bill to move to the opposition of it.

House Bill 2131, sponsored by Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, passed the Arizona House of Representatives 58-0 before it went to Ducey’s desk.

Kavanagh told a legislative committee in February that he introduced the proposal after he was approached by someone outside his district who was “hassled about putting artificial grass in a community which allows real grass.”

Kavanagh also cited water conservation as a driver for the legislation.

According to the Arizona Department of Water Resources, landscaping is the largest use of potable water in Arizona, and as much as 70% of residential water use is outdoors.

Artificial grass continues to gain traction as an alternative to natural grass lawns, especially amid Arizona’s long-term drought.

The original language barred in the bill HOAs from prohibiting artificial grass and allowed for associations to adopt rules governing the installation and appearance as long as they did not prevent installation entirely.

The only exception to the law was if the artificial turf posed a threat to health or safety.

The Arizona chapter of the Community Associations Institute, a trade association for HOAs, opposed the initial version of the bill.

Michael Shupe and Quinten Cupps, co-chairs of the institute’s legislative action committee, said in an email that the institute believes the decision should be left up to the communities and argued the original language did not allow HOAs adequate oversight of artificial turf.

Kavanagh subsequently made changes that extended HOA control.

What the new law will allow

Under the new law, which will take effect 90 days after the end of the legislative session, HOAs can regulate the location and percentage of grass coverage on a property to the same extent as natural grass. The amendment allows for bans if the HOA also prohibits the installation of natural grass and it allows for the removal or replacement of turf if it is not maintained to an association’s standards.

Robert Green, president of the Judson community Homeowners Association in Paradise Valley, spoke in the House Government and Elections Committee in favor of the amended bill.

“There are some rational reasons why a community would want to have some limited restrictions on artificial turf,” Green said.

The Gaggle: GOP base angry after the Legislature changes election rule

Green noted problems associated with fake grass, namely how artificial grass can contribute to urban heating in the summer and possible health issues and create excess waste in landfills when turf is replaced.

“Artificial turf sounds like a miracle material,” Green said. “But let’s look a little carefully at it. It’s actually not a miracle material, it’s green plastic.”

Rep. Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek, also proposed an exemption for communities with vegetation and geologic characteristics requiring preservation and environmental protection. That became part of the final bill signed into law.

There is an additional clause which maintains an HOA’s ability to enforce “both the express and reasonably implied intent” of any rules governing design standards to protect the natural environment of a community.

This means HOAs can create rules on design and property standards as long as they are within the realm of interpretation.

Advocacy group changes position

Dennis Legere, principal advocate for the Arizona Homeowners Coalition, an organization that lobbies for property owners living under HOAs, said the clause allows too much flexibility in rule-making for HOAs, even beyond artificial turf.

Legere and the Arizona Homeowner’s Coalition supported the bill initially but once the changes were added they opposed it.

“What I’m concerned about is what might happen to general interpretation with designs across the state,” Legere said.

Though he still has his concerns, Legere believes the intent of the bill is a step in the right direction.

“Fundamentally, it’s good,” Legere said. “But from my perspective, with all the issues associated with HOA, this is very small on the scale of abuse that needs to be fixed by statute.”

Reach the reporter at kiera.riley@arizonarepublic.com or at 480-620-0801. Follow her on Twitter @kiera_riley.

A circumstance that was never really much of an issue for some Northwest Valley homeowners associations is now not an issue for any Arizona resident.

Earlier this month, Gov. Doug Ducey signed House Bill 2131 into law, allowing all homeowners to install artificial turf in any place HOA restrictions on installing artificial turf where natural grass is allowed.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, prohibits homeowners and property owners associations from putting rules in place requiring natural grass.

Kavanagh said he was inspired to push for the law after following the case of a particular Fountain Hills neighbor who was sued by an HOA after installing artificial turf to reduce water consumption. However, it’s unlikely a lawmaker from any of the Sun Cities would have been part of a scenario in the same way.

Martin Aguero of the Recreation Centers of Sun City West said advisory and overseeing HOAs, such as RCSCW, tend to not create impose such property regulations. He said in Sun City West, turf regulations are left up to more than 100 smaller organizations within RCSCW.
Aguero sent the Daily Independent a statement from the RCSCW CC&R Department.

“This new law would not impact the RCSCW CC&R Department, as artificial turf is not addressed in the CC&Rs that apply to single-family homes not in an HOA,” the statement reads. “For these properties, artificial turf is allowed. For properties that are in a HOA within Sun City West, of which there are over 100 HOAs, each individual HOA could have restrictions in their CC&Rs, so this would need to be addressed through each individual HOA.”

Rodney Bertram of the Property Owners & Residents Association for Sun City West, says PORA doesn’t take a stand on the new law.
“It doesn’t affect us,” Bertram said.

Sun City Homeowners Association compliance manager Tom Wilson said there are 384 homeowners associations within SCHOA, and the large organization doesn’t handle what is done at among those groups.

“We (SCHOA) don’t control that,” Wilson said regarding artificial turf installation. “We have no intent of getting involved, at that level.”
He said he’s not aware of any recent movement within SCHOA to attempt to get involved in turf decisions or change any legislation.

Wilson said much of the artificial turf he’s seen in Sun City is in backyards or other visually concealed areas, rather than in front areas that tend to be common to multiple housing units.

“We have no intent of telling people or associations what kind of grass ought to be here,” Wilson said.

Dennis Legere, founder of the Arizona Homeowners Coalition, recently told lawmakers the law should not be carte blanche for residents to put in anything they want, no matter how it looks, Capitol Media Services reported.

Legere pointed out House Bill 2131 would allow HOAs to adopt “reasonable rules regarding the installation and appearance of artificial turf.” And it allows the association to regulate how much of the property can be covered with artificial grass.

Lobbyist Kathy Senseman, who represents a homeowner in the middle of a fight with her association in Paradise Valley, argued there was no reason for a prohibition.

“Homeowners that have done this have saved between 60% and 70% of their water usage since doing it,” she said. “We believe in property rights. We believe in that water conservation.”

Senseman said many developers of new homes — as well as municipalities, through planning and zoning requirements and ordinances — are putting in artificial grass to begin with.

“We just don’t think that HOAs that allow natural grass should be able to also be able to say, ‘You can have natural grass, you just can’t have artificial,'” she told lawmakers.

Rep. Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek, said there are communities built around what is already there and do not want the character changed.

Consider, he said, The Boulders community that straddles Scottsdale and Carefree: It is named after the huge granite boulders located throughout the property. Adding artificial turf, he said, would not be appropriate.

By Jason W Brooks
Mail | Twitter: @JasonWBrooks2

Associate Editor

He covers the Buckeye area and the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. Brooks is a well-travelled journalist who has documented life in small American communities in nearly all its time zones. Born in Washington, DC, and raised there and in suburban Los Angeles, he has covered community news in California, New Mexico, Arkansas, Iowa, and Nebraska.

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