Replacing grass with drought tolerant plants for free?

[Shane W.]

So I came across an article on a company in Los Angeles that is ripping up lawns and replacing them with drought tolerant plants. It's all backed by the government so it's apparently free and they take care of it all including the paperwork with the feds.

They're quoted as savings upwards of $2,000 a year by replacing your lawn with these plants. Apparently they also install a drip water system so you basically have very little maintenance/gardening expenses on top of the water savings.

I guess as a landlord it would be a no brainer to increase cash flow, with zero expenditure.

However if you were to sell the property at a later time, do you think it would decrease it's appeal to buyers? Or could it be seen as a positive? I guess it would ultimately depend on how much longer California is in draught, but I'm curious to hear your thoughts.