The construction at the Anthem Country Club front gate, along the medians and at intersections from Atchley Drive to Schaeffer Hills Drive comes from a Nevada water law that takes effect on January 1, 2027. The same law explains why the golf course is getting new sod around the bunkers on 16 and 17 while grass at the entrance is being removed.
The law sorts grass by what it does. Turf that people play on or use can still be watered with Colorado River water. Turf that's mainly for looks can't. Anthem's two community associations have planned this whole year around that line, and they hired the same contractor to do the work.
The Rule That Set the Calendar
Nevada's Assembly Bill 356, passed in 2021, says that starting January 1, 2027, Colorado River water delivered through the Southern Nevada Water Authority and its member agencies can't be used to irrigate "nonfunctional turf" on property that isn't zoned only for single-family homes. The bill also required a plan with removal deadlines falling before December 31, 2026. The restriction applies to Colorado River water specifically, and the bill allows nonfunctional turf to be irrigated from alternative water sources. In practice, Anthem's associations have chosen to remove the grass and replant.
The SNWA's definitions page spells out which grass falls into that category. Nonfunctional turf includes grass "located along public or private streets, streetscape sidewalks, driveways and parking lots, including turf within a community, park and business streetscape frontage areas, medians, and roundabouts." It also covers HOA-managed turf that "does not provide a recreational benefit to the community."
The same page lists what still counts as functional turf, and golf course play areas are on that list. Grass at "the front of entryways to parks, commercial sites, neighborhoods, or subdivisions" is excluded from it.
So the bunker work on holes 16 and 17 and the turf removal at the front gate follow the same rule. Golf Post reported on August 13, 2026 that Anthem Country Club had started bunker renovation on those two holes, with West Coast Turf installing sod. That's play area, and it keeps its grass. The entrance is an entryway and the parkway is streetscape, so neither can keep drawing Colorado River water for grass after the deadline.
Other HOAs nearby are following the same line. In January 2026, News 3 reported that Green Valley Ranch's plan for Wingbrook Park keeps more than 31,000 square feet of usable park turf and removes the grass next to the street. On September 28, 2026, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that HOAs and businesses still watering nonfunctional grass will face fines in the new year.
Inside the Gate, the Entrance Is the Last Phase
The Anthem Country Club Community Association has been replacing grass in phases for several years. Its April to June 2026 issue of Viewpointe said the combined Phase 7 and Phase 8 work was close to done. Those phases were described as "the final conversions within the ACC gates."
Phase 9, the last phase, covers the front entrance. The work went to XL Landscape, the association's new maintenance contractor, and was scheduled to run through the summer. The newsletter calls the entrance "a signature feature for the entire community" and says crews are taking extra care to keep its design.
The association gave two reasons for finishing well before the SNWA's December 31, 2026 deadline. First, it needs time to complete its paperwork. Second, it needs that paperwork to collect the remaining rebates from the turf removal program.
Those rebates are a large part of the budget. The SNWA's Water Smart Landscapes page lists the rate for businesses, HOAs and multifamily properties at $5 per square foot for the first 10,000 square feet and $1.50 per square foot after that. The City of Henderson's page on grass removal still shows $2 and $1 per square foot, so you'll see different figures depending on which page you read.
The July to September Viewpointe didn't announce that Phase 9 was finished. It said the association would keep working with the front-entrance redesign team and complete its remaining community projects. That issue also reported that nearly 40 dead trees had been removed and almost 70 new ones planted across the community.
The association has also told residents that the new plants will look small at first, because the design is meant to fill in over time.
Outside the Gate, the Same Crew Keeps Going
You can't really tell where the HOA's work ends and Anthem Parkway's begins, and the associations planned it that way. The Anthem Community Council, Anthem's master association, is paying for its own refresh along the parkway. Viewpointe says XL Landscape got the entrance job partly because it's also the Council's contractor, which "will help ensure continuity between the front entrance and the adjacent areas along Anthem Parkway."
The Council's meeting minutes show how much of your daily drive is included:
| Project | Where | Contractor | Status in Council minutes |
|---|---|---|---|
| About 110 trees and Netafim drip rings for about 260 trees | Anthem Parkway, Anthem Country Club to Hampton Road | XL Landscape | Drip lines installed through Hampton Road; remaining trees due by August 26 |
| Native vegetation work | Reunion "T" to Anthem Country Club "T" | SoilTech | No completion date given in May |
| Nine intersection refreshes, $259,183.70 | Anthem Parkway and Sun City Anthem | XL Landscape | Approved in August; start expected two to three weeks after utility marking |
| Repainting lamp heads and arms on 361 light poles, $81,295 | Across Anthem | Unforgettable Coatings | Work to begin in the fourth quarter |
| Holiday lights, $4,650 | Waterfalls and monument sign | Smithman Productions | Approved in August |
Here are the nine intersections in the August 18, 2026 minutes. Most of them are turns you make every week:
- Atchley Drive and Anthem Parkway
- Red Valley Avenue and Anthem Parkway
- Merrimack Valley Avenue and Anthem Parkway
- Alyssa Jade Drive and Anthem Parkway
- Solera Moon Drive and Anthem Parkway
- Schaeffer Hills Drive and Anthem Parkway
- Bicentennial Parkway and Sun City Anthem
- Foxtail Creek Avenue and Sun City Anthem
- Olivia Heights Avenue and Sun City Anthem
The same minutes say the Council will tell the managers of each sub-association before crews show up, and those managers will pass the notice to their residents. If your HOA emails you about workers at an intersection, that notice started with this approval.
The minutes also include smaller items. The Council approved $3,681.85 for Patrick Signs to add Terra Bella to three more directional pylons. Lighting for the monument sign was still unresolved, and a solar option was under review.
What the Bills Say About the Year After
The Council's 2027 budget, approved in August, lowers the annual assessment from $158 to $140 for each home that pays it. That's an $18 drop. The Council approved the cut while it was also funding nine intersection refreshes and the light-pole repainting.
Inside the gate, the association's board president wrote in the January to March 2026 Viewpointe that the special turf assessment homeowners have been paying was expected to end by the end of 2026. No dollar amount was published with that note. The timing lines up with the rest of the project. The assessment paid for removing turf, and the turf removal is scheduled to finish before the deadline.
Your own costs depend on your parcel and your association documents, so this post is general information, not legal or financial advice. Check the details with your HOA's management office or a qualified professional.
Where Things Stand Heading Into the Holidays
- Clubhouse. For July through September, the association moved its board meetings, normally held at 1 Club Side Drive, to the Bristol Room at Sun City Anthem, 2450 Hampton Road, "while the clubhouse is undergoing renovations." The scope and finish date of the renovation weren't published.
- Front entrance. Phase 9 was scheduled for the summer with a December 31 target. The most recent posted Viewpointe, the July to September issue, doesn't mark it finished.
- Parkway lights. The repainting of 361 light poles is scheduled for the fourth quarter, which runs from now through the end of December.
- Holiday display. The Smithman Productions lights for the waterfalls and monument sign are approved. The minutes say the proposal could change if the Volunteer monument sign has no power by installation day.
That leaves about nine weeks until the SNWA deadline. After it passes, the grass left in Anthem Country Club should mostly be grass people use, such as the fairways on the Hale Irwin and Keith Foster course. The entrance and the parkway are being replanted with young trees on new drip lines, and the Anthem Country Club association has said its new plantings will start small.
If you're wondering how a finished entrance and a replanted Anthem Parkway affect the value of your home, Jason Griggs can help. We work in Henderson's gated communities every week, and we'll price your home against the 2027 version of Anthem, not the version you see during construction. Get your free property valuation.
