Eric Graham has fake grass. Across the street, Louie Torres has dead grass. The Irvine neighbors, like most Californians, know lush, green lawns are a distant dream even as the state’s long drought eases.

But California’s decision Wednesday to return conservation goals to local control has them hoping their bills will get a little more manageable, and their yards a little less ugly.

“It looks terrible,” said Torres, 49, as he looked at his brown yard. “I’ve been trying to save water. They said, ‘brown is the new green.'”