We have to follow regulations. We went directly to the supervisor. We got the same story at the next level of the bureaucracy, and the next, and the next. The regulation is designed to protect the public, they said. The regulation makes no distinction between open, bluegrass spaces, dog runs, boulevard medians, children's playgrounds, picnic areas, or croquet lawns.
Regulations are regulations.
End of story. As de facto lawn manager, I had run out of options. I had encountered a problem that could not be managed. It violates my private canon of management, my belief that every problem can be managed, if only one finds a way. But not this one.