FRESNO, Calif. — Would you sell your lawn to the city to save water and cut your utility bill? Would you buy a house with no lawn or with only water-stingy native plants?

Both are possibilities as Fresno, Calif., officials look at ways to conserve water as the city grows. Those ideas, along with more traditional conservation methods, are part of an Urban Water Management Plan approved by the City Council last month.

The plan outlines conservation goals for the city and offers ideas to attain those goals — such as lawn buy-backs.

It doesn’t detail how some of those ideas would work. But the plan “shows us where we are, and where we’re headed,” said Garth Gaddy, Fresno’s assistant director of public utilities.

The plan, which took several years to write, looks at current water usage in Fresno and predicts how growth will affect water resources through 2030, when the city’s population is expected to reach at least 760,000. A second plan — the Metropolitan Water Resources Management Plan — looks even further, forecasting Fresno’s water needs through 2060.

Gaddy said Fresno can conserve more drinkable water by irrigating landscape with reclaimed water. That water, treated less extensively than drinking water, is safe for any non-food crop, Gaddy said.

Even programs to buy back lawns from interested homeowners could achieve major water savings, Gaddy said. Fresno’s peak water usage during the winter, when most residential sprinkler systems are shut off, is 75 million gallons a day. In the summer, it’s more than 250 million gallons.

Those “cash for grass” type programs are growing in popularity, said Jennifer Persike, public affairs director for the Association of California Water Agencies.

“It’s absolutely a viable idea,” Persike said. “And one that is catching on as people realize that outside landscape irrigation accounts for 50 percent of residential water use.”

Richard Perez already has replaced about 80-square-feet of yard with concrete in the backyard of his home in the Fresno High neighborhood. Perez also has used some native plants in his flower beds, but stops short of being willing to replace his well-groomed front yard.

“I think we’re doing the right things already, with the backyard and the flowerbeds,” Perez said. “Plus, I make sure we only water on the right days, and for the right amount of time.”

Michelle Woolsey also isn’t willing to replace her west Fresno lawn with synthetic grass. But she does use Bermuda, which requires less water. She also allows the lawn to go dormant in the winter instead of planting winter ryegrass.

“I like the grass, though,” Woolsey said. “I’m a country girl — I love the soft green grass under my feet.”

Landscaping changes can save a lot of water, and the use of plants suited for Fresno’s climate is the key, said Anne Clemons, a board member for the Clovis Botanical Garden.

Clemons said plants that are native to climates like Fresno’s can easily replace water-thirsty plants or trees, such as redwoods.

“I love redwoods, too,” Clemons said. “But they just don’t belong here. Other plants would be better, and use much less water.”

Gaddy said that because so much water is used for landscaping, he could see the city paying $9 or $10 a square foot to homeowners who sign contracts saying they won’t reinstall lawns.