The city council has agreed to a compromise measure that will allow commercial landscapers to keep operating.

"We're trying to conserve water, yet we're letting them live, as far as making a living," says Alpharetta Mayor Arthur Letchas.

The compromise allows professional landscapers to water new plants four days a week, between the hours of midnight and 10 in the morning.

Landscapers, addressing the council before the vote on Monday night, implored them to approve the compromise. They said that, without the easing on restrictions, they'd be forced out of business.

October 30, 2007