Grass Alternative for Front Yard Area with Large Olive Tree

My front yard currently has a 7'x24' grass area with a large Olive Tree in the middle next to my walk way leading to the front door.  IRWD has a rebate to remove the grass ($3/sq ft), but it can no longer be replaced with astro turf.  Does anyone have any alternative design suggestions?     

decomposed granite + succulents?

Do you want it open and walkable or more like a planting bed?

DG and related related stonework retains a lot of heat.  On one of our dog walk paths one of the neighbors replaced their entire front yard with Phoenix area type stone, since it faces west, it gets sun late afternoon.  After dinner during the walk, while the neighborhood gets the gentle cool ocean breeze and its comfortable and gorgeous outside in the recent heat, when you reach the sidewalk of this house, you feel the retained heat radiating like a space heater.

Mulch and succulents.  Drive through Great Park you?ll see a lot of homes with this look in front.  Some look great, others look awful.  Best one I?ve seen is a neighbor who hired Rodgers Gardens to layout and plant everything.  That will cost lots more than your rebate though.

Bad design is bad design, but maintenance is huge.  Mulch beds become weed beds really a fast if the neighborhood has yards that are being allowed to die.