Landscaping Rules in Downey, CA (2026)
6 verified landscaping rules for Downey, California, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Tree Trimming
Downey's Urban Forest Management Plan governs street and median tree maintenance. The Director oversees all parkway tree planting, pruning, and removal. Property owners may not trim or remove street trees without authorization.
Downey Tree & Park Maintenance
Significant RestrictionsCal. Public Resources Code Sec. 4291 (Vegetation Clearance Around Structures)
4291. (a) A person who owns, leases, controls, operates, or maintains a building or structure in the state responsibility area shall at all times do all of the following: (1) (A) Maintain defensible space of 100 feet from each side and from the front and rear of the structure, but not beyond the property line, except as provided in subparagraph (B). The amount of fuel modification necessary sha...
Tree Removal & Heritage Trees
Removing a Downey street tree, City-owned or planted in the public right-of-way, requires a valid Public Works Department permit under Municipal Code § 7623, and only ten enumerated conditions, from disease and structural instability to power-line conflicts, justify removal. A denied request can be appealed to the Director under § 7624, whose decision is final.
Downey Street Tree Removal Permit Rules
Significant RestrictionsDowney Municipal Code § 7623
§ 7623. REMOVAL. No person (other than the City or persons acting under the City's authority) shall cause, permit, or allow the removal of any street tree without having first obtained a valid permit therefor from the Public Works Department, and without complying with all conditions of said permit and adhering to all applicable regulations set forth in this chapter. ... The following are condi...
Weed Ordinances
Downey caps residential grass at six inches. Municipal Code § 5902 declares a lawn taller than that a prohibited public nuisance, and once the City posts or mails an abatement notice, the owner has to cut it or face a misdemeanor and a City-billed cleanup.
Downey Maximum Lawn Height Rule
Some RestrictionsDowney, CA, Municipal Code § 5902
§ 5902. PROHIBITED PUBLIC NUISANCE CONDITIONS. The City Council finds and declares that it is a public nuisance and unlawful for any person to allow, cause, create, maintain, or suffer, or permit others to maintain, real property or premises in the City in such a manner that any one or more of the following conditions are found to exist thereon: ... 11. Overgrown vegetation including, but not l...
Water Restrictions
Downey caps potable-water landscape irrigation to 7 p.m.-8 a.m., six minutes per irrigation-controller station per cycle, and two designated days a week (October-April) or three (May-September) under Downey Municipal Code § 7350(a). Odd-numbered addresses water Monday/Wednesday/Friday; even-numbered addresses water Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday. Hand-held hoses with shutoff nozzles, drip systems and repairs are exempt from the daily windows.
Downey Watering Day and Hour Restrictions
Some RestrictionsDowney Municipal Code § 7350(a)(1), (3), (5)
(1) Watering Hours – Potable Water: Landscape irrigation with potable water shall only be permitted between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. ... (3) Watering Duration – Potable Water: Landscape irrigation with potable water is limited to no more than six minutes per irrigation controller station per designated irrigation day. ... (5) Watering Days – Potable Water: Lan...
Rainwater Harvesting
Downey property owners can install rain barrels and cisterns to catch rooftop runoff for landscape irrigation without a state water-right permit. California's Rainwater Capture Act of 2012 exempts qualifying rooftop rainwater use from the appropriation-permit process under Water Code Section 1201, and Water Code Section 10573 spells out exactly which barrels, cisterns and captured water qualify for that exemption.
Downey Rainwater Capture & Rain Barrel Rules
Few RestrictionsCal. Water Code §§ 10573, 10574 (Rainwater Capture Act of 2012)
(b) "Rain barrel system" is a type of rainwater capture system that does not use electricity or a water pump and is not connected to or reliant on a potable water system. (c) "Rainwater" means precipitation on any public or private parcel that has not entered an offsite storm drain system or channel, a flood control channel, or any other stream channel, and has not previously been put to benefi...
Artificial Turf
California Civil Code Section 4735 voids any HOA rule in a Downey community that bans or effectively bans artificial turf or low-water landscaping. Associations cannot fine or restrict an owner for installing synthetic turf, and cannot penalize a homeowner for cutting back irrigation during a declared drought emergency, though reasonable design standards are still allowed.
Downey HOA Artificial Turf Rights
Few RestrictionsCalifornia Civil Code § 4735 (Void HOA Restrictions on Artificial Turf and Low-Water Landscaping)
(a) Notwithstanding any other law, a provision of the governing documents or architectural or landscaping guidelines or policies shall be void and unenforceable if it does any of the following: (1) Prohibits, or includes conditions that have the effect of prohibiting, the use of low water-using plants as a group or as a replacement of existing turf. (2) Prohibits, or includes conditions that ha...
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