College Station, TX Landscaping Rules: Artificial Turf (2026)

The provision quoted on this page is subsection (d) of Sec. 202.007, a list of things the section does not do. Reading it in reverse reveals the statute's real force: the section limits what a property owners' association can dictate about landscaping, and subsection (d) hands back a few specific powers.

The carve-outs matter for any College Station homeowner planning a low-water yard. Under (d)(3), an association may still regulate the installation of efficient irrigation systems, including visibility limitations for aesthetic purposes. Your HOA can require that drip lines or similar equipment stay out of sight from the street, but the quoted authority runs to installation and visibility, not to banning the system. Under (d)(4), an association may regulate the installation or use of gravel, rocks, or cacti, so a xeriscape built on hardscape remains subject to HOA design review. The pivotal language is (d)(5): an association may regulate yard and landscape maintenance only if its restrictions or requirements do not restrict or prohibit turf or landscaping design that promotes water conservation.

Notice what the text never says. It does not use the words artificial or synthetic. Whether a synthetic lawn is protected depends on whether it qualifies as turf or landscaping design that promotes water conservation, a phrase the quoted provision leaves undefined. A homeowner leaning on the statute should be ready to present an artificial lawn in exactly those water-conservation terms, because that phrasing, not the product itself, is what the law shields.