Commerce City, CO Landscaping Rules: Artificial Turf (2026)

The prohibition sits in Article V, Division 5's landscape standards, which apply to the landscape plan every new development must submit for review. Section 21-7515(4) prohibits partial or entirely synthetic turf grass outright, and the only exception written into the code is for public or private recreation fields, such as sports complexes or ballfields. That ban is reinforced a few sections earlier: § 21-7511's water-conservation rule states that xeriscape landscaping "does not include or allow artificial turf or plants," and it also excludes mulched or gravel beds without plant material, unnecessary paving, bare ground and weed-infested surfaces from qualifying as acceptable water-wise landscaping.

Together the two sections mean a homeowner or developer cannot substitute plastic grass for a required lawn or landscape area anywhere in the city outside a recreation field, no matter how much water it might save. Compliance is checked as part of the landscape plan review that precedes a certificate of occupancy, and any subsequent alteration of an approved landscape plan to add artificial turf still runs through the same review. Violations are handled under the Land Development Code's general compliance article, Article X, which gives the city manager and Community Development authority to investigate complaints, inspect the property, and pursue remedies including stop-work orders and permit denial or revocation.