Sacramento County, CA Landscaping Rules: Artificial Turf (2026)
Key Facts
- Requires
- Design Review approval
- Applies to
- Front & side-street required yards
- Not covered
- Multifamily, mobile home parks
- Default rule
- Living groundcover as primary material
Summary
Homeowners in unincorporated Sacramento County can swap artificial turf into required front and side-street yard landscaping, but only as a Design Review-approved alternative to standard live plantings, not as an automatic right.
Other options for landscaping the required yard areas, including the use of additional hardscape materials, artificial turf, or other landscape elements may be approved through the Design Review process.
8. Section titled “8.”
[DELETED 09-09-2022]
9. Landscaping Adjacent to Soundwalls.
Section titled “9. Landscaping Adjacent to Soundwalls.”
Earthmounds. When the sound and visual attenuation requires a wall exceeding six feet above the grade of the adjacent roadway, earthmounds or terraced landscaping shall be used such that no more than six feet of the wall is visible from the roadway. The mounds shall not exceed a 3:1 slope. The mounds may support the wall or be placed against the wall on the street side. Drainage shall be contained. Landscaping. All setback areas shall be landscaped with groundcover, shrubs, vines, mounds and trees such that at least 50 percent of the wall shall be screened from the adjacent public street within five years. Trees shall be placed so as to cover the 50 percent of the total landscaped area with a shade canopy within 15 years of planting. 30 percent of the trees shall be evergreen. Maintenance. An automatic sprinkler system shall be installed and a maintenance program shall be established to provide ongoing maintenance of the wall and landscaped area. The proposed maintenance program shall be submitted with the application and may consist of one, or a combination, of the following:
A homeowners association agreement;
Full Breakdown
Section 5.2.4.C governs required front and side-street yard landscaping for single-family and duplex/halfplex homes (multifamily and mobile home parks follow separate standards in § 5.2.4.B). Subsection 7, Landscape Alternatives, lets a property substitute additional hardscape materials, artificial turf, or other landscape elements for part of the required living landscaping, but only with Design Review approval: it isn't allowed by right. The base rule still requires the unpaved portion of the yard to be landscaped, irrigated, and maintained with living groundcover as the primary material.
Violations & Fines
Planning and Environmental Review can require removal of, or after-the-fact Design Review for, artificial turf installed in a required yard without prior approval; unapproved turf doesn't satisfy the living-landscape requirement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I install artificial turf in my front yard in unincorporated Sacramento County?
Does this rule cover apartment complexes?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Sacramento County
How Sacramento County compares: Most Artificial Turf-Friendly Cities·California rules heatmap·Compare Sacramento County to another location·View the California landscaping rules overview
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