Gulfport, FL Landscaping Rules: Artificial Turf (2026)

Section 27-6 of the Gulfport Code of Ordinances sets maintenance standards for properties covered by Chapter 27, the city's registration ordinance for vacant and abandoned real property tied to a mortgage in default or foreclosure. Subsection (b) requires those yards to be landscaped and maintained under the standards set in the code, and it defines landscaping to include, but not be limited to, grass, ground cover, bushes, shrubs, hedges or similar plantings, decorative rock or bark, or artificial turf or sod designed specifically for residential, commercial or industrial installation, as applicable.

The same subsection excludes weeds, gravel, broken concrete, asphalt or similar material from counting as landscaping. Subsection (a) backs this up by requiring the property to be kept free of weeds, overgrown brush and dead vegetation over ten inches tall, along with trash, junk, debris and building materials, and subsection (c) requires ongoing maintenance including watering, irrigation, cutting, mowing and removal of trimmings. Subsection (d) separately requires any pool or spa on the property to be kept in working order, free of pollutants and debris, and compliant with the city's pool enclosure requirements and the Florida Building Code.

Chapter 27 registration is triggered when a bank or mortgage company takes title to vacant or abandoned property in the city under Section 27-5, and enforcement of these maintenance standards runs through the code enforcement office and can result in liens against the property under Section 27-4 and Section 27-5(g).