Hawthorne, CA Landscaping Rules: Artificial Turf (2026)

The City of Hawthorne does not publish an outright prohibition on artificial (synthetic) turf, and many residents use it to cut irrigation. Its placement and extent are shaped by two sources. First, the city's residential development standards (in the zoning code's chapter on development standards for all residential zones) regulate required landscaping, front-yard and setback treatment, and permeable versus paved area; artificial turf must fit within those landscaping and lot-coverage requirements rather than, for example, paving over a required landscaped front yard. Second, the Water Efficient Landscaping ordinance, which implements California's MWELO for qualifying projects, distinguishes synthetic turf from living, low-water plantings and applies its plant, mulch, and water-budget provisions to the landscaped (planted) areas. Because California's MWELO and the regional turf-replacement programs are designed to promote living, climate-appropriate landscaping, synthetic turf generally does not earn the same credit as drought-tolerant plants: the Metropolitan Water District's SoCal Water$mart Turf Replacement Program expressly states that synthetic turf is not an approved conversion option, so installing artificial grass will not qualify a homeowner for that rebate even though it saves water. Residents should verify any installation against the residential zone's landscaping, drainage, and setback rules, and where a project triggers landscape plan check, confirm how synthetic-turf areas are counted under the water-efficient-landscape requirements.