Kings County, CA Landscaping Rules: Artificial Turf (2026)

The Kings County Code does not contain a stand-alone artificial-turf or synthetic-lawn ordinance, and nothing in the code prohibits installing it. For a typical residential yard, laying ground-level synthetic turf is treated like other non-structural landscaping and usually does not require a County building permit. General development standards still apply: the installation must not block or redirect stormwater drainage onto neighboring property in a way that creates erosion or runoff (a condition the public-nuisance ordinance, Sec. 14-36(4), addresses), and it must respect any applicable yard setbacks and zoning standards in the Development Code. For new or substantially renovated landscapes that go through Community Development Agency plan review under the state water-efficient landscape framework, artificial turf is often counted as a non-irrigated, low-water surface that can help meet the water budget, though some review standards limit how it is used in front yards or place it under hardscape/impervious-area calculations. Unlike a handful of California cities, Kings County does not mandate artificial turf or impose a special synthetic-lawn aesthetic standard in the unincorporated area.