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

Artificial turf is not the subject of any dedicated Mariposa County ordinance, and there is no county prohibition on installing synthetic lawn on private residential property. The County's landscaping standard, Development Code Chapter 17.36, focuses on water-efficient landscaping by incorporating the state Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (CCR Title 23, Section 2.7); because artificial turf uses no irrigation water, it does not conflict with that water-conservation goal, and the General Plan's emphasis (Policy 11-2a) on low-water landscaping is consistent with synthetic turf as one option. The County does not, however, have a turf-rebate or turf-replacement mandate. Practical review for artificial turf comes from generally applicable rules rather than a turf-specific code: installations should respect zoning setbacks, must not create drainage or stormwater-runoff problems onto neighboring parcels or county roads, and in the design-review or historic overlay zones may be subject to the landscaping and design standards in Title 17. Because the county is forested and in a wildfire State Responsibility Area, homeowners near wildland should also weigh fire behavior of synthetic materials within the defensible-space zone. For most rural residential lots, a homeowner can install artificial turf without a special county permit, but should confirm any project-specific or overlay-zone requirements with the Planning Department.