Santa Barbara County, CA Landscaping Rules: Artificial Turf (2026)

030(E) sets the landscaping standard within the County's Multiple-Unit and Mixed-Use Housing Objective Design Standards, which apply to qualifying multi-family and mixed-use projects rather than to every single-family yard countywide. 2 limits plant material to non-invasive Mediterranean, California native, and other drought-tolerant species. 6 sets a minimum planting density: at least one 15-gallon tree, or an equivalent box size, plus ten five-gallon shrubs for every 1,000 square feet of required landscape area. 7 requires groundcover to cover at least 75 percent of any landscape area not planted with shrubs or trees within five years of installation, with a temporary three-inch bark-mulch or decorative-gravel layer providing full coverage while that groundcover establishes.

8, the artificial-turf rule itself, states that artificial or synthetic plants are prohibited except for turf, and that artificial turf specifically is not permitted in front or street-side setbacks, meaning it can only be used in rear or interior side yards on a covered project. The same subsection also folds in solar-access protection, since landscaping cannot obstruct a neighbor's solar collectors, and privacy screening standards requiring evergreen trees, shrubs, or vines, sized in 15-gallon, 5-gallon, and 5-gallon containers respectively, to buffer sightlines into dwelling units from shared parking, mailboxes, and walkways.