Palm Beach Gardens, FL Landscaping Rules: Artificial Turf (2026)

Section 78-321(c) of the Palm Beach Gardens Code lets playground and athletic-field turf substitute for real grass when calculating a site's recreational open space, provided the product is described as green, lifelike individual blades that emulate natural turf. The installation cannot restrict or compromise the health or maintenance of any natural vegetation the Code requires elsewhere on the site. On single-family and duplex lots, the quantity a homeowner can install is not a flat square-footage number; it rides on the maximum impervious-surface percentage the applicable zoning district already allows, so a lot zoned for a lower coverage ratio gets less turf before triggering a variance.

City-wide, turf cannot go inside a required landscape buffer, a parkway, or a designated preserve area, protecting the plantings those areas exist to hold. Section 78-322(f) then governs upkeep: turf has to be designed for its intended use and hold up to normal drainage and installation standards, keep a natural sod look at all times, and lie visually level with its grain running in a single direction. The growth management department reviews turf as part of site plan and landscape plan approval, and the code enforcement board handles complaints once turf is installed and starts to fail or drift out of compliance with these standards.