Citrus County, FL Landscaping Rules: Artificial Turf (2026)

Citrus County's Land Development Code creates the Cardinal Mixed Use (CMU) District, codified starting at LDC § 3420 and covering the Cardinal Street Interchange Management Area (IMA), split into an Economic Development Target Area and a Mixed-Use Area. Site development standards for that district, at LDC § 3426(A)(6), require landscape plans prepared by a qualified professional under "Florida Friendly LandscapingTM" or Xeriscape principles, with at least 50 percent native plant species and irrigation covering 100 percent of required plant material. The Materials subsection, § 3426(A)(6)(b)(iii)(4), then draws the line on artificial substitutes: any plant material already listed as prohibited in LDC Chapter 5 (Landscaping, Buffering and Tree Preservation), or artificial plant material such as artificial turf, is barred from counting toward the CMU District's landscaping requirements unless Florida law specifically permits it.

The same Materials subsection also bars landscape areas covered only in biodegradable mulch, stone, or aggregate, and requires erosion-control blankets or reinforced mulch on erosion-prone sites. Because this standard sits inside the CMU District's site-development chapter, it is enforced through the Land Development Division's review of site plans and Planned Unit Development (PUD) applications for property inside the Cardinal Street IMA, not as a freestanding turf ban across unincorporated Citrus County. Outside that corridor, this LDC excerpt shows no equivalent artificial-turf restriction. Property owners planning synthetic turf inside the CMU District boundary should confirm applicability with the Land Development Division, since the district was adopted by Ordinance 2026-A16 on June 22, 2026, with implementation running through the Comprehensive Plan Amendment / Land Development Code Atlas Amendment process at LDC § 3422.