Plantation, FL Landscaping Rules: Artificial Turf (2026)

Section 27-298 of the Land Development Regulations governs synthetic turf citywide. The material may go on residential properties and on City or County parks and City or private golf courses; on residential lots it counts as a pervious surface but a Synthetic Turf Installation cannot exceed ten percent of the lot's total pervious area, and the same ten percent cap applies to a park or golf course property. Turf is limited to the rear yard and side yards, provided it meets the minimum setback and sits behind a fence; the only front-yard exception is inlay strips within a driveway pattern where the inlays are no wider than 4 inches and no longer than 2 feet.

Installed turf must sit at least 5 feet from the side and rear property lines (driveway inlays may reach the property line but not the right-of-way). It needs a permeable backing, must be lead-free and flame-retardant, carry a minimum eight-year no-fade warranty, and go over a compacted, porous, crushed rock aggregate subgrade at least 4 inches deep. Owners must pull an Engineering permit before installation unless the work is bundled into a swimming pool or patio/deck building permit, or unless the installation is under 50 square feet, costs less than $1,500 including labor and material, and sits either 10 feet from the rear line or 5 feet from the side lines.

Turf cannot be installed in a public right-of-way, over drainage, lake, canal maintenance, landscape or utility easements, or behind a seawall, and it cannot substitute for required landscaping such as trees per Section 27-257. Root pruning for sub-base installation must follow an ISA Certified arborist's dripline encroachment report to protect a tree's Critical Root Zone, and cannot conflict with the 5-foot trunk setback required for hardscape.