The City of Sonoma has no ordinance prohibiting residential artificial turf, and California Civil Code § 4735 forbids homeowners associations from banning synthetic grass on a member's separate-interest property. Commercial/nonresidential turf is treated as 'non-functional' under SMC Ch. 14.32 / AB 1572 and is generally limited.
California Civil Code § 4735, as amended by AB 349 (2015) and AB 1059, expressly provides that any HOA governing-document provision prohibiting the use of artificial turf or other synthetic grass on a homeowner's separate-interest property is void and unenforceable. The City of Sonoma has no separate residential ban; artificial turf is treated by SMC Ch. 14.32 as a non-irrigated landscape element that counts toward water-efficient compliance (it does not consume potable water and is hydrozoned as 'special landscape area' / non-irrigated). For commercial and nonresidential properties, California AB 1572 (Cal. Water Code § 10608.14) bans the use of potable water to irrigate non-functional turf — a rule that real (irrigated) lawns must comply with on a phased schedule (2027 for public agencies, 2028 for commercial/institutional, 2029 for HOA common areas), but artificial turf is not affected. As of late 2025, Sonoma County directed staff to develop a model ordinance studying a possible moratorium on artificial turf in public and commercial spaces; that proposal is not yet adopted and does not apply inside the City of Sonoma. Permits may still be required for excavation, drainage, or stormwater impacts under SMC Title 14.
Because there is no City ordinance banning residential artificial turf, no city-level fines apply for the turf itself. HOA fines purporting to enforce a synthetic-grass ban are unenforceable under Cal. Civ. Code § 4735(c), and a prevailing homeowner may recover reasonable attorneys' fees. Stormwater or drainage code violations from improperly installed turf (e.g., creating runoff into the city storm system) may be cited under SMC Ch. 13.40 (Stormwater Management) with administrative fines.
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