Surprise, AZ Landscaping Rules: Artificial Turf (2026)

Section 58-596 states the rule twice for emphasis: no one may impose a private covenant, condition, restriction, deed clause, or other agreement that prevents a person from using artificial or synthetic turf as a landscape alternative, and the section then adds flatly that artificial or synthetic turf shall be allowed on all surfaces where landscape can be applied. The defined term, at § 58-575, covers any type of non-living, synthetic grass alternative to living turf, distinguishing it from real turf, which the same section defines as a mowed grass surface including bermuda, fescue, rye, and zoysia.

The rule sits in the same division of the water conservation ordinance as § 58-595's broader water-efficient-landscaping override, and the two work together: an HOA cannot force a resident back onto living grass by citing its CC&Rs, whether the resident's design substitutes low-water plants, hardscape, or synthetic turf itself. The ordinance's stated purpose at § 58-572, promoting water conservation and establishing water management practices for both new development and established landscapes, is the policy basis the city gives for stripping HOAs of the power to block a synthetic-turf conversion.

Unlike a building permit requirement, § 58-596 does not require city approval for installing artificial turf; it operates purely as a limit on what a private HOA or deed restriction can prohibit.