Taylor, TX Landscaping Rules: Artificial Turf (2026)

Chapter 28, article II applies to all new construction of non-single-family property inside the city limits, covering multifamily, commercial, institutional, office, business park and industrial development; single-family homes, the Central Business District, the municipal airport, and agriculturally zoned land are exempt under Sec. 28-27(b). Within that regulated footprint, Sec. 28-28(a) requires a mix of deciduous and evergreen trees, shrubs, vines or ground cover with at least three inches of shredded hardwood mulch over the soil, and Sec. 28-28(e) then closes the obvious workaround: synthetic or artificial lawns or plants cannot be substituted for that live planting.

The screening standards in Sec. 28-29(d)(1)a repeat the same rule for the plant material used to screen loading areas, refuse containers, and mechanical equipment from public streets, so artificial turf or plants cannot satisfy the screening requirement either. A landscape plan showing real plant material, sizes, and an irrigation method must be submitted to and approved by the community development director before a building permit issues, and the building official inspects the site before a certificate of occupancy is granted (Sec. 28-30). Because live plant material is mandatory rather than optional, dead plant material used to satisfy the ordinance must be replaced (Sec. 28-28(b)); a property cannot cure a maintenance problem by swapping in synthetic turf instead.