Yorba Linda, CA Landscaping Rules: Artificial Turf (2026)

Yorba Linda's residential performance standards start from a hard baseline: Section 18.10.110(C)(1) requires front and street side yards in every residential zone to consist of a minimum of 51 percent plant materials, installed within 12 months of a new home's final certificate of occupancy. Subsection C.6 carves out an exception. The Community Development Director may approve high-quality artificial turf in place of live turf, but only after a written application to the Director that includes the manufacturer's brochure, site photographs, a sample of the proposed turf, a site plan showing the installation area, and the name of the installing contractor.

Qualifying turf must be installed by a licensed professional following the manufacturer's ground-preparation and substrate instructions, and it has to be kept free of weeds, debris, tears, holes and impressions on an ongoing basis so it keeps mimicking real grass. Every approved installation carries a minimum eight-year "No Fade" warranty requirement. The code does not allow homeowners to convert the whole yard to plastic: artificial shrubs, flowers, trees and vines are prohibited outright, indoor or outdoor plastic and nylon carpeting is banned, and living plant material such as shrubs, vines, trees and flowering groundcovers must still make up at least 25 percent of the overall landscape design.

Turf areas must be separated from planting beds with concrete mow strips to keep live plants from creeping into the turf. After the Director reviews the application against these performance standards, the decision is issued in writing and is appealable to the Planning Commission under Section 18.36.810. Multi-family R-M, R-M-20 and R-M-30 zones follow a separate 50 percent site-landscaping standard under subsection C.2 rather than the 51 percent front-yard rule.