Boulder County encourages native and water-wise landscaping and imposes no lawn requirement on rural land. Colorado law (SB23-178) bars HOAs from banning xeriscape or drought-tolerant plantings.
Unincorporated Boulder County has no ordinance forcing turf lawns; native meadow grasses, pollinator plantings and xeriscape are welcome and are promoted for wildfire and water resilience. Homeowners should still avoid planting listed noxious weeds and must maintain defensible space near structures in wildfire zones. Statewide, Colorado SB23-178 amended CRS 38-33.3-106.5 so homeowner associations cannot prohibit xeriscape, drought-tolerant vegetative landscapes, or nonvegetative turf grass, and cannot require irrigation-dependent turf. HOAs must offer water-wise design options. Choose regionally native, drought-tolerant species and keep them from becoming a fire fuel near the home.
No county penalty for native landscaping. An HOA that unlawfully denies drought-tolerant landscaping violates state law and may be challenged by the homeowner.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Boulder County, CO
Boulder County has no separate 'hoarding' ordinance, but Ordinance 2022-8 makes it unlawful to fail to provide any livestock or domestic animal with minimum ...
Boulder County, CO
Boulder County residents may not intentionally feed big game or bears. Colorado Parks and Wildlife regulation and C.R.S. 33-6-131 make it illegal to intentio...
Boulder County, CO
Boulder County Parks & Open Space areas are open for daytime use only, between sunrise and sunset, except certain named trail corridors and connecting spurs ...
Boulder County, CO
Boulder County's Land Use Code (Article 7-1600) requires all outdoor light fixtures to be located, aimed, or shielded to minimize stray light trespassing acr...
Boulder County, CO
Boulder County has strong dark-sky lighting rules in Article 7-1600 of the Land Use Code. All outdoor lighting on new or permitted development must be fully ...
Boulder County, CO
Boulder County's Land Use Code (Article 13) does not exempt garage-sale signs generally; temporary signs must meet the zoning district's size and setback rul...
See how Boulder County's native plants rules stack up against other locations.
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