Las Vegas, NV Landscaping Rules: Native Plants (2026)

LVMC 14.11.200 sits inside Chapter 14.11, the City's Drought Plan, first adopted by Ordinance No. 5616 in 2003 to conserve water supplied by the Las Vegas Valley Water District (defined in the Chapter as the 'District'). The operative rule is direct: no person or association may impose or enforce a private covenant, condition, restriction, deed clause, or other agreement that prevents a resident from using water-efficient landscaping, including xeriscape, so long as the landscaping receives the ordinary architectural review approval the association or design committee would apply to any yard. The Chapter goes further than simply voiding outright bans: landscaping materials and designs cannot be turned down 'solely on the basis' that they use water-efficient methods, meaning an HOA architectural committee cannot reject a xeriscape plan by citing its water-wise character as the reason.

The Chapter defines xeriscape as landscaping that incorporates drought-tolerant, low water-use plants together with an organic or inorganic surface mulch layer as a water-efficient alternative to traditional turfgrass. That definition matters because LVMC 14.11.200 works alongside the Chapter's newer turf restrictions: LVMC 14.11.140 already bars new nonfunctional turf in common areas of residential neighborhoods and, for any property developed on or after September 1, 2023, bars new nonfunctional turf entirely, including front, side and rear yards of single-family homes. Together, the two sections mean an association cannot force a homeowner to keep grass instead of a water-wise landscape, and in some cases the City itself now prohibits new grass outright. Enforcement of the covenant-override rule runs through LVMC 14.11.210, which allows violations of the Chapter to be prosecuted as misdemeanors or handled through the Las Vegas Valley Water District's own civil administrative procedures under its service rules.