Colorado encourages xeriscape and native landscaping, and state law bars HOAs from banning xeriscape or drought-tolerant plants on yards a homeowner maintains. Douglas County and its towns set no rule requiring turf, so residents can plant native, low-water gardens.
Douglas County sits in a semi-arid climate, and both the county and water providers actively promote native, drought-tolerant, and xeriscape landscaping to cut outdoor water use. Colorado's SB 23-178 (C.R.S. 38-33.3-106.5) prohibits homeowner associations from banning xeriscape, nonvegetative turf grass, or drought-tolerant landscapes on property a unit owner maintains, and requires HOAs to offer preapproved water-wise designs. HOAs may still set reasonable aesthetic and maintenance standards. No county ordinance mandates traditional lawn, so residents are free to replace turf with native plantings, subject to weed-control duties and any HOA design rules.
HOAs cannot penalize compliant xeriscape; unmaintained or weedy plantings may still trigger nuisance or noxious-weed enforcement.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Douglas County, CO
Douglas County parks and open spaces are closed to entry, use, or occupancy between one hour after sunset and one hour before sunrise. Designated active regi...
Douglas County, CO
Douglas County's lighting standards limit light spilling onto neighbors. Fixtures within 15 feet of a residential property line must be shielded, and light m...
Douglas County, CO
Douglas County's lighting standards protect the night sky by requiring most outdoor fixtures to be full cutoff, so no light shines at or above horizontal. Bl...
Douglas County, CO
Garage sale signs are temporary signs in unincorporated Douglas County: no permit is needed, but they must be on private property, not in the public right-of...
Douglas County, CO
In unincorporated Douglas County, political signs are regulated content-neutrally as temporary signs. They need no permit and, in most residential districts,...
Douglas County, CO
Douglas County has no tiny-home-specific ordinance. A tiny house on a permanent foundation must meet the 2021 building code and zoning like any dwelling. A t...
See how Douglas County's native plants rules stack up against other locations.
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