Apple Valley, CA Water Use Rules: Turf Replacement Rebates (2026)

Section 9.75.050(C), Turf Limitations on New Landscaping Projects, sets the town's core turf rule for any project that needs a building permit, site development plan or Development Permit under § 9.75.020. Turf may not exceed 25 percent of the total landscape area in residential projects, and, except for a Special Landscape Area such as a recreation area or a plot irrigated with recycled water, turf is prohibited entirely for non-residential uses. Turf is also barred on slopes steeper than 25 percent where the toe of the slope meets impermeable hardscape, and it is prohibited within public rights-of-way, including parkways, under subsection (C)(4). Subsection H makes clear that artificial turf and artificial plants are not limited by these rules.

For single-family in-fill development specifically, § 9.75.060(C) tightens the residential figure further: turf use 'may not exceed twenty-five (25) percent of the total landscaped area,' xeriscape landscaping is required for front and street-side yards, and decomposed granite is barred as ground cover; a minimum of four cubic yards of compost per 1,000 square feet of irrigated landscape is also required. Commercial, office, institutional and industrial developments elsewhere in § 9.75.060(B) have any turf use tied back to the § 9.75.050 limitation, so they carry the same non-residential prohibition unless the area qualifies as a Special Landscape Area.

No Building Permit may be approved or issued unless the Planning Division finds the landscape plan satisfies these turf standards, and the Town's landscape documentation package must show the square footage breakdown between irrigated turf area and other landscape area before construction begins.