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

Corona Code of Ordinances § 12.08.010 normally requires a written encroachment permit from the City Engineer before anyone disturbs the surface of a public street or parkway. Subsection (B) carves out a specific exception for residents converting a parkway lawn to water-efficient landscaping: no encroachment permit is needed to remove turf or grass from a parkway in front of a residential structure, provided every listed condition is met.

Those conditions cap the work at 12 inches of excavation depth and limit new plantings to a mature height of 18 inches, so the parkway keeps sight lines clear for drivers and pedestrians. Before digging, the property owner must call Underground Service Alert of Southern California and comply with Government Code § 4216 et seq., and the work can't interfere with any existing utility line regardless of depth. Street trees have to keep their irrigation, and the removed turf must be replaced with plants drawn from the City of Corona Landscape Design Guidelines for Residential Development referenced in § 17.70.070, or from an approved plant list produced by any city department. All of the Landscape Design Guidelines' parkway-specific requirements still apply on top of these seven conditions.

If a homeowner skips any one of these conditions, whether by digging deeper than 12 inches or planting something taller than 18 inches, the project falls back under the general rule in § 12.08.010(A): a written encroachment permit from the City Engineer is required, and doing the work without one, or without meeting subsection (B)'s conditions, constitutes a nuisance subject to the code's enforcement actions and penalties.