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

Downey's turf rules sit in two places inside Article VII's water conservation chapter. Section 7353, titled Water Conservation, applies to new developments and existing property renovations and requires project applicants to maximize water conservation through a list of design standards that the Community Development Department reviews and approves. The first standard listed, § 7353(c)(1), is turf itself: limiting or eliminating turf areas on project sites subject to City review and approval. The same section defines turf, in § 7353(b), as a surface layer of earth containing grass, its roots, and the soil within the roots, and pairs the turf standard with companion requirements to maximize drip and microspray irrigation, group plantings into water-need hydrazones, and favor drought-tolerant plants, ground covers, shrubs and trees to the maximum extent possible.

5 use restrictions that apply city-wide rather than only to new projects, prohibits irrigating ornamental turf in public and private street medians with potable water outright, with no design-review exception. Where recycled-water infrastructure runs adjacent to a project, § 7353(c)(8) can convert an otherwise-limited turf area into one irrigated with recycled water instead of potable supply, since recycled water carries none of the potable-water day, hour or duration limits. The Director of Community Development may also publish a drought-tolerant plant list under § 7353(d) that applicants use to satisfy the turf-reduction and drought-tolerant landscaping standards together.