Dublin, CA Water Use Rules: Turf Replacement Rebates (2026)
Key Facts
- Prescriptive-path residential cap
- 25% of landscape area
- Prescriptive-path non-residential
- no turf allowed
- Slope limit (prescriptive)
- steeper than 1ft/4ft banned
- Water-budget-path rule
- turf allowed if MAWA met
- Parkway turf
- banned under 10 ft wide
Summary
Dublin, California caps turf at 25% of the landscape area in residential projects and bars it entirely in non-residential projects that use the Alternative Prescriptive Compliance Option under the city's Water-Efficient Landscape Ordinance. Municipal Code Section 8.88.190.B.4 sets the limit.
4. Turf shall comply with all of the following:
a. Turf shall not exceed 25% of the landscape area in residential areas, and there shall be no turf in non-residential areas.
b. Turf shall not be planted on sloped areas which exceed a slope of 1 foot vertical elevation change for every 4 feet of horizontal length.
c. Turf is prohibited in parkways less than 10 feet wide, unless the parkway is adjacent to a parking strip and used to enter and exit vehicles. Any turf in parkways must be irrigated by subsurface irrigation or by other technology that creates no overspray or runoff.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 2-26, passed March 3, 2026).
Full Breakdown
88, the Water-Efficient Landscape Ordinance. 4: turf may not exceed 25% of the landscape area in residential projects, and non-residential projects may have no turf at all. The same subsection bars turf on any sloped area steeper than a one-foot vertical rise for every four feet of horizontal run, and prohibits turf in parkways narrower than 10 feet unless the parkway sits next to a parking strip used for entering and exiting vehicles, in which case it must be irrigated by subsurface or no-overspray methods.
1: subsection d bars turf on slopes greater than 25% where the toe of the slope meets impervious hardscape, and subsection e bars turf from multifamily and non-residential landscapes outright unless the area is used for recreation, while allowing turf in single-family yards as long as the site's overall water budget, the Estimated Total Water Use against the Maximum Applied Water Allowance, is met. 0, which includes most conventional turf, from street medians regardless of which compliance path a project uses.
Violations & Fines
A landscape plan that exceeds the applicable turf limit, whichever compliance path it follows, cannot clear Community Development Department review under Chapter 8.88, and installed turf beyond the approved plan can be cited during the inspections required by Section 8.88.130's irrigation audit process. Because Chapter 8.88 is part of Title 8, a violation is an infraction under Section 8.144.060, with fines up to $100 for a first infraction, $200 for a second within a year, and $500 for a third, escalating to a possible misdemeanor for further violations within the same year.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much turf can a new Dublin landscape have?
Is turf banned on slopes in Dublin?
Can commercial properties in Dublin plant lawns?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Dublin
California rules heatmap·Compare Dublin to another location·View the California water use rules overview
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