Flagstaff, AZ Water Use Rules: Turf Replacement Rebates (2026)

Flagstaff's landscaping division treats turf as the exception, not the default. Section 10-50.60.050.C defines an oasis as the one place on a site where turf, non-drought-tolerant plants, and vegetable gardens are allowed at all; outside an oasis, landscaping must be drawn from the drought-tolerant, naturalized species on the City of Flagstaff Landscape Plant List. An oasis is never required, and the code says it is not even encouraged, only permitted. Where a property does establish one, subsection C.5 restricts turf within it: turf areas must be sited to mitigate glare and reduce heat near buildings, windows, and patios, or to serve as an active play area, and the grass selected must have low water use characteristics and be drought resistant, drawn from the acceptable list in Appendix 3 unless the Director approves a substitute species shown to be low water use and drought tolerant.

The size of the oasis, and therefore of any turf inside it, is capped: up to five percent of the total site or 100 square feet per dwelling unit, whichever is greater, for multifamily residential, and two and one-half percent of the site for other uses, with a further five percent cap if the oasis sits in a street buffer. An oasis area can grow by 10 percent if the property installs an active rainwater harvesting system holding at least 1,000 gallons and uses that stored water on-site under Section 10-50.60.060(D). Public parks, botanical gardens, golf course playing areas, schools, day care centers, and cemeteries are exempt from the oasis and turf caps entirely.