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

In the City of Highland, California, turf is regulated inside the water efficient landscape requirements of Highland Municipal Code § 16.40.390. The plant-selection rule in subsection (E)(1)(d) is titled "Minimize the Use of Turf." It says turf areas shall be used wisely in response to functional needs and shall not exceed the MAWA, the maximum applied water allowance. Where turf is installed, the use of warm-season turf is strongly encouraged. The code defines turf broadly as mowed grass or grass-like sedge, and the definition names annual bluegrass, Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, red fescue, tall fescue, Bermuda grass, Kikuyu grass, seashore paspalum, St. Augustine grass, Zoysia grass, Carex pansa and buffalo grass.

The rule applies only to covered projects. Public agency projects, private development projects and developer-installed residential projects are covered when the total project net landscape area is 2,500 square feet or more and the work requires a building or landscape permit, plan check, or design review. Homeowner-installed residential projects are covered only as new construction with a net landscape area of 5,000 square feet or more. Registered local, state or federal historical sites, ecological restoration and mined-land reclamation projects that need no permanent irrigation system, and botanical gardens and arboretums open to the public are exempt.

Turf is also held in check by the water budget. The water management plan must show an overall budget that requires no more irrigation than the 0.7 of the ET adjustment factor. Plants with similar water needs must be grouped together in distinct hydrozones, and the irrigation rules give turf separate from shrub and groundcover as the example. Applications go to the Highland Community Development Department, and a licensed landscape architect must prepare and sign them.