Wellington planning staff outlines new state rules to ban nonfunctional turf, set irrigation regulations

Wellington planning director Cody Byrd told the Planning Commission on a presentation-only agenda item that two recently approved state laws require the town to prohibit new installations of "nonfunctional turf" and to adopt residential irrigation regulations. "This is a presentation only. This is not an action item," Byrd said, adding the town must act on the shorter prohibition timeline by the end of the year and on the irrigation rules by 2027. The laws the town must follow are Senate Bill 24-005 and House Bill 25-1113, which Byrd said address turf and irrigation in different ways and affect commercial, HOA, streetscape and certain multifamily landscapes as well as residential irrigation practices.

The most immediate requirement is a ban on installing nonfunctional turf — both natural and artificial — in new development and redevelopment after the statute's effective date at the end of the year. Byrd said the prohibition covers commercial properties, streetscapes (the area between sidewalk and curb), parking lot islands and HOA common areas. "After December 31 of this year, we, as a municipality, we cannot install any nonfunctional turf, or nonfunctional artificial turf," Byrd said. He also said the statute explicitly includes invasive plant species as part of the prohibition.

Why it matters: The rule will change how new commercial and common-area developments are landscaped and will require Wellington to amend its land-use code to reflect the state's…