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 terminology and prohibitions. Byrd recommended amending the town's land-use code and aligning the town's existing Wellington Waterwise landscape and irrigation design manual with state definitions so that guidance becomes enforceable law rather than advisory material.

Key details and timeline - Senate Bill 24-005 (referred to in the presentation as SB 24-005) and House Bill 25-1113 (HB 25-1113) both affect turf and irrigation policy, Byrd said. The staff presentation identified those bills by number and said the bills carry different timelines and scopes. Byrd said the prohibition on nonfunctional turf takes effect at the end of this year (the presentation referenced both December 31 and January 1 as effective dates). The irrigation regulation requirement for residential properties is on a longer timeline, with compliance by 2027. - Multifamily projects with 12 or more units are added to the regulated cohort for the commercial-site-style requirements, Byrd said. The presentation text notes that multifamily developments of 12 or more units will be treated similarly to commercial site-plan reviews for compliance. - Staff recommended a public hearing before the Planning Commission on Oct. 6 to consider code amendments to prohibit nonfunctional turf and to update the town's irrigation guidance, followed by a Board of Trustees hearing after Planning Commission recommendations.

Definitions and scope Byrd read statutory definitions and explained the distinction between "functional" and "nonfunctional" turf: functional turf serves a recreational or other explicit purpose (playfields, sports fields, golf courses); nonfunctional turf refers to ground cover where no purposeful recreational use exists, such as medians, parking islands and some streetscape strips. Artificial turf is treated the same way: the statute prohibits nonfunctional artificial turf but allows synthetic surfaces for clearly functional uses such as athletic fields and putting greens.

Questions from commissioners and members of the public focused on enforcement, permitting and the environmental and design trade-offs of materials. One resident asked, "What do they have against artificial turf?" Byrd replied that the state language targets nonfunctional installations and that artificial turf still requires maintenance, drainage design and sometimes rinsing. "It has an underlayment system for drainage," Byrd said, and the presentations noted environmental concerns around synthetic materials.

Staff approach and next steps Byrd said staff believes the fastest path to compliance is to amend the town's land-use code to add definitions and the prohibition language and to incorporate revised guidance from the Wellington Waterwise landscape and irrigation design manual by reference. He said the manual currently offers best practices for residential landscapes but uses recommendation language rather than mandatory code language; it will need wording updates to make those practices enforceable where the statute requires it. Byrd also said staff plans to budget funds in fiscal years 2026–27 to update the water-efficiency planning documents and the irrigation manual, and that the town must also update its comprehensive plan with a water-supply planning element by 2026, which will inform the later residential irrigation regulations.

Outstanding issues and community impact Byrd flagged design and equity questions the town will need to resolve during public outreach and the code update: corridor continuity where new streetscapes on one side of a street may be built under the new rules while the other side is already developed; whether residential permit reviews or a courtesy review process will be used to ensure compliance; and how to treat areas served by wells versus municipal water. He characterized implementation risk as medium, noting the state and other municipalities are likely to issue additional guidance as communities begin implementation.

No formal action was taken at the meeting; Byrd said the item was presentation-only and that staff will follow up with the Oct. 6 public hearing and subsequent Board of Trustees consideration. "We're likely scheduling a public hearing for October for the October 6 planning commission meeting," Byrd said.

Ending: The Planning Commission did not vote on the item because a quorum was not present; staff said the presentation recording and materials will be shared with absent commissioners ahead of the October hearing.