(a) A city, including a charter city, county, or city and county, shall not enact any ordinance or regulation, or enforce any existing ordinance or regulation, that prohibits the installation of drought tolerant landscaping, synthetic grass, or artificial turf on residential property.
(b) A city, including a charter city, county, or city and county, may impose reasonable restrictions on the type of drought tolerant landscaping, synthetic grass, or artificial turf that may be installed on residential property provided that those restrictions do not do any of the following:
(1) Substantially increase the cost of installing drought tolerant landscaping, synthetic grass, or artificial turf.
(2) Effectively prohibit the installation of drought tolerant landscaping, synthetic grass, or artificial turf.
(3) Significantly impede the installation of drought tolerant landscaping, including, but not limited to, a requirement that a residential yard must be completely covered with living plant material.
(c) A city, including a charter city, county, or city and county, may impose reasonable restrictions on the installation or design of synthetic grass or artificial turf within the dripline of a tree protected by local ordinance.
(Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 366, Sec. 11. (SB 974) Effective January 1, 2017.)