Is artificial turf legal in Colorado? What Fort Collins homeowners can install

What Colorado's artificial turf law bans, and what it doesn't

The law people mean when they ask whether artificial turf is illegal in Colorado is Senate Bill 24-005, signed in March 2024. The legislature's bill summary says that on and after January 1, 2026, local governments can't allow nonfunctional turf, artificial turf or invasive plants to be installed on:

• Commercial, institutional or industrial property.
• Common interest community property, such as HOA common areas.
• Street rights-of-way, parking lots, medians and transportation corridors.

Artificial turf on athletic fields is exempt. A 2025 follow-up law, House Bill 25-1113, made two changes. It split artificial turf into functional and nonfunctional kinds, so communities now ban only the nonfunctional kind in those places, according to Western Resource Advocates' guide to the law (August 2025). And the state Division of Real Estate's summary of HB25-1113 says the HOA part applies to the common elements of communities with more than twelve homes. Smaller HOAs, with twelve or fewer, can still put it in.

Two limits matter for homeowners. The list doesn't include your own single-family lot, so the state ban doesn't stop you from putting artificial turf in your yard. And the rules apply to new development and redevelopment, defined as a permitted project that disturbs more than half the landscape area. Nothing in the law makes anyone pull up turf that's already installed.

Can your HOA stop you from installing artificial turf?

No, but it can shape what you install. Colorado's HOA law limits what an association can ban on property a homeowner is responsible for. The legislature's own summary of HOA limits (last reviewed October 21, 2025) says an HOA can't prohibit xeriscape, nonvegetative turf grass, or drought-tolerant landscapes as ground cover on that property. Nonvegetative turf grass is the law's term for artificial turf.

The same section lets the HOA adopt and enforce design or aesthetic rules for artificial turf and drought-tolerant landscapes, and regulate the type, number and placement of plantings and hardscapes. In practice, the HOA can't say no to artificial turf, but it can require a certain look, require approval of your plans, or set where in the yard it goes. The law is Section 38-33.3-106.5(1)(i) of the Colorado Revised Statutes.

So the order is the same as any HOA project: get the association's landscape guidelines, send in its approval form with a plan and a product sample or spec sheet, and wait for the approval in writing before anyone starts digging.

Common areas are the exception. In an HOA with more than twelve homes, the association's own entryways, parks and other common property fall under the 2026 state ban, so a new turf area there isn't allowed unless it's functional turf such as a play area.

Fort Collins rules: the parkway strip and front yards

In Fort Collins, the one place a homeowner can't put artificial turf is the parkway, the strip between the sidewalk and the curb. The city owns that strip and the homeowner next to it maintains it. The city's xeriscape program packet spells out the parkway planting rules:

• At least 50% of the parkway must be covered with live plants at maturity.
• No bare dirt, and no artificial plants or turf.
• Plants stay under 2 feet tall within 5 feet of a driveway, and under 3 feet tall elsewhere, so they don't block drivers' view or the sidewalk.

The city's Rules for Common Projects page gives the same 50% live plant rule. If your neighborhood has a city-approved landscape plan, re-landscaping the parkway needs a free Parkway Landscape Amendment, with your plan and the amendment application. The city also asks you to share the plan with your HOA. Questions go to Zoning at 970-416-2745.

Behind the sidewalk, on your own lot, the city's rules page doesn't restrict artificial turf. If you want the city's xeriscape rebate on a front yard, though, the program requires 50% plant cover at maturity in front yards, which a yard covered in artificial turf won't meet.

Does the Fort Collins xeriscape rebate pay for artificial turf?

No. The Xeriscape Incentive Program pays Fort Collins Utilities water customers to replace high-water grass with a low-water landscape. The current residential packet lists what the rebate covers:

• Plants that need no more than ten gallons of water per square foot per season and suit USDA zones 2 to 5a.
• Low and very low water turf grasses.
• Boulders, rock or wood mulch, pavers, edging, permeable concrete, retaining walls and dry stream beds.
• Irrigation equipment, equipment rentals, installation labor and design fees.

Artificial turf isn't on the list, and the packet names synthetic mulch and non-biodegradable weed barrier in planting beds as not eligible. The rebate is $0.75 a square foot, up to $750 for 1,000 square feet, plus a native plant bonus for projects that are 80% Colorado native plants.

Timing matters too. The city's program page says residential applications are closed and to check back in January 2027, and projects have to be approved before any work starts. If you're weighing artificial turf against a rebate-eligible xeriscape for spring, there's time to apply in January before you decide.

What artificial turf costs

HomeGuide's artificial grass cost guide (October 21, 2025) puts installed artificial turf at $10 to $25 per square foot, depending on the turf quality, the size of the yard, add-ons like pet odor infill, and how much site work is needed. Its published totals by yard size:

Most of the work is underneath. HomeGuide describes the usual job: remove the existing grass and weeds, dig out several inches of soil, grade and level, compact a base of crushed rock or decomposed granite, lay weed barrier, then the turf and its infill. Drainage is the part that decides how it holds up, so ask any installer how deep the base will be and how water will drain off.

How long it lasts depends on who you ask. HomeGuide says quality artificial grass lasts 15 to 25 years with care. A 2022 report from Western Resource Advocates, a Western conservation group, gives an average of 8 to 10 years before a residential lawn loses its look. Ask for the maker's warranty in writing.

Heat, water and upkeep in a Colorado summer

Heat is the biggest complaint. The Western Resource Advocates report cites studies finding artificial turf can measure up to 80 degrees hotter than the air on a warm, sunny day, and one field that measured 160 degrees on an 87 degree day. Watering it cools the surface for only minutes, the report says, before the temperature climbs again.

That matters in a yard where kids and dogs play barefoot in July. Shade helps, and so does keeping turf to the areas that get used most, with plants and mulch elsewhere.

Upkeep is lighter than grass but not zero. Infill, usually silica sand, rubber granules or an organic mix, sits between the blades for support and drainage, and it shifts over time. Leaves, pet waste and weeds at the edges still need clearing. HomeGuide notes that pet-friendly turf uses better drainage, antimicrobial backing and odor-control infill.

And it doesn't drink water, which is why people want it. The trade-off is the heat above, and that the city's rebate won't help pay for it.

Artificial turf or xeriscape: how to choose

Putting the sources above side by side:

You don't have to pick one. A yard can have a smaller turf area where the dog runs or the kids play, and low-water beds, rock mulch and a path around it. That keeps the turf where it gets used and leaves room for a rebate-eligible area if you're a Fort Collins Utilities customer.

For a quote on either, NoCo Services does artificial turf installation and landscaping in Fort Collins and nearby cities. Measure the area first, since every price above is per square foot.