A.G. Gancarski
Local government regulations of synthetic turf have been mulched in Tallahassee in favor of a statewide regulatory scheme to govern the “manufactured product that resembles natural grass and is used as a surface for landscaping and recreational areas” for homeowners.
HB 683, signed into law Friday by Gov. Ron DeSantis, requires state rulemaking from the Department of Environmental Protection, and blocks cities and counties from enforcing or imposing their own “ordinance, resolution, order, rule, or policy” to “prohibit … a property owner from installing synthetic turf that complies with Department of Environmental Protection standards adopted pursuant to this section which apply to single-family residential property.”
DEP’s standards “must take into account material type, color, permeability, stormwater management, potable water conservation, water quality, proximity to trees and other vegetation, and other factors impacting environmental conditions of adjacent properties,” the bill stipulates.
This law will thwart efforts in Orange County and St. Petersburg to regulate the surface.
The state already expressly allows artificial turf to be used if it is not visible from the frontage of the property or an adjacent parcel. The new language will broaden its adoption.
