Artificial turf in Morrison, CO, under a 2025 code that doesn't ban it.

Artificial turf isn't banned — and usually isn't a "structure" either.

Morrison is a home rule town with its own land use rules. On 20 May 2025 the Board of Trustees voted to adopt Ordinance No. 553 and its new Land Use Code, according to that meeting's minutes. The landscaping section bans artificial trees, shrubs and plants, and adds in brackets that the ban doesn't include artificial turf.

The same code defines a "structure" as any piece of work artificially built up from parts joined together on the ground — but it excepts paved areas, walks, tennis courts and similar outdoor areas. A turf lawn, dog run or putting green fits that list better than it fits a building, which is why most of Title 10's application requirements, written around development and structures, don't have an obvious reason to reach an ordinary yard.

Where the code's landscaping rule can still reach a project: if it counts as new development or a subdivision under Article D for another reason (see below), at least 50 percent of the plants on the site must be native, and any non-native plant needs low water use, drought tolerance and freeze resistance. Our custom layout keeps the planting beds inside that rule when it applies.

A backyard swap skips the inquiry form; an addition doesn't.

Morrison's Planning & Zoning page says every planning and development application must start with a Planning & Development Inquiry Form, before you meet staff or apply. Read plainly, that's a rule about applications — and the code's own development standards apply to new development, subdivisions and Substantial Improvement, meaning work on a structure costing at least 30 percent of its market value. A lawn, dog area or putting green in an existing yard doesn't fit any of those on its own.

What does pull a project into an application: adding something that is a structure in its own right, such as a shed for equipment; grading done as part of a subdivision or site plan application, where the code's 3:1 slope limit and 20-foot terracing rule bind; or building on land FEMA maps as flood hazard, covered next. If your project is one of those, start with the inquiry form. If it's a straightforward yard, ask staff to confirm that reading and keep the answer in writing.

Development itself is any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate, and staff decide within ten business days whether a submitted application is complete. None of that timeline starts unless something above actually applies to your project.

On FEMA-mapped land, the floodplain permit comes before the dig.

George Morrison platted the town on Bear Creek in 1874, and today the Land Use Code maps a flood hazard area along that same creek (Wikipedia). The code requires a floodplain development permit before new development or Substantial Improvement in a special flood hazard area on FEMA's most recent maps, including land taken out of the floodplain by fill.

Development is any man-made change to real estate, so a project that reshapes the ground rather than resurfacing it in place could qualify. We couldn't confirm which Morrison lots sit inside the mapped area — the Town's map is the place to check, and the inquiry form is where you ask. Staff decide the permit, and an appeal goes to the Board of Trustees at a public hearing.

A designated floodway is stricter still: nothing new goes in unless an engineer's hydrologic and hydraulic analysis shows no rise in flood levels in the Town during the base flood. That's a narrow case, but if it applies to your lot, plan for it before anything else.

Check the zoning map before the code — the ZIP reaches past Town limits.

The 80465 ZIP code reaches west up Turkey Creek Canyon and south of town, covering about 5,000 addresses, many of them in unincorporated Jefferson County (Wikipedia). Title 10 governs only lots inside the Town, so find yours on the 2025 Official Zoning Map before any of the rules above apply at all. A business in the Historic Downtown district should raise turf with staff before choosing a product.

The Town also runs your water and sewer. Its Public Works page says Bear Creek is the raw water source, treated at a membrane filtration plant, with two off-stream reservoirs for drought. Ask Public Works at 303-697-8749 about watering rules or conversion help; our water rebates guide shows which Denver-area providers pay toward turf.