Artificial turf in Deerwood, FL, drawn for the ARC's review.

Changing more than a quarter of your landscape? The ARC sees it first.

Deerwood's ARC Guidelines, approved by the DIA Board of Directors on June 23, 2026, say every plan goes to the Architectural Review Committee before any work begins on a building, structure or residential lot. The landscape section draws the line: ARC review is required for changes affecting more than 25% of the current landscape. Measure the turf you want against everything growing now, lawn and beds together, to see which side you're on.

The guidelines never use the word turf, and the association's Community Resources page says all landscaping changes need prior approval. Those don't match. The shortcut the General Manager can sign off, for like-for-like replacements such as roofs, driveways and patios, doesn't list turf either. Before you book any work, ask the ARC Coordinator whether your plan goes to full review, and keep the reply.

What goes in the package.

For a landscape change the ARC wants a detailed landscape plan marked on your site survey, with the size and type of each plant, photos of the home and existing landscape, and photos and names of any new plants. Every application adds the ARC Application Form, a letter describing the work, photos of the front and rear of the home, and the signed checklist.

The custom layout you approve before work starts gives you the turf edge and the beds you keep, ready to mark on that survey. Show those beds mulched: the guidelines want bark or pine straw in every one.

When we checked on 12 September 2026, a landscape change carried a $100 review fee and a $100 deposit, paid by separate checks; only the deposit comes back. The committee meets twice a month, and complete packages are due at least seven days before a meeting. Simple ones can be emailed to the ARC Coordinator or left in the DIA drop box at the Baymeadows gate.

Show which sprinkler heads stay and which get capped.

The landscape guidance asks you to confirm the irrigation system is adequate or will be modified for the new design. Turf changes that answer. Florida's synthetic turf standard for single-family lots of an acre or less, Rule 62-308.100, says an in-ground system can't water synthetic turf, and a local government may require those heads removed and the pipe capped.

So the zones over the old lawn get capped or rerouted, while the beds and trees you keep still get their water. Mark both on the plan. For the watering days that still apply to any lawn you keep, see our Jacksonville page.

Live oaks overhead, a wet layer about a foot down.

Deerwood was built around mature live oaks and a network of interconnected lakes (About Deerwood), and on a lot of an acre or less the same state standard limits turf near both. It stays out of a tree's drip line, a neighbor's overhanging oak included, unless a certified arborist certifies the work won't harm the tree. Where no local buffer is set, it also stays at least 10 feet from a lake unless a seawall or bulkhead stands between. If a tree comes out instead, the ARC wants it tagged for a site visit, and a hardwood replaced with another hardwood. Our article on turf around trees covers the roots.

Under the grass it's flatwoods sand. Around the golf course at the heart of the community, USDA's soil survey maps Leon and Boulogne fine sand, both poorly drained and wet from about a foot down from January through October (USDA Soil Data Access). Leon passes water more slowly through its Bh layer than through the sand above it (USDA), and Boulogne's free water is shallow and persistent (USDA).

On ground like that, the base does the work. We check how your yard drains on the free visit, then prepare the site and build the base for your soil so rain moves down and away. Mark any swale, ditch or stormwater pond on the survey too: the standard keeps turf out of all three.

Sixty days to start, six months to finish, then an inspection.

Work must begin within 60 days of approval, and the covenants require completion within six months; missing that without a Board-approved extension may bring fines. Request the final inspection within 30 days of finishing, or the deposit may be forfeited. Contractors need gate access registered through the association's guest app, so add us before the first day.

Build what was approved. The association's Covenant Enforcement page counts both unapproved work and approved work not completed as approved as ARC violations. A first letter gives 14 days to correct it, and an unresolved matter can reach the Covenants Enforcement Committee, which rules on fines. If the layout shifts on site, take the change back to the ARC before the turf goes down.

Your unit matters too. The board manages Deerwood under 21 separate Covenants and Restrictions, and the guidelines send you to your own unit's covenants for limits such as fence height. They weren't among the documents on the public Resources page when we checked, so ask the association for yours.