Real DFW yards, before and after
Keller has the hardest watering schedule of any city we serve
Chapter 19 section 19-1605, amended by Ordinance 2266 on 6 January 2026, is the most recently updated watering ordinance in our service area and it is mandatory year round with no seasonal relief. Even-numbered residential addresses water Wednesdays and Saturdays, odd-numbered Thursdays and Sundays, and all non-residential Tuesdays and Fridays. Permitted hours are midnight to 10am and 6pm to 11:59pm, and watering between 10 and 6 is a separate offense from watering on the wrong day. The enforcement ladder is unusually specific: first violation is written notice, second adds a $25 administrative fee, third $50, fourth $75 with notice to the property owner, and fifth results in irrigation service shut-off. There is a thirty-day affirmative defense for establishing new sod, which is worth knowing because it puts a hard clock on the re-sodding option.
The living plant material clause, and why it probably does not reach your front yard
Keller is the one city where a code-literate competitor could raise a doubt, so here is the honest reading. UDC section 9.03(E)(1) states that all required landscaped open areas shall be completely covered with living plant material. But section 9.03(F) heads the minimum requirements as applying to non-residential and multi-family, and section 9.03(G), the single-family provision, requires only two large canopy trees of three-inch calliper minimum in the front yard, plus two more in a street-facing side yard on a corner lot. There is no required landscaped open area on a Keller single-family lot beyond those trees, so the living plant material clause has nothing to attach to in a private front yard. We think that reading is right. We also think that if you want it airtight, a call to Keller Planning is cheap insurance, and we will make it with you rather than tell you not to worry.
What a Keller install involves
- Living plant material clause addressed up front: we explain the scope reading rather than hoping nobody raises it, and we will get a written interpretation if you want one.
- Mixed soil, sampled per lot: roughly half of Keller is Eastern Cross Timbers sandy loam and roughly half is clay and clay loam, with no Houston Black of consequence. The honest local answer is that it depends which side of town you are on.
- Built for a two-day year-round cap: Keller has no seasonal easing, so a natural lawn never gets a recovery window. Turf removes the dependency entirely.
- Twenty-five-year canopy: median build year 1999 and the largest cohorts in the 1990s and 2000s. The trees are right at the age where they start winning against the turfgrass.
- Rain sensor and freeze gauge: both required under section 19-1606. Worth checking while we are working on the irrigation zones.
- HOA package prepared: Keller publishes no HOA registry, so we read the governing documents for your address rather than guessing.
Where we work in Keller
Keller publishes no official neighborhood registry and its GIS carries no subdivision layer, so we verify the governing documents for your specific address rather than working from a scraped list. The shape of the market is clear enough: a median build year of 1999 with the biggest cohorts in the 1990s and 2000s, which puts most Keller landscaping at the twenty-five-year mark. That is the crossover point, where the shade trees planted with the house finally get big enough to take the lawn out from underneath. Combine that with a hard, year-round, two-day watering cap and Keller has the strongest combined case of any city we serve.
Keller specifics
Is artificial turf allowed in Keller?
There is no artificial turf provision in the Keller code or UDC. The only clause worth discussing is section 9.03(E)(1), requiring required landscaped open areas to be covered with living plant material, but section 9.03(F) scopes those minimum requirements to non-residential and multi-family, and the single-family provision in 9.03(G) requires only two canopy trees in the front yard. There is no required landscaped open area on a Keller single-family lot for that clause to reach.
What are the watering rules?
Mandatory and year round under section 19-1605 as amended in January 2026. Even addresses Wednesday and Saturday, odd addresses Thursday and Sunday, non-residential Tuesday and Friday. Permitted hours midnight to 10am and 6pm to 11:59pm. Hand-held hose, drip, soaker and tree bubblers are exempt any day at any time.
What happens if I get caught?
Section 19-1620 sets a graduated ladder: first violation written notice and educational materials, second a $25 administrative fee, third $50, fourth $75 with notice mailed to the property owner, and fifth or beyond irrigation service shut-off with a restoration fee.
Can I just re-sod instead?
You can, and the ordinance gives you a thirty consecutive day affirmative defense for establishing new hydromulch, sod or seed. That is a hard limit, and thirty days of watering in a Keller summer is not much runway for new sod to establish.
Is Keller soil sandy or clay?
Both, roughly half and half. Gasil, Rader, Crosstell and Silstid sandy loams occur alongside Ponder, Wilson, Sanger, Navo and Leson clays, with no Houston Black of consequence. That is why we sample rather than assume, and it is why a base spec from a Collin County job is wrong here.
Can my HOA stop me even if the city allows it?
Yes. Texas Property Code section 202.007 protects drought-resistant landscaping and water-conserving natural turf; it does not name artificial or synthetic turf, and HB 2269 died in committee in 2025. City permission and HOA permission are separate gates. Our HOA approval guide covers what a submission that gets approved actually contains.
We have dogs. Will it smell?
Not if the infill is right. Odour comes from uric acid held in the infill rather than from the fibres, and raw silica sand is the usual culprit. See pet turf installation and why pet turf smells.
What will it cost?
Pricing tracks the wider Dallas–Fort Worth market, with access, base work and demolition as the main variables. Put your square footage into the turf cost estimator for an installed range with no email required.
Is turf good for dogs in a Keller backyard?
Yes. We install pet-rated turf with high-flow drainage and antimicrobial odor-control infill specifically for dog homes. Urine drains straight through the backing instead of pooling, so it doesn’t create smell or mud. Hose it down and it’s clean. Pet yards are some of our highest-rated installs.
Does it get too hot for kids and dogs in Keller summers?
Yes. Cooling infill keeps surface temps comfortable and a quick rinse cools it instantly, which we cover in our Texas turf heat guide.
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