A Lawn to Garden rebate is now available for residential and commercial customers within the City of Tulare. Remove your water thirsty lawn and replace it with water-wise, native landscaping.

Rebate Amount

• The rebate is $3.00 per square foot of lawn replaced up to 1,500 square feet for residential properties and up to 5,000 square feet for commercial properties
• The maximum rebate for residential properties is $4,500 and the maximum rebate for commercial properties is $15,000.

(Local property that participated in the Lawn to Garden Rebate Program before and after) 

Program Eligibility and Requirements*

Eligibility 

• The program is available to single-family, multi-family, and commercial customers who receive water for their landscape through a metered service with the City of Tulare. The applicant's water account must be in good standing.
• Program is NOT retroactive. Projects underway or completed prior to applying and receiving approval are not eligible.
• Properties can participate multiple times up to the maximum rebate amount.
• A minimum of 250 square feet of lawn must be converted. Smaller projects will be considered if 100% of the lawn area is removed.
• Lawn areas proposed to be converted, must have been irrigated. Brown or dead lawns that are not currently irrigated due to drought are accepted.

Completed Project Requirements

• Projects must use enough plants so that at least 50% of the converted area is covered once fully grown.
• Plants must be low water needing and climate appropriate, see our recommended plant list.
• Planted area must be covered with mulch.
• If there is a current sprinkler system in place, it must be removed and/or replaced with a drip system.
• New landscape may include permeable hardscaping but cannot make up more than 20% of the total area to be rebated. Landscape must still meet the 50% plant coverage requirement.
• Participants are given 120 days to complete the project. 

*Additional restrictions may apply. See Lawn to Garden Rebate Program Terms and Conditions and Lawn to Garden FAQs for full details.

(Local property that participated in Lawn to Garden Rebate Program before and after)

How to Apply

1. Confirm your property is eligible and you understand the requirements by reading the Program Terms and Conditions and Frequently Asked Questions above.
2. Fill out the Lawn to Garden Rebate Program Application.
3. Wait to receive a Notice to Proceed letter from the City of Tulare. We may reach out to conduct an on-site pre-project inspection before approving the project. Please wait for approval of your participation in the program before starting the project.
4.  AFTER your application is approved, get started with these resources:
   • California Native Plant Society
   • Recommended Plant List
   • Bloom! California
   • Local Plant Nurseries *Updated
   • Sprinkler-To-Drip Retrofit
   • Tulare & Kings Master Gardeners
   • Be Water Wise: How To Videos
   • Tule River Parkway Association Native Plant Gardens
   • "Please do NOT plant these" from California Department of Fish and Wildlife

  (Local properties that participated in Lawn to Garden Rebate Program before and after)

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