Turf doesn't earn a rebate on the Wasatch Front. That part is settled. But a rebate project and a turf area can share one yard.
For a lot of families that is the best of both. The planted part gets paid. The turf part never needs water.
It only works if your program allows it, and if you plan it in the right order. Here is how to check both.
The rule that makes a split yard work
Jordan Valley says it most clearly.
Its rules say turf and solid hard surfaces are "not eligible for incentives but are allowed within the landscaped area."
In plain words, turf can sit inside a rebate project. It earns nothing. It doesn't stop the planted beds from earning.
Other programs word this differently, so check yours. A few details decide whether your plan passes.
- Hard surface caps. Jordan Valley and Central Utah cap hard surfaces at half of a front yard and three quarters of a back yard.
- Jordan Valley counts turf on the hard surface side of that math. In other programs, ask the inspector how yours counts it at the site visit.
- Plant cover is measured on the beds you claim. Those beds need plants covering half the ground when grown in most programs. Weber Basin asks for 35%.
- Size limits. Central Utah and the state program start at 200 square feet. Weber Basin starts at 250 square feet of living lawn removed.
- Leftover lawn. Jordan Valley, Central Utah and the state program won't accept lawn left narrower than eight feet.
For each program's full rules, see Utah water rebates by district.
An example split
Here is an example yard. Say you have a big back lawn in a Jordan Valley city.
The kids and the dog use the middle of it. The edges along the fence just get watered and mowed.
So you plan turf in the middle as the play area. The edges become beds of shrubs and perennials on drip.
If the beds pass, that part of the yard can earn the rebate. The turf earns nothing.
Here is what changes in the yard. You stop watering and mowing the whole lawn.
The beds still get drip water and weeding. The turf gets a rinse now and then.
Now compare the two all-or-nothing plans. Plant all of it and you get the biggest check, but the dog has no grass.
Turf all of it and you get the most usable yard, with no check. The split sits in between, and you choose where the line goes.
Where to put the line
Put turf where feet actually go: the play area, the dog run, the path to the shed. Put beds where the lawn only ever got looked at.
Fence lines, corners and the strip by the house are good bed spots. Shady corners under big trees are good too, since grass thins there anyway.
Keep the turf in simple shapes where you can. Clean curves and straight runs are easier to edge, and they meet the beds more neatly.
Questions to ask at the site visit
- How does my program count the turf area: as part of the yard, or as hard surface?
- Do the new beds have to meet the plant cover rule on their own, with the turf left out of the math?
- Can the drip zone for the beds share a valve with spray heads I keep? Most programs say no. The rules we read want drip on its own zone.
- Is there a smallest bed size, or a smallest width for lawn I leave behind?
Write the answers down, or ask for them by email. You want them in hand before anyone digs.
Plan it in this order
- Apply before anything moves. Every program needs approval before lawn comes out. Read apply before you dig first.
- Show the whole yard on your plan. Draw the turf area and the beds together, so the inspector sees the full picture.
- Wait for approval in writing. Then book the work.
- Build both parts. We install the turf area, its base and its edging. The beds and drip can go in before or after, as long as they meet the rules.
- Pass the final check. The drip has to run with no leaks, and you send photos of the finished yard.
When we quote a split yard, we plan the turf edges around your beds so the two meet cleanly. That keeps rock and mulch out of the turf, and turf blades out of the beds.
Want to see whether a split fits your lot? Start with our rebate guide and turf for your lawn.
Then send us your address and a photo of the yard. We'll sketch where the turf could go.
