Invasive Plant Rules in Somerville, MA (2026)
2 verified invasive plant rules for Somerville, Massachusetts, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Prohibited Species
Somerville bars the city from including any invasive plant in its own plantings under Code Sec. 12-176. The rule covers new trees and plants the city or its contractors install, not existing landscaping or private yards.
Somerville Invasive Plant Planting Ban
Light RestrictionsSomerville, MA Code of Ordinances Sec. 12-176
Sec. 12-176. Invasive plants forbidden. The city shall not include any invasive plant in any city plantings. (Ord. No. 2021-05, 3-25-2021)
Tree-of-Heaven Removal
Somerville's tree ordinance singles out Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima) for exclusion: unlike other invasive species, it never qualifies as a protected "significant tree" no matter its size, so removing one requires no tree permit under Sec. 12-102 and Sec. 12-112.
Somerville Tree Of Heaven Exemption
Few RestrictionsSomerville Code of Ordinances Sec. 12-102
Significant tree means any living tree that is either: (1) not an invasive plant and is eight inches or more in DBH; or (2) is an invasive plant other than Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima) and is twenty-four inches or more in DBH.