Taylor, TX Invasive Plant Rules: Bamboo Restrictions (2026)

Chapter 28, Article II, adopted by Ordinance No. 2010-12 in 2010 and amended by Ordinance No. 2017-15, governs landscaping across incorporated Taylor. Section 28-27 applies the article to new construction of non-single-family property citywide, exempting single-family dwellings, the Central Business District, the municipal airport, and land zoned rural/agriculture. Section 28-33, Invasive Plants Prohibited, defines invasive species as alien species likely to cause economic or environmental harm and difficult and costly to control, and states that introducing or continuing invasive species of plants is prohibited, with the prohibited list set out in Appendix B.

That appendix does not treat running bamboo the way some jurisdictions do, with a required setback or rhizome barrier; instead it places Running Bamboo (Phyllostachys aurea) under the Other Prohibited Plants category, alongside Giant Cane, Giant Reed, Kudzu and Torpedograss, meaning it cannot be used at all in regulated landscaping. Compliance is enforced at the permitting stage under Section 28-30: the community development director must approve a landscape plan showing compliance before a building permit is issued and must inspect the site before a certificate of occupancy is granted.

Because the statute bars continuing an invasive species as well as introducing it, an existing stand of running bamboo on a regulated non-single-family lot is not exempt merely because it predates a current project.