Alpharetta, GA Invasive Plant Rules: Prohibited Species (2026)

Alpharetta does not ban invasive ornamental plants citywide, but it does exclude them from one specific incentive path. Inside the North Point Overlay, UDC Sec. 2.10.11.D.12 creates a Sustainable Landscaping Measure worth a single EcoDistrict point toward the overlay's density-bonus and redevelopment thresholds of 2, 5, 7 or 10 points depending on project size, set out in Sec. 2.10.11.B. To earn that point, a project must satisfy both of two minimum requirements. The first, at Subsection a, requires cutting potable irrigation water by 50% from a midsummer baseline through xeriscape planting with no permanent irrigation system, or through an irrigation system that uses only captured rainwater.

The second, at Subsection b, is the invasive-species exclusion itself: the applicant must exclude any plant species listed on the Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council Invasive Species List from project planting plans. The code does not merely ask for a promise. Subsection c requires the applicant to submit a landscape plan, an irrigation plan, a list of every proposed species, and an affidavit from a certified Landscape Architect affirmatively swearing that none of the excluded invasive species will be planted. Because the point is optional and only relevant to projects chasing the overlay's EcoDistrict thresholds, a routine renovation or a small addition that stays under the point-minimum triggers in Sec.

2.10.11.B never has to comply with this exclusion at all; it binds only projects that elect, or are required by their scale, to earn EcoDistrict points.