Butte County, CA Invasive Plant Rules: Prohibited Species (2026)

Zoning Ordinance Section 24-115 sets the county's landscape standards for all urban zones (the rural AG, TM, TPZ, FR, FCR, RR and RCR zones are outside this article's reach per Section 24-111). Under Section 24-115(A)(1), plant selection is limited to species drawn from a county-approved list that is both drought-tolerant and non-invasive, covering native and non-native stock alike. The same subsection folds in related site standards: turf is banned outright on slopes of twenty-five percent or greater, plants must be grouped into shared hydrozones when irrigated, and any decorative water feature such as a fountain or pond must recirculate its water rather than draw continuously from potable supply.

Plant placement also has to avoid interfering with pedestrian, bicycle or vehicular circulation or conflicting with overhead lights and utility lines at maturity. This article only attaches when a landscape plan is triggered under Section 24-111, which applies to new or rehabilitated landscapes on public agency and private development projects of 2,500 square feet or more requiring a building permit, developer-installed landscaping of the same size threshold, homeowner-installed landscaping of 5,000 square feet or more, and any new or reconstructed parking lot. Section 24-114 requires the landscape plan itself to be submitted with the permit application and reviewed by Development Services, or by the same review authority that approved the underlying discretionary permit.

Maintenance carries forward after installation: Section 24-118 requires dead, severely damaged or diseased plants to be replaced within ninety days, and any mature landscaping that is removed must be replaced with landscaping of similar size and maturity.