Orange County, FL Invasive Plant Rules: Prohibited Species (2026)

Section 24-3 governs commercial site plan review, and subsection (b) lists everything a landscape plan must show before the zoning manager will approve it. Item (8) requires the plan to include notes indicating that all existing invasive exotic plants, as listed on the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council's Invasive Plant Species List, shall be removed. That list is incorporated by reference, so the applicable species roster changes as the state council updates it, rather than being frozen into the county code text. If the invasive plants happen to be growing in or near a wetland, removal isn't automatic: the same subsection requires compliance with chapter 15 of the Code and review by the county's environmental protection division before the disturbance can proceed, layering the county's wetland protection standards on top of the invasive-removal mandate.

Landscape plans for projects over half an acre must be prepared and sealed by a registered landscape architect under § 24-3(b), and the plan isn't approved until final inspection confirms the required elements, invasive removal included, are complete under § 24-3(e). A temporary certificate of occupancy can issue if only landscaping remains outstanding, but the developer must certify in writing that the approved landscaping, including invasive removal, will be finished within a county-set timeframe, backed by surety of at least 125 percent of the estimated landscaping cost if the zoning manager requires it.