Cape Coral, FL Invasive Plant Rules: Prohibited Species (2026)

Section 5.5.9.A of the Land Development Code prohibits a specific list of invasive exotic plants, including Earleaf Acacia, Australian Pine, Carrotwood, Air Potato, Melaleuca (Paper Tree), Brazilian Pepper (Florida Holly), and Tropical Soda Apple, among 20 species named in Table 5.5.9, along with 'those plants currently listed as a Category I invasive by the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council (FLEPPC) at the time of development.' Any of these plants found on a development site must be removed 'from the development site, in its entirety,' and for projects built in phases, the exotic plants must come out of future-phase areas as each phase is developed. The site must then stay free of the prohibited plants permanently: the Code requires it be 'maintained free from invasive exotic plants in perpetuity.'

Public parks and recreational facility projects get a narrower path: they may remove exotics under a phasing plan or invasive exotic plant removal plan that the Director reviews and approves based on the site's size, the estimated number of exotics, accessibility, and removal cost, and no certificate of completion issues for a phased area until its exotics are gone. One species gets a partial carve-out: the Weeping Fig (Ficus benjamina) is allowed only if it's kept trimmed as a hedge no taller than eight feet, because of its aggressive root system. Section 5.5.9.D requires all city- and state-prohibited vegetation to be cleared from a site before the city issues a certificate of occupancy or completion.