Chattanooga, TN Invasive Plant Rules: Prohibited Species (2026)

Article XIII of Chapter 38 governs every landscape plan the city requires, and a landscape plan only kicks in for specific projects: any multi-unit dwelling over six units, a townhouse development over ten units, nonresidential or mixed-use construction, and any parking structure or parking lot, per Sec. 38-61(a). That plan must be prepared by a Tennessee Registered Landscape Architect and approved by the Director of the Land Development Office before the city issues a building or land-disturbing permit. Within that plan, Sec. 38-63(a)(1) encourages regionally native species listed in the USDA Plant Profile, while (a)(2) flatly bars any species the Tennessee Invasive Plant Council currently lists as invasive.

1 then sets minimum installed and mature sizes for each required plant class, from large shade trees (2-inch caliper installed, 40-foot mature height) down to small shrubs (18-inch installed height or spread). Sec. 38-63(c) lets a developer count existing, healthy trees and shrubs toward that planting requirement, but only if they aren't on the TIPC invasive list; qualifying trees must be shown on the landscape plan and ringed with a four-foot visibility fence set outside the Critical Root Zone during construction. Sec. 38-63(e) then makes the applicant, developer, landowner, and any successor jointly and severally responsible for keeping the landscape disease-, pest-, weed-, and litter-free, and any plant that dies or is seriously damaged must be replaced within 30 days of the start of the next growing season. Under Sec. 38-62, the city withholds the certificate of occupancy until every required plant is actually in the ground.