Council Bluffs, IA Invasive Plant Rules: Prohibited Species (2026)

Council Bluffs Municipal Code § 10.52.060, in the Trees, Shrubs and Hedges chapter, bars anyone from planting a specific list of species in or upon a public right-of-way or other public property within the city. The banned list includes Black Locust, Box Elder, Butternut, Catalpa, Cottonwood, weeping Crab, all Elm species except hybrids, every evergreen such as pines, spruces, firs and cedars, thorn-variety Hawthorns, all Hickory species, all Mulberry species, Osage Orange, Paper Birch, Persimmon, Pin Oak, all Poplar species, Russian Olive, Silver Maple, Tree of Heaven, Walnut, all Willow species, and any standard fruiting tree such as apple, pear, cherry or plum other than a hybrid or flowering-only variety.

The section closes with a catch-all: any genus, species or variety not listed on the city's master street tree plan is also prohibited from right-of-way planting. That plan is prepared and kept current by the director of parks, recreation and public property under § 10.52.070 and is available for public inspection at the director's office, showing which species may be planted and under what standards. The ban applies specifically to public right-of-way and public property plantings for street-tree purposes; it does not itself regulate these same species growing on private property, which is instead addressed by the property owner's separate maintenance duty in § 10.52.080.