Dearborn Heights, MI Invasive Plant Rules: Prohibited Species (2026)

Sec. 33-26 defines 'prohibited species' narrowly: any tree of the poplar (Populus), willow (Salix), box elder (Acer Negundro), or elm (Ulmus) species. That definition does its work in Sec. 33-28, which requires the owner, contractor, or builder of any new residence to plant one or more street trees before the city will issue a certificate of occupancy. Those required trees must be a hardwood variety drawn from the recommended planting list in Article X of the city's zoning ordinance, or another variety the public service administrator approves, but the code carves out an explicit exception: none of the four prohibited species may be used to satisfy that planting requirement.

The same section lets a residence finished between November 1 and March 31 get a temporary certificate of occupancy while the owner posts an escrow equal to one and a half times the estimated planting cost and completes the planting within sixty days after March 31. Every required tree must also be properly planted and healthy, disease- and pest-free at planting, and any replacement planting under the city's later tree-replacement guidelines must likewise be drawn from the approved, non-prohibited list and encourage species diversity. Because the prohibition is tied to the mandatory street-tree requirement rather than a blanket citywide ban, a poplar, willow, box elder, or elm already growing elsewhere on private property is not itself unlawful; the restriction bites specifically when a builder or homeowner is trying to satisfy Sec. 33-28's new-construction planting duty.