Broward County, FL Invasive Plant Rules: Prohibited Species (2026)
Key Facts
- Governs
- Unincorporated Broward County only
- Banned list source
- FLEPPC Invasive Plant Species list
- Existing invasives
- Must be removed on site
- Triggered by
- Site plan review landscape submittal
Summary
Unincorporated Broward bars landscaping with FLEPPC-listed invasive plants and makes removal of existing ones mandatory.
Determinations of prohibited and controlled plant species shall be pursuant to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Chapter 5B-57, Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.), and the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council (FLEPPC) Invasive Plant Species list. Plant species identified as prohibited and controlled according to Chapter 5B-57, F.A.C., and the FLEPPC Invasive Plant Species list may not be used, except as specifically allowed therein. ... Invasive plants. Prohibited and controlled plant species, pursuant to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Chapter 5B-57, FLEPPC Invasive Plant Species list, that are existing on site shall be removed.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 72 | Administrative Code: Supplement 28).
Full Breakdown
Under the county's zoning landscape code, any development that requires a site plan review must submit a landscape plan, and plant selection on that plan is bound by the state's prohibited/controlled plant list plus the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council Invasive Plant Species list. Species on either list "may not be used," and where they already exist on site, Sec. 39-83(a)(3) requires them to be removed rather than left in place. The rule sits inside Chapter 39 Zoning, which by its own Sec. 39-2 short title applies only in unincorporated Broward County; Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Pembroke Pines, Coral Springs and the county's other 27 municipalities run their own landscape codes.
Violations & Fines
Landscape plans that specify a prohibited or FLEPPC-listed invasive species are not approved at site plan review; existing invasive plants found on a reviewed site must be removed as a condition of compliance under Sec. 39-83.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this apply inside Fort Lauderdale or Hollywood?
Can I keep an invasive plant that's already growing on my lot?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Broward County
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Broward County to another location·View the Florida invasive plant rules overview
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