Spotsylvania County, VA Invasive Plant Rules: Prohibited Species (2026)

Chapter 6A, the Chesapeake Bay Preservation ordinance, applies countywide since the board of supervisors designated all land within Spotsylvania County boundaries as a Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area under Sec. 6A-4. Sec. 6A-3 defines 'noxious weeds' as plants that are difficult to control effectively, naming Johnson grass, kudzu, and multiflora rose as examples, and points landowners to the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation's Invasive Species Plant List for the full roster. That definition matters because the ordinance otherwise locks down vegetation removal inside the 100-foot Resource Protection Area (RPA) buffer required by Sec.

6A-5(d): existing vegetation there cannot be cleared or disturbed except as the Administrator approves under Sec. 6A-12. Sec. 6A-12(d)(1)(c) carves out an exception specifically for these species, permitting removal of dead, diseased, or dying trees or shrubbery and of noxious growth such as Johnson grass, kudzu, and multiflora rose, along with thinning, following sound horticultural practices. On agricultural land within the buffer, Sec. 6A-12(d)(2) goes further, directing that appropriate measures may be taken to prevent noxious weeds like these three species from invading the RPA buffer area at all, while still requiring the buffer to control concentrated surface-water flows.

The exemptions sit alongside the county's broader buffer rules: a 100-foot vegetated buffer must be retained or established along perennial waterways, achieving a presumed 75 percent sediment and 40 percent nutrient reduction, and any removal beyond the noxious-weed and dead-tree exceptions needs the Administrator's prior approval or a formal exception under Sec. 6A-15.