Lansing, MI Invasive Plant Rules: Prohibited Species (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Lansing Codified Ordinances § 1252.04(d)
- Species cap
- No species over 33% of landscape plan
- Native tree floor
- 75% of required trees must be native
- Rejection authority
- Zoning Administrator, case-by-case discretion
- Appeal body
- 9-member Board of Zoning Appeals
- Enforcement
- Municipal civil infraction; nuisance per se
Summary
Lansing's landscaping code discourages invasive plants in any required site landscape plan. Species the State of Michigan or Michigan State University identifies as invasive are "heavily disfavored" during plan review, and the Zoning Administrator may reject a plan that includes them under Codified Ordinances Section 1252.04(d), in the Chapter 1252 landscaping standards for Lansing, Michigan, in Ingham County.
1252.04. - Species. (a)Mixing of species. The overall landscape plan shall not contain more than 33 percent of any one plant species. The use of trees native to the area, and mixture of trees from the same species association, is encouraged in all landscaped area.(b)At least 75 percent of trees required in the overall landscape plan shall be made up of native tree species as identified by the State of Michigan or Michigan State University—Extension.(c)The lack of use of native vegetation species with deep roots in rain gardens, bioswales, buffer areas, and other forms of naturalized landscaping to accomplish the goal of stormwater retention and may be cause for rejection of the landscape plan.(d)Prohibited species. Species deemed invasive by the State of Michigan or Michigan State University will be heavily disfavored during landscape plan review. Such invasive species may be rejected at the discretion of the Zoning Administrator.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 64).
Full Breakdown
02. 04 governs species selection inside that plan: subsection (a) caps any single plant species at 33 percent of the overall landscape plan and encourages native species mixes; subsection (b) requires at least 75 percent of the trees in the plan to be native species identified by the State of Michigan or Michigan State University Extension; and subsection (c) lets the City treat a plan's failure to use deep-rooted native species in rain gardens, bioswales and buffer areas as grounds to reject it. Subsection (d), captioned "Prohibited species," targets invasive plants directly and is quoted above in full.
The standard is discretionary rather than an automatic ban: the Zoning Administrator decides case by case whether a listed invasive species sinks approval of the plan, rather than the code naming specific banned plants. 03 lets the nine-member Board of Zoning Appeals hear and decide appeals from any Planning Office determination under the Zoning Code. 05, where the Board may affirm, reverse or modify the rejection.
Violations & Fines
A landscape installed or maintained out of step with an approved plan, including planting a species the Zoning Administrator rejected, is a nuisance per se under Section 1272.01(f), enforceable by the Planning Office, Code Compliance Office and Building Safety Office as designated Zoning Code enforcers under Section 1272.01(a). Section 1272.03(a) makes a Zoning Code violation a municipal civil infraction carrying the civil fine set in Section 203.06 plus costs, with each day of noncompliance a separate offense under Section 1272.03(b) and increased fines for repeat offenses under Section 202.99(c)(2).
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Lansing ban invasive plants outright?
When does this rule apply to my property?
Can I appeal if the Zoning Administrator rejects my landscape plan over an invasive species?
What counts as an invasive species under this rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Lansing
Compare Lansing to another location·View the Michigan invasive plant rules overview
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