Margate, FL Invasive Plant Rules: Prohibited Species (2026)

Margate regulates unwanted plants in three places in Section 40.704 of the Land Development Code. The first is the swale rule in subsection (J). Planting Florida Holly, Ficus, Brazilian Pepper, any tree of the Moraceae family, and any tree or shrub with an excessive root system that the City considers undesirable for maintenance of streets, sidewalks and public utilities is prohibited within or nearby to the non-travelled public rights-of-way, meaning swales, parkways and similar strips along a public road. Anyone planting trees or shrubs in those areas must apply in writing to the Department of Environmental and Engineering Services and obtain approval if there are no water mains in the swale. A tree planted without approval must be removed by the property owner who planted it.

The second is the waterway frontage rule. Owners must keep the banks of canals, lakes and retention areas that have no seawall cleared, and kept clear, of all Florida Holly, Australian pines, weeds and other noxious species. Those banks must also be graded at a slope no steeper than four horizontal to one vertical and covered with sod down to the design water elevation.

The third is the nuisance tree definition in the tree preservation article. A nuisance tree is Poisonwood (Metopium toxiferum), Norfolk Island Pine (Araucaria excelsia), Lead Tree (Leucaena leucocephala), or any species identified as Category 1 on the Florida Invasive Species Council's List of Invasive Plant Species, as amended. Nuisance trees are exempt from the tree article's prohibitions and from the removal permit, but if one creates an imminent threat to public safety or property it must be removed, and failing to remove it after a warning from DEES is a violation.