Menifee, CA Invasive Plant Rules: Prohibited Species (2026)

Menifee Municipal Code § 15.04.010 defines an INVASIVE SPECIES as a non-indigenous plant or animal that adversely affects the habitats it invades economically, environmentally or ecologically, "as set out in the Western Riverside County Multi-Species Habitat Conservation Plan and as designated by the city." That definition feeds directly into the planting-plan standard at § 15.04.050(B)(6): every planting plan submitted with a Landscape Documentation Package for a covered project must avoid invasive species of plants, with the code singling out sites near parks, buffers, greenbelts, water bodies and open spaces because of the elevated risk of harm to environmentally sensitive areas there.

The rule reaches any new or rehabilitated landscape subject to Chapter 15.04, meaning existing landscapes of an acre or more, properties on a dedicated landscape irrigation meter, and new or rehabilitated residential and commercial projects with 2,500 square feet or more of landscape area that need a building or landscape permit, plan check or design review under § 15.04.020, unless the project falls under one of the § 15.04.030 exemptions for small projects, historical sites, short-term ecological restoration or mined-land reclamation. The Community Development Director reviews the planting plan, along with the rest of the Landscape Documentation Package and its fee set by City Council resolution, and the Director or a designee retains inspection authority under § 15.04.070(E) to enter the project site before, during and after installation to confirm compliance.