Newark, NJ Invasive Plant Rules: Prohibited Species (2026)

Section 41:16-2-2(4) of Title XLI, Zoning and Land Use Regulations, opens with a named list: Bradford pear, empress tree, tree of heaven, white poplar and Lombardy poplar, Russian olive, Siberian elm, Amur maple, silver maple, Norway maple and female Gingko biloba are all trees that 'may not be planted and are prohibited' under Newark's landscaping standards. The section does not stop at that list; it adds a catch-all sentence, 'no tree listed on the NJDEP Invasive Plant List or USDA Invasive Plants Field and Reference Guide may be planted,' which pulls in every species on two external reference documents rather than limiting the ban to the ten named trees.

That combination makes the ordinance broader than most municipal invasive-species rules, which typically name species without cross-referencing a state agency list that can be updated independently of the local code. The prohibition is embedded in § 41:16-2, 'Landscaping for Buildings and Yards,' adopted November 1, 2023 by Ordinance No. 6PSF-E as part of a rewrite of Newark's zoning and land use design standards. It applies wherever landscaping is required, which under § 41:16-2-1(3) means 'all residential, commercial, and industrial sites' going through site plan or subdivision review, and it interacts with the diameter-at-breast-height inventory requirement of § 41:16-2-1(3)(d), which forces an applicant to identify and account for every existing tree on a redevelopment parcel before removal or replacement is approved.