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

Newark regulates problem plants by naming trees that cannot be planted, not by labeling them invasive. Two separate sections do the work, and they cover different ground.

Section 1028.08, in the Streets, Utilities and Public Services Part, provides that the listed trees shall not be planted on Municipally-owned property. The list gives Latin names with common names: Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum), Box Elder (Acer negundo), Common Horse Chestnut, Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima), all Birch, all Catalpa, all Mulberry, all Poplar, all Willow, female Ginkgo, European Mountain Ash, Black Locust, Common Apple, Tuliptree, Moline Elm, Siberian Elm and Eastern Cottonwood. Planting anything in a public place also needs a work permit from the Director of Public Service under § 1028.03.

Section 1292.07(c), in the zoning landscaping chapter, lists prohibited trees for landscaping that the chapter requires: Silver, Soft, White and River Maple; Honey Locust; Eastern Poplar, Eastern Cottonwood and Aspen; Boxelder; Basswood; Willows; Tree of Heaven; Common Horsechestnut; Catalpa; White or Common Mulberry; Ash; and Ginko. It closes with a catch-all: any other tree known to be similar to the species above. The chapter applies to new construction and additions, but § 1292.04(a) exempts the RS, RL, RM, RH, RZLL and TFR districts, while § 1292.04(f) keeps the § 1292.07(c) list in force in the DC District even though the rest of the chapter is exempt.

The lists overlap on Silver Maple, Box Elder, Tree of Heaven, poplars, willows, catalpa, mulberry and horse chestnut, but differ on Honey Locust, Basswood, Ash and Ginkgo, which appear only in the zoning list, and on Birch, Black Locust and the elms, which appear only in the public-property list. Neither list covers shrubs or herbaceous plants.