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

Sec. 25-32A.3 defines INVASIVE PLANT SPECIES as species not historically found in California that spread outside cultivated areas and can damage environmental or economic resources, noting that county agricultural agencies may separately regulate the same species as noxious weeds and that lists are kept by the California Invasive Plant Inventory and the USDA invasive and noxious weeds database. That definition feeds directly into the landscape design plan criteria at Sec. 25-32A.8, part of the water efficient landscape ordinance adopted by Ord. 1830 on November 17, 2015.

Subsection A.1.f of that section addresses invasive species directly, using discouragement language rather than a prohibition, which contrasts with the same subsection's actual bans: high water use plants are barred from street medians, and natural turf is barred in commercial and industrial zones. The ordinance applies to new construction and rehabilitated landscape projects that submit a landscape documentation package to Community Development for plan check; smaller projects can instead use the prescriptive compliance option at Sec. 25-32A.23. There is no separate invasive-species removal mandate printed in the code, and the city's own zoning or agricultural nuisance provisions were not found to add one for private landscaping.