Puyallup, WA Invasive Plant Rules: Prohibited Species (2026)

58, prohibits using invasive, noxious, poisonous, toxic or otherwise nuisance plant materials in any landscaped area required by the zoning title. The standard for invasive or noxious status is external: the code adopts whatever the Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board (NWCB) currently lists, so the prohibited-species roster is not fixed in the municipal code itself but tracks the state board's list as it changes. The poisonous-or-toxic branch of the rule carries its own carve-out: subsection (a) states the restriction does not apply to commonly used ornamental plants such as rhododendrons, so a landscape plan is not disqualified for including a locally standard toxic ornamental.

Subsection (b) defines nuisance plant materials to include, without limitation, any plantings that spread in a proliferous or invasive manner beyond the intended landscaped area, that damage or interfere with overhead or underground utility lines, or that damage abutting pavement or foundations. Where a plant's characteristics are unclear, subsection (c) lets the development services director require the applicant to submit planting-characteristic information drawn from a published plant encyclopedia or a professional horticultural consultant before the plan is approved. 050, tracing to Ordinance 2147 (1987) and last amended by Ordinance 3130 (2016).