Rancho Cucamonga, CA Invasive Plant Rules: Prohibited Species (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing list
- California Invasive Plant Inventory (Cal-IPC)
- Applies to
- all new and existing development landscaping
- Also banned in
- curb-to-sidewalk parkway strips
- Checked at
- preliminary and final landscape plan review
- WUI fire area
- adds wildfire-hazard planting requirement
Summary
Any landscaping installed under a Rancho Cucamonga development or design review permit must skip every species on the California Invasive Plant Council's Cal-IPC inventory. Development Code Section 17.56.050(F) requires climate-appropriate, drought-tolerant, and noninvasive plantings citywide, with wildfire-hazard-reduction species emphasized inside the wildland-urban interface fire area.
Plant type. Landscape planting shall emphasize climate appropriate, drought-tolerant, native, and noninvasive species (especially along natural, open space areas), shall complement the architectural design of structures on the site, and shall be suitable for the soil and climatic conditions specific to the site. Plant species known to be invasive and listed on the California Invasive Plant Inventory published by the California Invasive Plant Council (Cal-IPC) are prohibited. In the wildland-urban interface fire area, planting shall emphasize wildfire hazard reduction.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4999536; v21 updated 2026-07-15).
Full Breakdown
050(F), part of the city's General Landscape Development Standards, sets the plant-selection rule enforced through every landscape plan the city reviews: plantings must be climate appropriate, drought-tolerant, native, and noninvasive, and any species that appears on the California Invasive Plant Inventory published by the California Invasive Plant Council (Cal-IPC) may not be used, in any zone. 020 makes the chapter applicable to all new and existing development, layered on top of the city's separate Water Efficient Landscaping requirements, so the invasive-species ban travels with virtually every landscaping installation the city permits.
040 routes both the preliminary and final landscape plans through the same design-review approving authority that handles the corresponding development entitlement, with the fire chief added as an approving authority for projects inside the wildland-urban interface fire area. 090(D)(4) separately bars 'plant species known to be invasive according to the California Invasive Plant Inventory' from the landscaped area between the curb and sidewalk that abutting property owners must plant and maintain. 050(J) separately bars any plant type identified as fire-prone or specifically prohibited by the fire district.
Violations & Fines
Landscaping plans that include a Cal-IPC-listed species are rejected at plan review under Sections 17.56.030 and 17.56.040 before a building permit issues, and installing prohibited species without approval exposes the property to the city's standard Development Code enforcement process, which can require removal and replacement of the noncompliant planting at the owner's expense.
Frequently Asked Questions
What list determines which plants are banned in Rancho Cucamonga landscaping?
Does the invasive-plant ban apply to my existing yard, or just new construction?
Who reviews my plant list for compliance?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Rancho Cucamonga
California rules heatmap·Compare Rancho Cucamonga to another location·View the California invasive plant rules overview
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Prohibited Species in Nearby Cities
How other cities in San Bernardino County handle prohibited species.