Reading, PA Invasive Plant Rules: Prohibited Species (2026)
Key Facts
- Enforcing officer
- City Arborist
- Penalty
- Up to $600/day, continuing offense
- Adopted
- Jan. 10, 2022 by Ord. No. 6-2022
- State authority
- Controlled Plant and Noxious Weed Act, 3 Pa.C.S. § 1501
- Appeal path
- Chapter 555, § 555-114.B (Shade Trees)
- Penalty proceeds
- Credited to the Shade Tree Commission
Summary
Reading bans distributing, cultivating or propagating any invasive plant or noxious weed listed by the state, and makes it a violation to conceal one from inspection or ignore a state Control Order. Chapter 317 implements Pennsylvania's Controlled Plant and Noxious Weed Act, and the City Arborist enforces it with fines up to $600 per day.
A. It shall be a violation of this Chapter to willfully distribute, cultivate or propagate any invasive plant/noxious weed or any controlled plant. B. It shall be unlawful for a person to willfully conceal an invasive plant/noxious weed or controlled plant from inspection or make a false declaration. C. Pursuant to the implementation responsibilities assigned to municipalities in the Controlled Plants and Noxious Weeds Act, this Chapter prohibits a person from failing to control an invasive plant/noxious weed or any controlled plant in accordance with a Control Order issued by the Department of Agriculture. The City will undertake enforcement as required under the Act, and as established in this Chapter.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-8: Current through August 10, 2026).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 317 of the Reading Codified Ordinances, adopted January 10, 2022 by Ordinance No. S. , and states its purpose in Section 317-101 as regulating invasive plants and noxious weeds so native plants can re-establish. Section 317-102 defines a controlled plant as a species regulated to prevent uncontained growth, and a Control Order as a written directive from the PA Department of Agriculture or the city detailing required treatment measures. Section 317-103 incorporates by reference the state's own lists: the PA Department of Agriculture's Noxious, Invasive and Poisonous Plant Program Class lists and the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources' list of Invasive Plants of Pennsylvania, so the prohibited species are whatever those two state lists currently designate rather than a separate city list.
Section 317-104 sets three prohibited acts: willfully distributing, cultivating or propagating a listed plant; willfully concealing one from inspection or making a false declaration about it; and failing to control a listed plant in accordance with a Control Order issued by the Department of Agriculture or the city. The City Arborist enforces the chapter under Section 317-105. D(2).
Violations & Fines
The Arborist serves a written notice of violation directing abatement under Section 317-106.A. Property owners can appeal a notice of violation or a Control Order using the same procedure Chapter 555, Section 555-114.B sets out for shade tree violations. If the violation is not abated within the notice's deadline, the Officer can ask the City Solicitor to seek a court order restraining, correcting or abating it, and the underlying fine remains up to $600 per day plus costs, with proceeds directed to the Shade Tree Commission.
Frequently Asked Questions
What plants are actually banned in Reading?
Can I be fined for growing an invasive plant?
What if the state orders me to remove a noxious weed?
How do I appeal a violation notice?
Who enforces this ordinance in Reading?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Reading
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