San Antonio, TX Invasive Plant Rules: Prohibited Species (2026)

Sec. 35-523(f)(1)(C) is the only invasive-species provision in San Antonio's Unified Development Code; the city has no separate ordinance barring these species from being planted. Instead, the tree preservation division carves them out of protected status altogether. The listed species are Chinese pistache, chinaberry, Chinese tallow, tree of heaven, salt cedar, Japanese ligustrum, nandina and paper mulberry, all recognized regionally as aggressive spreaders that crowd out native canopy and understory. Because they are omitted from the tree survey, a developer does not count their diameter inches toward the significant or heritage tree preservation percentages in Table 523-1A, and removing one does not require a tree permit, mitigation payment, or replacement planting the way removing a protected native tree would.

The same list appears in the UDC's definitions appendix under 'Non-Native Invasive Tree Species,' confirming it functions as a fixed reference list rather than a discretionary call by the city arborist. The exclusion cuts both ways for a property owner: an invasive tree on a lot can be cleared freely to make room for native replacement plantings that do count toward the canopy and preservation requirements, but a developer also cannot claim these species as part of the tree canopy credit used to satisfy Sec. 35-523(e)'s minimum final canopy percentages. The tree mitigation fund and Tree Canopy Investment Fund, both created within Sec. 35-523, are financed instead by fees and mitigation tied to protected species removal, not this excluded list.