San Leandro, CA Invasive Plant Rules: Prohibited Species (2026)
Key Facts
- Prohibited list source
- CAL-IPC Bay Area invasive inventory
- Applies to
- New/rehab commercial, industrial, larger residential
- Residential threshold
- Developer-installed over 2,500 sq ft
- Non-turf low-water requirement
- 75% of plants low/no summer water
- Turf cap
- 25% of irrigated landscape area
Summary
New and rehabilitated landscapes on commercial, industrial, and larger residential projects in San Leandro cannot specify any plant species that the California Invasive Plant Council lists as invasive in the San Francisco Bay Area, under Zoning Code Section 4.16.116.D.5.
D. Design Standards for Projects Requiring a Landscape Documentation Package and/or Irrigation Design Plan. All new or rehabilitated commercial, industrial or developer-installed residential landscapes that exceed 2,500 square feet or residential landscapes that exceed 5,000 square feet shall adhere to the following design standards. 5. Those species identified by California Invasive Plan Council (CAL-IPC) as invasive in the San Francisco Bay Area shall not be specified.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4967405; v8 updated 2026-07-06).
Full Breakdown
D. Within that design standard, subsection 5 bars landscape plans from specifying any species the California Invasive Plant Council, known as CAL-IPC, has identified as invasive specifically in the San Francisco Bay Area, tying the prohibited list to CAL-IPC's regional inventory rather than freezing it into the Municipal Code text. The same design-standards subsection layers on related water-conscious planting rules: at least 75 percent of non-turf plants must need only occasional, infrequent, or no summer water once established, judged against reference guides such as the Sunset Western Garden Book or the UC Cooperative Extension's water-needs guide, and irrigated turf area is capped at 25 percent of the landscape with turf barred on slopes steeper than 25 percent above hardscape. 116, on that submittal before it can be approved.
Violations & Fines
A landscape plan that specifies a CAL-IPC Bay Area invasive species is not eligible for approval of its Landscape Documentation Package under Section 4.16.108, and installing prohibited species without correcting the plan exposes the responsible party to the City's administrative penalty process under Section 1-12-415, with each day of noncompliance treated as a separate violation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I plant CAL-IPC-listed invasive species in my San Leandro landscaping?
Does the invasive species ban apply to my small backyard garden?
Who checks landscape plans for prohibited invasive species in San Leandro?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in San Leandro
California rules heatmap·Compare San Leandro to another location·View the California invasive plant rules overview
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Prohibited Species in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Alameda County handle prohibited species.