Santa Clarita, CA Invasive Plant Rules: Prohibited Species (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing list
- California Invasive Plant Council inventory
- Applies to
- Permits requiring landscape plan review
- Discouraged trees
- Eucalyptus, pepper, palm (Director discretion)
- Certification required
- Licensed landscape architect sign-off
- Section
- UDC § 17.51.030(C)(2)(d)
Summary
Any Santa Clarita landscape plan required for an administrative or discretionary land use permit must skip plants the California Invasive Plant Council lists as invasive exotic pests, or any plant a qualified botanist or biologist flags as invasive, under the City's Landscaping and Irrigation Standards. The rule also discourages eucalyptus, pepper, and palm trees unless the Director finds them compatible with the surrounding area.
b. Plant materials shall emphasize drought-tolerant and/or native species. c. The use of eucalyptus, pepper or palm trees is discouraged, unless compatible with the existing adjacent environment, as determined by the Director. Palm trees shall be limited for use within a community pool or recreation facility, unless otherwise approved by the Director. d. The plant palette shall not include any plants listed as invasive exotic pest plants by the California Invasive Plant Council, or other plants determined to be invasive by a qualified botanist or biologist.
Full Breakdown
030(C) sets the landscape-material standards that commercial, industrial, hillside, mixed-use, and multifamily projects must meet before the Director approves a required landscape and irrigation plan. ' The same chapter's hillside development standards independently direct that plant material 'that requires excessive water after becoming established shall be avoided' and that native or compatible nonnative material be selected for graded slopes, reinforcing the same Cal-IPC screening for hillside subdivisions. Because the ban sits inside the landscape plan review required for administrative and discretionary permits, it reaches new commercial centers, industrial parks, hillside subdivisions, and multifamily and mixed-use buildings; it does not, by its own terms, reach a single-family owner's backyard planting that triggers no permit. 030 before the City signs off.
Violations & Fines
A landscape plan that includes a Cal-IPC-listed or botanist-flagged invasive species will not be approved, and the Director can require the applicant to substitute compliant plant material before landscape or building permits are finaled. Installing or maintaining a prohibited species after plan approval is a violation of the Unified Development Code and a public nuisance under Municipal Code § 1.01.210, letting the City summarily abate the planting or recover abatement costs and attorneys' fees through a civil action under § 1.01.220.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this ban apply to plants already in my yard?
Who decides if a plant is invasive?
Are palm trees banned?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Santa Clarita
California rules heatmap·Compare Santa Clarita to another location·View the California invasive plant rules overview
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Prohibited Species in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Los Angeles County handle prohibited species.