Scranton, PA Invasive Plant Rules: Prohibited Species (2026)

Section 445-22A(1)(b) sets the rule in a single sentence: 'Selected trees and shrubs shall not include invasive plants as determined by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR).' It sits inside the chapter's general landscaping requirements, which apply whenever a site or land development plan calls for planting, whether that's a required buffer between a commercial use and a residential district, screening around a parking lot, or the shade and evergreen trees a development plan has to show under § 445-22A(3).

The DCNR-invasive exclusion works alongside the chapter's other planting standards rather than in isolation: deciduous shade trees have to reach 30 feet in height and spread at maturity with a two-inch trunk at planting, evergreen trees have to reach 20 feet at maturity, and any landscaping plan submitted with a site or land development application has to include a table identifying the scientific and common name of every plant species proposed, under § 445-22A(2)(c), which is exactly the mechanism the City uses to catch a DCNR-listed species before it's approved. Maintenance carries the rule forward after installation, too: § 445-22A(8)(c) requires that any dead landscaping be replaced with the 'same size and type of plant as shown on the landscaping plan,' so a property owner can't quietly swap in an invasive species later to fill a gap.