Tippecanoe County, IN Invasive Plant Rules: Prohibited Species (2026)

Tippecanoe County does not have a countywide ban on invasive plant species; the invasive-species-free requirement in the code is a standing condition on large-scale solar energy systems specifically, found at § 4-11-14(c)(8). Any large-scale, ten-acre-or-larger ground-mounted solar project has to be planted and maintained clear of every species the Indiana Invasive Species Council lists, an outside state list covering plants that outcompete native vegetation. Because the ordinance uses the word 'maintained,' the obligation does not end once the panels go up; it runs for as long as the system operates, alongside the pollinator-friendly native-plant plan required in the same subsection.

The requirement sits inside the same site-plan submission list an applicant files with a special exception request or improvement location permit application, next to the stormwater management plan, driveway approval, and bufferyard conditions in § 4-11-14(c)(2)-(6). Because the ordinance ties the invasive-species standard to an outside list maintained by the state council rather than printing its own list of banned plants, the specific species covered can change as the council updates its list, and a site found in compliance at construction can fall out of compliance later if the council adds a species already growing there.