Whittier, CA Invasive Plant Rules: Prohibited Species (2026)

The rule sits inside Chapter 13.43, Water Efficient Landscaping, which applies to new landscape projects of 500 square feet or more and rehabilitated landscape projects of 2,500 square feet or more that require a building or landscape permit, plan check, or design review (Section 13.43.020(A)). Section 13.43.030 defines an 'invasive plant species' as one 'not historically found in California that spreads outside cultivated areas and can damage environmental or economic resources,' noting that county agricultural agencies may separately regulate such species as noxious weeds and pointing designers to the California Invasive Plant Inventory and the USDA invasive and noxious weeds database for current lists.

Section 13.43.100(A)(1) sets the plant-material criteria a landscape design plan must meet, and subsection (g) states that using invasive plant species, such as those on the California Invasive Plant Council's list, 'is strongly discouraged.' That wording is advisory rather than a flat prohibition: the plan itself must still meet the chapter's water-budget and hydrozone standards, and reviewers can flag an invasive-species planting list during landscape documentation review, but the section does not independently bar issuance of a permit. Applicants proposing a qualifying new or rehabilitated landscape submit the plan as part of the landscape documentation package required under Section 13.43.070, and the Building and Safety Division of Community Development Services reviews plant lists against this criterion alongside the mandatory water-budget calculations.