Bloomington, IN Invasive Plant Rules: Tree-of-Heaven Removal (2026)

080(e) (Prohibited Plant Species). The table sits inside the landscaping chapter that governs every site plan, subdivision plat, buffer yard and parking lot planting plan the City of Bloomington's Planning and Transportation Department reviews. 080(c)(2)(C) backs the table with a general rule: any species identified as invasive, detrimental or noxious shall not be planted under any circumstances and, if it appears on a site anyway, will not be credited toward the canopy tree, shrub or ground-cover counts a project must meet. Tree-of-Heaven carries the caret symbol on Table 04-18 tying it to the Indiana terrestrial plant rule at 312 IAC 18-3-25, so a developer cannot argue state silence excuses the planting; both the state administrative rule and the City's own ordinance flag the species.

080(e) cites as its rationale. Because the ban lives in the development-review chapter rather than the nuisance or garbage-and-weeds title, it reaches new landscaping installed with a permit, plat or site plan rather than a homeowner's existing yard trees; Bloomington does not use this section to compel removal of a mature Tree-of-Heaven that predates a development application. 080(c)(1)(F) withholds a final occupancy recommendation until the approved landscaping, drawn only from permitted stock, is installed and inspected.