Alameda, CA Landscaping Rules: Native Plants (2026)

4 of the Bay-Friendly and Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance, adopted by Ordinance No. in 2016, folds a native-and-non-invasive planting standard into every covered landscape project in Alameda. Subsection (h) flatly bars installing 'plant species considered invasive by the California Invasive Plant Council,' meaning the current Cal-IPC Inventory (species such as pampas grass and Algerian ivy) cannot be specified on a Landscape Documentation Package the Community Development Department will approve. The preceding subsection (g) works alongside it: plants placed next to buildings, sidewalks, roads, or other obstructions must be installed to accommodate their minimum mature spread, sourced from a published third-party horticultural reference, so a landscape plan cannot pack fast-spreading or invasive species tightly against hardscape and rely on future pruning.

3(c): new landscapes of 500 square feet or more and renovated landscapes of 2,500 square feet or more. Org Bay-Friendly Landscaping Scorecard, which rewards California native and climate-appropriate plant selections over ornamentals. Applicants demonstrate compliance in the Landscape Documentation Package reviewed by Community Development before permits, plan checks or design review approvals are issued.