Albany, NY Landscaping Rules: Native Plants (2026)

New York ECL §9-1709 and 6 NYCRR Part 575 regulate invasive species, effectively encouraging native alternatives. The NY Invasive Species Council maintains a prohibited and regulated species list including Japanese barberry, burning bush, and Norway maple — common landscape plants now illegal to sell or plant. Albany County Conservation Alliance and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Albany County (CCE-Albany, Voorheesville office) publish Capital Region native plant lists emphasizing species adapted to USDA Hardiness Zone 5b-6a and Hudson Valley clay-loam soils. The City of Albany's 2021 Climate Action Plan promotes pollinator gardens and the County's Open Space Plan supports native meadow conversion. HOAs in newer developments (Loudonville, Slingerlands, Guilderland) may still have covenants requiring turf lawns, but NY Real Property Law §335-b (in effect since 2019) and Albany County local law support property owners' rights to climate-resilient landscaping; specific xeriscape protections exist in some NY jurisdictions but not uniformly statewide. Rain gardens count toward MS4 stormwater compliance under SPDES GP-0-15-003.