Clay County, FL Landscaping Rules: Native Plants (2026)
Key Facts
- Native plant rule
- Encouraged, not mandatory
- Quality floor
- Florida No. 1 grade or better
- Applies to
- Nonresidential paved-area landscaping, unincorporated county
- Plan review fee
- $10 to $100 by acreage
- Enforcement
- Planning, zoning & building administrator
- Appeal deadline
- 30 days to county commission
Summary
Clay County's landscaping code encourages, but does not require, using native plant material in the mandatory landscaping installed around nonresidential parking lots and paved areas in the unincorporated county. Every plant used must still meet 'Florida No. 1 or better' nursery grade, and species the planning, zoning and building administrator finds unsuited to the area cannot be used at all under Sec. 18.5-53.
Quality: plant material used in conformance with the provisions of this article shall conform to the standards for Florida No. 1 or better as given in "Grades and Standards for Nursery Plants," State of Florida Department of Agricultural and Consumer Services, Tallahassee, or equal thereto. Plant materials which are not adaptable to the area, as determined by the administrator of planning, zoning and building, shall not be used under this article. ... Native plants: The use of native plant material is highly encouraged and recommended.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 86).
Full Breakdown
5 sets minimum landscaping standards for the paved ground-surface areas of nonresidential buildings countywide, plus residential buildings inside the Branan Field Corridor and Greater Lake Asbury District and residential lots with parking over 4,500 square feet, and it applies only in the unincorporated county under Sec. 5-51. Within the required 'plant materials' standards, Sec. 5-53(4)a sets a mandatory quality floor: plant material must meet the 'Florida No. 1 or better' grade published by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and the administrator of planning, zoning and building can reject any species found not adaptable to the area.
Immediately after that quality rule, Sec. 5-53(4)b states that native plant material use is 'highly encouraged and recommended,' making it the only landscaping preference in the article phrased as encouragement rather than a numeric mandate. The same subsection sets binding size minimums for whatever species are chosen: shrubs at least eighteen inches tall at planting, vines at least thirty inches after one year, and shade trees at least six feet tall with crown-spread and clear-trunk specifications set out for standard lots and, separately, for lots inside the Branan Field Corridor and Greater Lake Asbury District.
Landscape plans showing the chosen plant palette go to the administrator of planning, zoning and building for approval under Sec. 5-55, with review fees ranging from ten dollars for parcels of one acre or less up to one hundred dollars for parcels over ten acres.
Violations & Fines
There is no separate penalty for skipping native species, since the rule is advisory. But using plant material the administrator finds unsuited to the area, or falling short of the size and quality standards in Sec. 18.5-53, is enforceable under Sec. 18.5-57: the enforcing official can order the condition corrected on a deadline, and noncompliance can hold up the certificate of occupancy. Decisions may be appealed to the county commission within thirty days under Sec. 18.5-59.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Clay County require native plants in landscaping?
What landscaping standards does the native-plant rule sit inside?
Who reviews and approves the plant choices?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Clay County
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Clay County to another location·View the Florida landscaping rules overview
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