Bellflower, CA Landscaping Rules: Native Plants (2026)

The City of Bellflower steers residents toward low-water and climate-appropriate planting rather than mandating specific native species. In the Single-Family (SF) Zone, Municipal Code Section 17.16.200 requires that all front-yard and street-facing side-yard setbacks (excluding driveways and walkways) be landscaped and maintained, and where water-efficient designs are used, subsection (B) provides that 'Water-efficient landscape designs shall consist of low-water-use plants,' that decorative hardscape such as pavers, rock, stone, and brick may be used only as an accent and never as a majority of the design, and that a permanent irrigation system adequate to meet the water needs of all landscape material must be provided, with site-plan approval to ensure compliance. Parallel landscaping standards appear in other zones - for example, the Agricultural Estate zone's Section 17.20.220 requires landscape designs to emphasize water-efficient and/or drought-tolerant plants and to comply with the most current Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (MWELO) and other applicable laws. MWELO is California's statewide standard (California Code of Regulations Title 23) that applies to new landscapes of 500 square feet or more and rehabilitated landscapes of 2,500 square feet or more tied to a permit; it pushes designs toward low-water, climate-appropriate (often native) plant palettes, limited turf, mulch, and efficient irrigation, and every California city must enforce it or a local ordinance at least as effective. Bellflower thus blends a City low-water-plant requirement with the state MWELO mandate. Planting in the public parkway still requires a Public Works permit under Section 12.08.090.