Bristol, PA Landscaping Rules: Native Plants (2026)

Bristol Borough's native plant rules live in § 22-523, Landscape Improvements, in the Subdivision and Land Development chapter, so they bind landscape plans for subdivisions and land developments. Two provisions use the word native.

Street trees under subsection 4 are held to a firm standard: plant species native to Pennsylvania and hardy to USDA Planting Zone 6b are required in lieu of alternate species. The same subsection sets one street tree for every 40 lineal feet of street frontage, a minimum diameter of 2.5 inches measured at six inches above grade, and a minimum height of seven feet above grade before branching.

Subsection 7 covers landscaping of stormwater management facilities, and there the wording softens to encouragement: use of native plant material is encouraged over exotic foreign species. Those basins are planted with a mixture of canopy trees, evergreen trees, ornamental flowering trees, shrubs, and herbaceous perennials to naturalize them. Plantings are grouped to replicate naturalized planting arrangements, herbaceous perennials go within and around the basin in lieu of sod, and signage must educate the public and define limits of mowing.

For ordinary lots, § 10-201 sets a height of 10 inches for grass, weeds and vegetation that is not edible or planted for some useful or ornamental purpose. Any plant material in a plan must also clear the invasive species screen in subsection 10 of § 22-523, and the landscape plan must be signed and sealed by a landscape architect registered in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.