Cass County, MO Landscaping Rules: Native Plants (2026)

Section 400.520(A)(2)(a) of the Cass County Zoning Order lists native planting as a preferred method for stabilizing exposed soils on a site where erosion and sediment controls are required. The provision covers stabilizing exposed soils through temporary or permanent plantings, seeding, grass sod placement, and mulching, and directs that native plants be used wherever practical. This sits alongside the county's separate stream buffer rule for the Outer Zone under Section 400.530(G), where the vegetative target is described as usually natural vegetation, with property owners encouraged to plant shrubs and trees rather than turf.

Read together, the county's storm water and stream buffer chapters lean toward native and natural vegetation as the default landscaping choice for erosion-prone and buffer areas, though the rule is phrased as guidance rather than a strict planting list or a species mandate. Because this obligation is folded into the same section governing erosion and sediment controls, it applies whenever a site is required to obtain a land disturbance permit and Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan under Section 400.510, most directly in the Big Creek, Mount Pleasant, and Raymore townships.

There is no separate native-plant ordinance, permit, or approved species list in the county code; the Zoning and Codes Department reviews landscaping choices as part of the broader BMP and buffer plan review for permitted projects.