Chapel Hill does not mandate native plants in private landscapes but actively favors them through LUMO Appendix A landscape standards and through LUMO Section 5.7.6's explicit exclusion of 11 invasive exotic species (Norway maple, Bradford pear, tree of heaven, mimosa, Princess tree, etc.) from the protected 'specimen tree' category. Chapel Hill is a Tree City USA community with a Town tree board and an annual Arbor Day observance, and partners with NC State Extension's Going Native program for resident education.
Chapel Hill's native-plant policy is incentive- and standards-driven rather than mandatory. Within LUMO Appendix A landscape requirements for development, the Town requires landscape material from an approved plant palette, with maintenance responsibility and replacement of damaged vegetation imposed on the property owner. LUMO Section 5.7.6 (Tree Protection definitions) explicitly excludes eleven invasive exotic species from the protected 'specimen tree' category — meaning Norway maple (Acer platanoides), Bradford pear (Pyrus calleryana), tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima), mimosa (Albizia julibrissin), Princess tree (Paulownia tomentosa), and six others cannot satisfy canopy-retention requirements. The same definitions list reaches in the opposite direction by giving extra protection to native NC species in specified genera (oaks, hickories, hornbeam, hophornbeam, holly, magnolia, hemlock) at lower DBH thresholds. Chapel Hill is a Tree City USA community meeting the Arbor Day Foundation's four standards (tree board, tree ordinance, ≥$2 per capita on urban forestry, Arbor Day). The Town partners with NC State Cooperative Extension's Going Native program and the NC Botanical Garden (located in Chapel Hill) for native-plant outreach. Front-yard food gardens and meadow plantings are not generally restricted by Town code, though HOA covenants in many Chapel Hill neighborhoods impose architectural-review limits.
There are no Town penalties for using non-native plants in a private landscape. Failure to maintain required landscape material under LUMO Appendix A in commercial, multi-family, or buffer-yard contexts is a LUMO violation enforced by Planning & Building Development Services, with civil penalties up to $500 per day and replanting obligations. Removing an invasive exotic species listed in LUMO Section 5.7.6 does not trigger Section 5.7 tree-protection consequences. HOA architectural-review violations are private contract matters in Orange County District Court.
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Chapel Hill, NC
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