Spokane County, WA Landscaping Rules: Native Plants (2026)
Key Facts
- Tree credit
- 12"+ diameter tree = 3 required trees
- Applies to
- Commercial/industrial/multi-family/PUD projects
- Exempt
- Single-family & duplex homes
- Purpose language
- Native vegetation 'should be used'
- Appeal path
- Hearing body, ch. 14.502.060
- Security bond cap
- 150% of landscaping cost estimate
Summary
Spokane County's landscaping code directs developers to use native vegetation and retain existing plantings wherever possible, and it backs that preference with a real credit: any healthy existing tree twelve inches or more in diameter counts as three required landscape trees under section 14.806.040(1)(e). The credit applies to commercial, industrial, multi-family and planned-unit developments covered by chapter 14.806.
Whenever possible, native vegetation should be used and existing vegetation in the natural and man-made landscape should be retained. Xeriscaping is encouraged to promote water conservation, reduce maintenance requirements, and decrease flooding potential in areas with high groundwater levels. ... e.When existing trees and other vegetation serves the same or similar function as the required landscaping, they may be substituted for the required landscaping if they are healthy and appropriate for the site at mature size. When existing trees are twelve inches or more in diameter, they shall be equivalent to three required landscape trees. If necessary, supplemental landscaping shall be provided in areas where existing vegetation is utilized to accomplish the intent of this chapter.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 63).
Full Breakdown
000: landscaping should preserve urban wildlife habitat, and 'whenever possible, native vegetation should be used and existing vegetation in the natural and man-made landscape should be retained,' with xeriscaping encouraged for water conservation and reduced maintenance. 040(1)(e), the modification-of-landscaping-requirement provision: when existing trees or other vegetation perform the same screening or buffering function as required new plantings, the director can substitute them for required landscaping, and any healthy existing tree of at least twelve inches in diameter, measured at six feet above ground, counts as three required landscape trees rather than one.
806 applies in the first place, developments involving additions or alterations whose cost exceeds fifty percent of the existing structure's assessed value, plus new commercial, industrial, multi-family and planned unit development projects. 020(2) exempts individual single-family and duplex homes entirely, so the native-vegetation credit is a builder-facing tool rather than a homeowner mandate. 060.
Violations & Fines
Removing credited native trees or retained vegetation after landscaping approval without replacing it is a maintenance violation under section 14.806.160(3), which requires diseased, damaged or dead required landscaping, including credited existing trees, to be replaced consistent with the approved plan. Failing to maintain or replace the vegetation is itself a code violation and can jeopardize a project's certificate of occupancy or trigger a call on the up-to-150-percent landscaping security required under section 14.806.140(2).
Frequently Asked Questions
Does keeping my mature trees reduce required new landscaping in Spokane County?
Do single-family homeowners have to plant native species?
Who decides if my existing vegetation qualifies for the tree credit?
What happens if a credited tree dies later?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Spokane County
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