Davis, CA Landscaping Rules: Native Plants (2026)

, through a landscape documentation package required for most new or rehabilitated landscaping. 020, the article reaches non-residential and public-agency projects with 2,500 square feet or more of landscape area, developer-installed residential landscaping of 2,500 square feet or more per lot, and homeowner-provided or homeowner-hired residential landscaping of 5,000 square feet or more, whenever the project needs a building or landscape permit, plan check, or design review. 090(a)(1)(A) lets an applicant select any plant, provided the estimated water use of the landscape does not exceed the maximum applied water allowance, and then lists what the city 'highly recommends' toward that goal, starting with protection and preservation of native species and natural vegetation, followed by water-conserving plant and turf species, disease- and pest-resistant plants, trees from the city's master tree list, and plants drawn from city, local and regional landscape program plant lists.

Subsection (a)(1)(C) further recommends matching plant choices to the site's climate zone, and subsection (a)(1)(F) states that the use of invasive or noxious plant species is strongly discouraged. None of this is phrased as a mandate: a landscape that meets the water budget with non-native plants still complies. Common-interest developments cannot override the ordinance by prohibiting low-water-use plants as a group under subsection (a)(1)(G). A landscape architect, licensed landscape contractor, or other authorized designer must sign the plan attesting compliance with the ordinance's water-efficiency criteria.