Dubuque, IA Landscaping Rules: Native Plants (2026)

Dubuque City Code § 16-13-3-4 requires site development, including parking lots, to incorporate two or more low impact development tools or other city engineer-approved best management practices, on top of the stormwater design rules in Title 14, Chapter 12. Native plantings are one of fourteen listed tools, described in the code as the use of native plants to reduce the need for irrigation and reduce runoff, with the ordinance crediting native species for slowing runoff and improving infiltration or filtration through their deep, fibrous root systems.

The list also includes rain gardens, bioswales, reduced lot grading, permeable pavement and rainwater harvesting, so a site plan can pair native plantings with any other qualifying tool rather than needing a distinct native-landscaping plan. Native plantings are not made mandatory by themselves; the ordinance sets a menu, so a project can satisfy the requirement entirely with other tools if it chooses. The measure was adopted by Ordinance 52-09 (October 19, 2009) and amended by Ordinance 2-23 (January 17, 2023), and it is administered during site plan review by the city engineer under Title 16.