Fort Smith, AR Landscaping Rules: Native Plants (2026)

Fort Smith takes a voluntary, education-based approach to native-plant landscaping. The Fort Smith Municipal Code does not require native species on private residential property. Resources for Fort Smith homeowners include the Arkansas Native Plant Society (anps.org), the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service (uaex.uada.edu) which publishes Ozark and Arkansas River Valley native-plant guides, the Arkansas Department of Agriculture's Urban & Community Forestry program (https://agriculture.arkansas.gov/forests/urban-community-forestry/), and the Janet Huckabee Arkansas River Valley Nature Center near Fort Smith. The Chapter 16 (Nuisances) 10-inch grass-and-weed standard remains the operative limit, but maintained, intentional native-plant or pollinator-habitat plantings read as 'cultivated gardens' rather than rank neglect for enforcement purposes — documentation of an intentional planting plan helps. Arkansas's Right to Farm Act (A.C.A. §2-4-101 et seq.) provides nuisance protection for established agricultural operations against complaints raised more than one year after the operation began, which can be relevant to native-meadow or pollinator-habitat plantings tied to bona fide agricultural use. Fort Smith's Unified Development Ordinance (Chapter 27) encourages — but does not require — native or drought-tolerant species in stormwater best-management practices and landscape buffers on commercial and multifamily sites.