Jackson, MS Landscaping Rules: Native Plants (2026)

Jackson's Zoning Ordinance addresses native plant landscaping inside the Farish Street Area Cultural Mixed Use District (FSA-CMUD), the historic district created to preserve the Farish Street community's cultural and architectural heritage. 04-A, Buffering, Landscaping, Lighting, Screening and Parking Requirements, sets the district's intent to protect the appearance, character and value of properties in the Farish Street area. Item 2 of that section directs that landscape materials should be hardy and adaptable to local conditions, easily maintained, and drought tolerant, and adds that use of native plants is strongly encouraged.

5 to 3 inches in caliper for every five parking spaces, no more than 10 spaces may sit between landscape islands or medians, and those islands or medians must be at least five feet wide. Lots with 10 or more parking spaces must provide interior landscaping at a ratio of 20 square feet of landscape area per 100 square feet of parking area. 4, showing the City repeats the same drought-tolerant, native-plant language in more than one downtown-area district. Because the FSA-CMUD provision uses should and encouraged rather than shall, it functions as a design preference tied to the district's broader buffer, screening and parking review rather than a hard planting mandate, current through the Zoning Ordinance's December 19, 2024 amendment.