Jacksonville Beach, FL Landscaping Rules: Native Plants (2026)

Section 34-745(d)(1) sets the plant standard for required landscaping. Materials must meet or exceed Florida Number 1 under Grades and Standards for Nursery Plants from the State of Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and plants used in landscape design must, to the greatest extent possible, be drought tolerant, appropriate for the ecological setting, non-invasive, low-maintenance and commercially available.

Table 34-745.1 is the city's species list. Its columns are Tree, Type, Salt Tolerance and Native. The shade trees marked native include Southern Red Cedar, Live Oak, Sand Live Oak, Southern Magnolia, Slash Pine, Longleaf Pine, Bald Cypress, Winged Elm and Loblolly Pine, while Drake Elm is marked not native. Among non-shade trees, Eastern Red Cedar, Red Bay, Yaupon Holly, Southern Wax Myrtle, Sabal Palm, American Olive, Dahoon Holly and East Palatka Holly are marked native, and Japanese Privet, Crape Myrtle and Washingtonia Palm are marked not native.

Ground cover is where the code names a native plant. Under § 34-745(d)(9), ground cover used in lieu of grass must present a finished appearance and reasonably complete coverage within three (3) months after planting, low maintenance materials are encouraged in lieu of grasses, and native ground cover such as dune sunflower is the preferred material. Where mulch is installed permanently, it must be a minimum three (3) inch depth at installation.

Irrigation is handled in § 34-745(f). Landscaped areas get adequate irrigation for the first full growing season and as necessary after that, with a hose bib within seventy-five (75) feet of the plants to be maintained. Subsection (f)(5) removes the requirement for xeriscaped areas: no irrigation system is required for an area set aside for xeriscaping.

Residential lots carry a tree duty under § 34-745(a)(1): one (1) shade tree of at least two (2) inches caliper and ten (10) feet in height for every three thousand (3,000) square feet of lot or fraction thereof, with no more than ten (10) new trees required on a lot developed for one single-family dwelling or one two-unit townhome structure. Oceanfront parcels must use the salt tolerant trees listed in Table 34-745.1.