Kendall County, IL Landscaping Rules: Native Plants (2026)

Section 30-2 defines native vegetation as plant material that originally occurred in northeastern Illinois before European settlement, cross-referencing Plants of the Chicago Region by Swink and Wilhelm as the reference standard, and distinguishes it from ornamental plantings, which the code defines as non-native shrubs, flowers, and turf grass. Section 30-197 turns that definition into a design requirement for every subdivision that includes naturalized open space, wetlands, prairies, savannas, naturalized detention basins, drainage swales, or buffers. Developers must submit a site-specific restoration and planting plan prepared by a qualified ecological restoration professional to the Planning, Building and Zoning Department, and the plan must use species native to the County of a local genotype appropriate to the proposed habitat.

Section 30-197(d)(1) sets the numeric floor: a minimum of ten native species is required in any naturalized stormwater facility, such as a detention basin or swale, and a minimum of forty native species must be established in any upland landscape. For detention and retention facilities, the plan must also provide one canopy or shade tree for every seventy-five feet of high-water line, with at least twenty-five percent of those trees being ornamental species, all selected from the County's approved tree list in Sections 30-192 through 30-194.

Section 30-198 points developers to reference guides, including the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission's management guidelines and the Native Plant Guide for Streams and Stormwater Facilities in Northeastern Illinois, for selecting appropriate native species and restoration techniques.