Yuba County, CA Landscaping Rules: Native Plants (2026)

Section 11.24.070 implements the state Water Conservation in Landscaping Act of 2006 at the county level, and its prescriptive compliance path in subsection (3) applies to any project with an aggregate landscape area of 2,500 square feet or less. Subsection (3)b. is the native-plant rule itself: "Exclusive of vegetable and edible flower garden areas, at least 75 percent of all plants and trees within residential projects and 100 percent for non-residential projects must be native or low water use." Landscape areas irrigated with recycled water are excluded from the count entirely. Subsection (3)a. pairs with it, requiring compost worked into planted areas "at a rate of at least four cubic yards per 1,000 square feet to a depth of six inches," unless a soil test says otherwise.

The 75/100 percent thresholds apply once a project crosses the applicability line in § 11.24.070(1): new development with 500 square feet or more of aggregate landscape area, or a rehabilitated landscape project covering 2,500 square feet or more, if either needs a building, landscape, or design review permit. Projects over 2,500 square feet, or an applicant who wants credit for creative design instead of the flat percentage, can use the Alternative Compliance path in § 11.24.070(4), which requires a California Registered Landscape Architect to prepare a plan meeting the state's Maximum Applied Water Allowance calculation instead. A landscape plan documenting compliance must be submitted with the permit application under § 11.24.080, and § 11.24.100 ties installation to the certificate of occupancy: required landscaping generally has to be in the ground before occupancy is granted, with only a 120-day, bonded extension available for weather or plant-availability problems.