Margate, FL Landscaping Rules: Native Plants (2026)

Land Development Code § 40.704 governs landscaping in the City of Margate. Under subsection (E)(1)(a), every plant counted toward required landscaping is drought tolerant and/or Florida Friendly, and half of the required landscaping is South Florida native species. Section 40.704(B)(8) defines a native species as one indigenous to the ecological communities of South Florida, as indicated on lists provided by the City of Margate, or one that can be scientifically documented as native to South Florida. Nursery stock must meet Florida Fancy or better under the Grades and Standards for Nursery Plants published by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Species listed as prohibited in the South Zone by the University of Florida IFAS biennial Assessment of Non-Native Plants cannot be used or installed anywhere in the city.

The requirement is checked on paper first. Chapter 39, § 39-57 requires a landscape plan for every building, structure and change of use that needs development review, and the Development Review Committee (DRC) reviews each plan for compliance. The plan carries a landscape material schedule listing each plant by botanical and common name, quantity, size, degree of drought tolerance and whether it is native to South Florida. A zone layout plan at a minimum scale of one inch equals twenty feet shows head types, specifications and spacing. A landscape architect, or another person authorized under chapter 481, part II, Florida Statutes, prepares the plan, though the owner can prepare it for a single-family or duplex dwelling.

The design principles in § 40.704 favor keeping what is already there: preserve existing native trees and vegetation if feasible, and where established natural vegetation is incorporated into the design, those areas need no irrigation. High-water-use hydrozones are capped at twenty percent of the irrigated landscape area, excluding sod. Native trees also carry through to tree removal. Native trees identified in the tree section must be planted to replace native tree canopy coverage removed, and the number of species in the replacement mix grows with the count: one species for one to five trees, two for six to ten, three for eleven to twenty, and four for twenty-one to fifty. Required trees go in at a minimum of twelve feet in height and two inches DBH.