Milpitas, CA Landscaping Rules: Native Plants (2026)

Milpitas Municipal Code Section II-13-24 sits inside the Grading, Excavation, Paving and Erosion Control chapter (Title II, Chapter 13) as one of the design standards every grading permit applicant must meet under Section II-13-23's general mandate to minimize adverse effects on natural topography and erosion potential. It requires low-maintenance native vegetation to be used, to the extent possible, in any permanent replanting area, subject to the local Fire Code's defensible-space and vegetation-clearance rules, and it requires existing natural vegetation and trees to be retained, protected and supplemented to the greatest extent possible during site development, pointing applicants to Title X, Chapter 2's Tree Maintenance and Protection standards for specific tree preservation requirements.

The erosion control plan filed with the grading permit application must itself describe, in its vegetative-measures section, the steps taken to promote and protect that native vegetation, including seed-bed preparation, seeding methods and timing, and the location and extent of any pre-existing, undisturbed vegetation (Section II-13-10.03). Once installed, planting called for in the plan must be completed within 90 days of grading completion, subject to seasonal limitations (Section II-13-25.03), and adequate irrigation has to be available before planting begins and kept running until the new vegetation is established enough to grow on its own (Section II-13-29.01).

Clearing itself is capped at what the Building and Housing Department determines is the minimum needed and cannot start more than 15 days before grading commences (Section II-13-28).