Monterey Park, CA Landscaping Rules: Native Plants (2026)

Under Monterey Park Municipal Code Section 21.08.080(W), landscaping is a mandatory feature of residential lots, not an option. In the R-1 zone, most of the open front-yard area visible from the public way, apart from driveways, walkways, and similar hardscape, must be covered with a combination of vegetative landscaping and permeable material such as mulch, decomposed granite, or gravel that lets water soak in rather than run off. The code specifically states that 'appropriate landscaping includes the use of native planting or compatible species of drought-tolerant plants,' putting native and drought-tolerant vegetation on equal footing with any other qualifying planting scheme, alongside an allowance for synthetic turf with blades at least one and three-quarters inches tall.

The R-2 and R-3 standard in the same subsection layers on numeric planting minimums, two 24-inch box specimen trees per dwelling unit, one five-gallon shrub per 40 square feet of landscaped area, and ground cover reaching 50 percent coverage within a year, while repeating that native or drought-tolerant species satisfy the requirement. Any irrigation system installed under either standard must be low-flow or drip. The city reinforces the same drought-tolerant preference outside the Zoning Code too: Section 4.30.060 requires vacant lots under one acre to be landscaped with a five-foot perimeter strip of 'natural, drought-tolerant vegetation' at least two feet high, maintained under a plan approved by the community development director. Landscaping violations under Title 21's residential standards are infractions under Section 4.10.030(a)(7).