Murrieta, CA Landscaping Rules: Native Plants (2026)

060(E), require native and naturalized landscaping wherever revegetation happens on hillside sites, as a design mandate tied to slope development rather than a citywide native-plant rule. Subsection (E)(1) requires indigenous or naturalized plants that blend into the surrounding landscape wherever planting is required, and subsection (E)(3) calls for replanting a 'vegetative backdrop' of native trees or the same vegetation that was removed by grading, so the natural skyline stays intact at maturity. Subsection (E)(6) goes further for undisturbed ground: indigenous, native vegetation within canyons and along natural drainage courses that grading doesn't touch has to be retained and supplemented, as long as that retention still satisfies the project's fuel-modification and fire-prevention plans, since Murrieta sits in a high fire-hazard area.

Subsection (E)(7) extends the native-planting requirement to common open areas and to front and side yards next to a street, which must be landscaped and irrigated with native plant materials that blend with the surrounding natural character. 060(E): deep-rooted ground cover on slopes over three feet tall, and shrubs and trees with a high root-to-shoot ratio on slopes exceeding eight feet.