Santa Barbara County, CA Landscaping Rules: Native Plants (2026)

150 establishes the Highway 101 Corridor (HC) overlay zone, applied to Highway 101 in the South Coast urbanized area to protect scenic, historic, and natural assets along the corridor. The overlay reaches development within the State- or County-owned right-of-way and on private land where a public agency holds an easement for a project along the highway; it is not a general countywide landscaping code. 5 requires each project's landscaping to be consistent with the Highway 101 Corridor Master Landscaping Plan once adopted, and directs designers to use drought-tolerant native species and non-invasive exotic species to the maximum extent feasible, emphasizing plants native to southern Santa Barbara County where naturally suited.

The rule sharpens within 100 feet of riparian habitat, wetlands, or oak woodlands: in that buffer, landscaping must consist only of plants indigenous to the south coast, chosen for the site's specific environmental conditions, and propagated from locally collected seeds or cuttings rather than nursery stock of unknown origin. The code carves out one named exception: Eucalyptus trees may be retained where they provide habitat for Monarch butterflies or raptors, referencing the Goleta Community Plan's Environmentally Sensitive Habitats and Riparian Corridor Protection Overlay Map. Beyond the habitat buffer, the overlay also requires large-scale landscaping at highway crossings to soften transportation structures, median landscaping on corridor projects, and preservation of the corridor's historic landscaping scheme.

80 permit filing, and the Planning & Development Department reviews the landscape component before forwarding recommendations to the review authority, which may grant modifications where the standards are infeasible due to safety or physical site constraints.