Mendocino County, CA Landscaping Rules: Native Plants (2026)

Unincorporated Mendocino County does not require homeowners to plant native species, but two frameworks strongly encourage water-wise and native planting. First, County Code Chapter 9A.32 ('Model Water Efficient Landscaping Requirements - Compost and Mulch Use') adopts California's MWELO (23 CCR 490 et seq.) for projects with new landscape areas over 500 square feet or rehabilitated landscapes over 2,500 square feet that need a County building, planning or landscape-design review. MWELO drives plant selection toward low-water-use, climate-adapted and native species and sets water budgets, with the County chapter specifically requiring soil compost (a minimum of 4 cubic yards per 1,000 square feet, tilled 6 inches deep) and a minimum 3-inch mulch layer on exposed soil. Second, in the Coastal Zone, the Coastal Zoning Code protects Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Areas (Chapter 20.496) and native vegetation; removal of 'major vegetation,' which can include stands of native trees, is treated as development needing a Coastal Development Permit. Most small residential yards fall below the MWELO thresholds and have full freedom of plant choice, subject only to fire-safe defensible-space guidance in the State Responsibility Area.