Rochester, NY Landscaping Rules: Native Plants (2026)

Rochester's landscaping-plan guidelines at § 120-169E(1) apply to every project that has to submit a landscaping plan under Article XX, Requirements Applying to All Districts, which covers site-plan-reviewed development in every zoning district. Guideline (a) directs that plant selection be suited to the site's climate and region as well as its geologic and topographic conditions, and states that protection and preservation of native plant materials and natural areas 'are encouraged,' making it a design directive the Director of Zoning and Permitting weighs when reviewing a landscaping plan rather than a flat numeric mandate.

The companion guideline in (b) does carry a hard number: water-intensive ornamental plant materials can't exceed 10% of the total landscaped area, which pushes designers toward lower-water, often native, plantings to fill the rest of the site. The broader landscaping standards in § 120-169A require every landscaped area to sit in an excavated bed rather than a container, to be mulched, and to avoid synthetic turf or plastic plants for any required landscaping, all of which favor real, regionally appropriate plant material over ornamental substitutes.

Plant species used to satisfy the landscaping and screening standards also have to comply with the City of Rochester Approved Plant Materials List under § 120-169B(1), and the Director of Zoning and Permitting may waive detailed planting specifications if a submitted alternative landscaping plan still meets the ordinance's overall objectives and protects the character of the area.