Springfield, OR Landscaping Rules: Native Plants (2026)

Springfield Development Code 4.4.105 governs landscaping for new development citywide, covering setback planting areas, parking lot planting, and Low Impact Development plantings tied to the stormwater standard in SDC 4.3.110(C). Subsection (D) requires at least 65 percent of each required planting area to be covered with living plant material within five years of installation, at a minimum density of two trees (6 feet tall, 2-inch caliper) and ten 5-gallon shrubs per 1,000 square feet, though lawn or groundcover can substitute for up to 25 percent of that requirement if the applicant shows a maintenance plan is in place.

Subsection (F) is the native-plant allowance: while every new required planting area must otherwise carry a permanent irrigation system, which can be drip irrigation, an area planted with noninvasive drought-tolerant species or plant communities is exempt from installing that irrigation system at all. Subsection (G) similarly waives planting requirements for a landscaped setback behind required screening if it cannot be seen from any public right-of-way or adjacent property. The Landscape Plan submitted with a Building Permit must still specify topsoil depth and organic content, and nursery tags identifying the plant variety and species must stay on the plants through final building inspection or Certificate of Occupancy so the Director can verify the approved native or drought-tolerant species were actually installed. Single-unit detached dwellings and middle housing in the R-1 district are not subject to the subsection (D) coverage and density standards at all.