Tacoma, WA Landscaping Rules: Native Plants (2026)
Key Facts
- Required plantings
- 100% must be climate-adapted
- Native plants
- encouraged and permitted everywhere
- UR-1/UR-2 minimum native
- 50% of non-tree plants
- Open Space Corridors minimum
- up to 100% native
- Governing section
- TMC § 13.06.090B.3.d
Summary
Tacoma requires all plants used to meet landscaping code requirements to be climate-adapted and explicitly permits native species anywhere; UR-1 and UR-2 development must make at least half of non-tree plantings regionally native, rising to 100 percent inside Open Space Corridors, per TMC § 13.06.090B.3.d.
Climate adapted. 100 percent of all required plants for landscaping development activities in this code shall be climate-adapted. The retention and use of natives is encouraged and permitted for any and all landscaping. Invasive species, as identified in the UFM, shall not count toward meeting required plantings. Noxious weeds and weeds listed as Class A, B, or C as determined by the Pierce County Noxious Weed Control Board, are prohibited from being planted in required landscaped areas.
(2) Species native to western Washington and/or western Oregon.
(a) In UR-1 and UR-2 zones, 50 percent of all plants that are not trees must be native to western Washington and/or western Oregon.
(b) 100 percent of plants (excluding trees) required for landscaping located within Comprehensive Plan designated Open Space Corridors, and a minimum of 75 percent in adjacent areas within 50 feet of Open Space Corridors, must be native to western Washington and/or western Oregon. A minimum of 50 percent of required landscaping located within 50 feet of designated Fish and Wildlife Habitat Conservation Areas must be native to western Washington and/or western Oregon.
(3)
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4946110; v22 updated 2026-07-28).
Full Breakdown
The Site Development Standards' plant-selection rules set a floor, not a ceiling, for native planting. Every required plant must be climate-adapted, and the code states plainly that native species are 'encouraged and permitted for any and all landscaping' - there's no code barrier to an all-native yard. For regulated development, UR-1 and UR-2 projects must source at least 50 percent of non-tree plantings from species native to western Washington or western Oregon; that requirement rises to 100 percent for plantings inside Comprehensive Plan Open Space Corridors, 75 percent within 50 feet of one, and 50 percent near designated Fish and Wildlife Habitat Conservation Areas.
Violations & Fines
Landscaping installed to meet a development's Site Development Standards but built with a non-compliant plant palette is a Title 13 violation, correctable through the Director's review and TMC § 13.05.150's Code Enforcement process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I landscape my Tacoma property with all native plants?
Is native planting mandatory in Tacoma?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Tacoma
Compare Tacoma to another location·View the Washington landscaping rules overview
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Native Plants in Nearby Cities
How other cities in this county handle native plants.