Jefferson Parish, LA Landscaping Rules: Native Plants (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing code
- UDC § 33-6.26 (Low Impact Development)
- Status
- Elective BMP, not mandatory
- Rainfall target
- Retain/filter first 1.25-inch storm event
- Substitution allowed
- Native grasses for required shrubs
- Maintenance
- Plan recorded with parish clerk of court
Summary
Jefferson Parish's low impact development standards let site plans meet part of their stormwater and landscaping obligations by choosing native plants over conventional shrubs and turf. Section 33-6.26 lists native species as a preferred best-management practice for absorbing rainfall, and the planning director can let a project substitute native grasses for required shrubs when the substitution serves an approved stormwater system.
(6)Choose native plants that are easy to maintain, adapted to the local climate and soil conditions, and possess the ability to intercept and hold rainwater and decrease water flow velocity; and(7)Maximize natural lands or existing vegetation set aside for conservation or preservation and protect them from clearing, grading, and other construction-related impacts.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 20 Update 2).
Full Breakdown
Jefferson Parish added a low impact development (LID) track to its Unified Development Code so that applicants for site plan review under Chapter 33 or Chapter 40 can meet or exceed the parish's stormwater, landscaping, buffering, and tree-preservation requirements through best management practices rather than only through engineered drainage. 26(d) sets the underlying standard, retaining and filtering the first one and one-quarter inch rainfall event on new development, and lists seven approaches an applicant can combine to reach it. The sixth approach directs applicants to choose native plants that are easy to maintain, adapted to the local climate and soil conditions, and able to intercept and hold rainwater while slowing runoff velocity, putting native landscaping on equal footing with porous pavement and reduced setbacks as an accepted BMP technique.
26(e)(3)a, a project may substitute native grasses or other plant materials for shrubs the landscaping code would otherwise require, and the code even waives the usual rule that shrubs form a continuous opaque screen, as long as the substituted grasses or plants are integral to a proposed BMP's function. to meet or exceed' the baseline requirements, native planting under this section is an elective path rather than a blanket mandate, available to any site plan applicant who wants the flexibility it buys on setbacks, parking counts, and irrigation in exchange for documented stormwater performance.
Violations & Fines
Because native-plant substitutions are approved as part of a project's stormwater management plan, Section 33-6.26(g) requires a maintenance plan for the long-term effectiveness of all best management practices, recorded with the parish clerk of court. An applicant that lets an approved native planting fail without maintaining it as designed puts the site out of conformance with its recorded plan, the same footing as any other approved landscaping deviation under the division's enforcement provisions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Jefferson Parish require native plants in landscaping?
Can I plant native grasses instead of the shrubs my site plan requires?
What do I have to file to use native plants as part of my stormwater plan?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Jefferson Parish
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