Invasive Plant Rules in California (2026)

In San Diego County's designated wildfire hazard zones, new bamboo plantings count as nonfire-smart vegetation and must…

Vista's Wildland-Urban Interface Code names bamboo species, alongside conifers, junipers, cypress, palms, pepper trees…

Alameda County does not have a specific bamboo ban, but running bamboo that spreads onto neighboring properties can be…

Fremont Municipal Code Section 8.20.010 bans willfully planting, growing or keeping any castor bean plant (Ricinus…

Hayward's Bay-Friendly Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance bans invasive plant species outright in any covered…

Lake County makes it a crime to bring, keep, sell, gift, or plant nine listed non-native invasive aquatic plants…

Livermore's landscape ordinance flatly prohibits installing invasive or noxious plant species in any regulated project…

Invasive plants like Arundo donax, pampas grass, tamarisk, and tree of heaven are discouraged or banned in new…

San Jose follows the California Invasive Plant Council (Cal-IPC) guidance and the Santa Clara Valley Habitat Plan…

San Marcos prohibits invasive plant species in covered landscape projects under its Water Efficient Landscape…

Sonora does not maintain a specific local prohibited plant species list, but California state law regulates invasive…

Temecula prohibits highly flammable and invasive plant species near structures, particularly in Wildland-Urban…

CVMC 12.32.070 makes it unlawful to plant a named list of trees and shrubs, including blue gum eucalyptus, black locust…

Cupertino's Landscape Ordinance bans installing any invasive plant species or noxious weed as part of a new or…

Dublin, California bans invasive and noxious plant species from landscape designs citywide. Municipal Code Section…

El Dorado County bans planting seven tree species in public road rights-of-way. Section 12.12.070 outlaws Acacia, Black…

Landscape design plans for covered Placer County projects may not use invasive or noxious plant species. Section…

In the county's Habitat Connectivity and Wildlife Corridors overlay zone, intentionally planting invasive plant species…

Vista Municipal Code Section 8.62.020(C) declares any noxious or invasive weed or plant that a federal, state, or…

Unincorporated Yuba County bans installing any plant on the Cal-IPC Exotic Pest Plants of Greatest Ecological Concern…

Anaheim does not publish its own list of prohibited plants but enforces California Food and Agriculture Code 7270…

Qualifying new landscape projects in Chico must stick to non-invasive plant species drawn from the state WUCOLS…

New and rehabilitated landscaping in Chino may not include invasive plant species listed by the California Invasive…

Chino Hills bars the use of invasive plant species, such as those on the California Invasive Plant Council's list, in…

Clovis Municipal Code Section 9.28.090(C)(5) requires owners of nonresidential, multifamily, and planned-development…

El Cajon bars invasive plant species from any landscape documentation package project: new landscaped areas of 500…

Escondido's water-efficient landscape ordinance defines invasive species as plants not historically found in California…

Landscaped areas required under Hawthorne's zoning title must be planted from the city's approved Appendix A plant…

Landscape plans for new development within 100 feet of the San Joaquin Marsh or San Diego Creek in Irvine's IBC…

California regulates invasive plants through the California Food and Agricultural Code and the Department of Food and…

The LA County Agricultural Commissioner maintains a list of noxious weeds and invasive plant species. California's…

Manteca's landscape design standards flatly prohibit introducing invasive plant species into any required landscaping…

Marin County Code Section 6.60.010 makes it unlawful to knowingly let 13 named noxious weeds, including Canada thistle…

Planting Plans for major landscape projects (2,500+ square feet) in unincorporated Monterey County must strictly…

Murrieta's landscaping standards bar invasive plant species from covered projects, requiring extra caution near parks…

Oakland Municipal Code § 8.18.060 makes it an infraction to let Scotch or Canada thistle, Russian thistle, Mexican…

Any project that files a landscape plan with the City of Oceanside is barred from adding invasive plant species to the…

California's noxious weed list applies in Orange County. The OC Agricultural Commissioner enforces plant quarantines…

Perris's landscape ordinance requires new and rehabilitated landscaping to avoid invasive plant species, especially…

Petaluma bans plant species listed as invasive by the California Invasive Plant Council from the landscape design of…

Pomona's Zoning and Development Code bans planting any species on the California Invasive Plant Inventory under Sec…

Any landscaping installed under a Rancho Cucamonga development or design review permit must skip every species on the…

Any development in unincorporated Riverside County that needs an approved landscaping plan, including qualifying plot…

San Bernardino requires property owners to destroy and remove castor bean (Ricinus communis) plants once the health…

San Clemente's Property Maintenance Code bans noxious weeds outright and requires every developed property to stay free…

San Diego's Land Development Code bars planting invasive plant species in any landscaping required for new development…

In unincorporated San Diego County, landscape plans for qualifying new construction must keep invasive plant species…

New and rehabilitated landscapes on commercial, industrial, and larger residential projects in San Leandro cannot…

New landscape and irrigation projects on unincorporated Santa Clara County land can't use California Invasive Plant…

Any Santa Clarita landscape plan required for an administrative or discretionary land use permit must skip plants the…

Any covered landscape project in Santa Rosa, new or rehabilitated construction needing a building or grading permit…

The City of Sonoma bans planting exotic, nonnative, or nonriparian vegetation inside the required setback along Sonoma…

Sonoma County bans invasive plants rated moderate or higher on the California Invasive Plant Inventory from any new or…

Tuolumne County defers to the Tuolumne County Agricultural Commissioner and California Food & Agriculture Code §5004…

Union City's water-efficient landscape ordinance bars installing any species on the California Invasive Plant Council's…

Vallejo's water-efficient landscape ordinance flatly bars invasive plant species, specifically those on the California…

Yolo County's water-efficient landscaping ordinance, Sec. 8-3.108(a)(5), bans planting invasive species on any covered…

Alameda's Bay-Friendly and Water-Efficient Landscape Ordinance bars installing any plant species the California…

In Butte County's urban zones, any landscaping installed under a building permit must be picked from a county-approved…

Eastvale's Water Efficient Landscape Regulations direct that any plant species with invasive potential be avoided in…

Lancaster's landscape ordinance defines and discourages invasive plants rather than banning them outright. Section…

Los Banos does not ban any specific invasive plant by name. Its landscape ordinance defines invasive plant species and…

Unincorporated Madera County's landscape ordinance directs that invasive plant species be avoided in new and…

Menifee's landscape water-efficiency ordinance requires every covered planting plan to avoid invasive species…

Merced does not publish a banned-species list, but its landscaping ordinance requires at least 90 percent of the plants…

Norwalk's Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance defines invasive plant species as plants not historically found in…

Palmdale's water efficient landscape ordinance tells every project applicant to avoid invasive plant species when…

Redlands' landscape ordinance defines invasive plant species and directs landscape design plans away from them…

The California Department of Food and Agriculture maintains the statewide Noxious Weed list (Food & Ag Code §7270+)…

Roseville's landscape ordinance discourages, but does not ban, invasive plants: Section 14.18.050(B)(4)(g)(ix) states…

Sacramento's landscape design rules don't ban invasive plants outright. City Code § 15.92.100(A)(1)(g) 'strongly…

Santa Clara does not run a separate invasive-plant ordinance, but its tree protection code carves out eight species it…

Solano County does not keep a list of banned plants; instead, any Resource Protection Use zoning approval must show it…

Tracy's landscape ordinance does not ban invasive plants outright, but section 11.28.390(a)(1)(G) "strongly…

Upland's landscaping chapter tells every project subject to its design standards to avoid invasive plants, singling out…

West Sacramento's landscaping ordinance prohibits invasive plant species in city rights-of-way and easements, and…

Whittier's water-efficient landscaping ordinance defines invasive plant species and tells landscape designers on…

Baldwin Park does not ban specific invasive plants outright. Municipal Code § 153.160.090(A)(1)(f), part of the…

Fairfield's landscape design standards discourage, but do not ban, invasive plant species. City Code Section…

Vacaville's water-efficient landscape ordinance discourages, but does not ban, invasive plant species in new or…

Tuolumne County does not restrict front yard vegetable gardens or edible landscaping. California AB 2561 (2022)…

California law protects front-yard vegetable and drought-tolerant gardens. HOAs cannot require turf or ban edible…

Brentwood requires homes built after 1987 to keep at least half of the front yard and corner-lot side yard covered in…

Front yards in Butte County's urban residential zones must be planted, not paved. Section 24-115(A)(1) requires plants…

Los Angeles encourages front yard gardens including drought-tolerant landscaping and edible gardens. LAMC Section 12.21…

San Jose allows front yard vegetable gardens. California AB 2561 (2022) protects the right to grow food on residential…

In unincorporated Orange County, flower, fruit and vegetable gardening is allowed in every residential district, but…

Sonora does not prohibit front yard vegetable gardens or native plant landscaping. California Government Code section…

Front-yard native and drought-tolerant gardens are expressly protected in Anaheim by California Civil Code 4735, which…

Unincorporated Yuba County counts front-yard vegetable and edible-plant gardens as landscaped area, so homeowners can…

Ventura County's Coastal Zoning Ordinance bars new plantings of invasive trees, including tree-of-heaven, anywhere in…

Norwalk's Street Tree Ordinance names Ailanthus, commonly called tree of heaven, among the species it flatly bars from…

Vallejo's tree protection code names Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima) as one of six fire-prone species the planning…

Placer County bans planting Tree of Heaven in any public highway under County Code § 12.14.060, grouping it with…

Chico's tree preservation ordinance specifically excludes Ailanthus, commonly called tree of heaven, from the…

Rohnert Park's tree preservation ordinance exempts Ailanthus spp. (Tree of Heaven) from its removal permit requirement…

Santa Rosa's tree ordinance singles out ailanthus, the invasive tree-of-heaven, for special treatment: Section…