ENCINITAS — Seeking to strengthen local biodiversity, Encinitas planners and officials are pursuing local legislation to improve standards and transparency around native plant landscaping.
The ordinance — unanimously recommended by the Planning Commission on Feb. 19 — would require at least half of landscaped areas on private project sites and all landscaped areas on city-owned land to consist of species native to Southern California.
The list of native plants the city will consider comes from Calscape, created and maintained by the California Native Plant Society.
“I really did think the staff report had a lot of clarity to it and it really outlined a process to such an extent that I can see that there’s been a whole lot of work done by very intelligent people on this subject matter,” Commissioner Stephen Dalton said. “I don’t see anything that I want to step into and try to reinvent or course correct at this stage.”
Sara Cadona, a city planner, told the commission that “the goal of this ordinance is to establish clear landscaping requirements for qualifying development projects to increase local pollinator species, promote environmental sustainability and resilience, improve habitat and local native biodiversity, and foster long-term, successful native landscapes.”
Cadona said the approved plant list includes species native to Southern California’s Jepson bioregions — geographic zones used to classify California’s native plants — along with native cultivars and naturally occurring hybrids.
Plants truly native to Encinitas include California sagebrush, buckwheat, black sage, Cleveland sage, toyon, lemonade berry and coastal dudleya — species adapted to the region’s coastal sage scrub ecosystem.
Invasive plants, as defined by the San Diego County Invasive Weed Watch list and the California Invasive Plant Council inventory, would not be allowed in proposed landscaped areas except for turf grass, according to the city.
Invasive plants common in Encinitas include giant reed, fountain grass, pampas grass and ice plant — species that spread aggressively, increase fire risk and crowd out native coastal sage scrub vegetation.
Cadona said that, based on input from the extensive feedback process, the ordinance would require the installation of native plants in accordance with industry standards, best practices and the most current technical guidance as determined by licensed landscape architects.
“This gives flexibility to the landscape professionals to select the best methods based on the different soil conditions, proposed native species, water needs, planting techniques, etc. to ensure the highest long-term health and ecological sustainability,” she said.
The ordinance would be tied to the existing permit process rather than create a new one. The draft would apply to design review permits, major use permits and city projects requiring a discretionary permit that include a landscape plan, according to the documents.
The ordinance includes exemptions for city-owned athletic fields and other recreational facilities; state-owned land and beaches; cemeteries; and professional growing operations. Additionally, construction or reconstruction of a single-family residence, including accessory dwelling unit projects, would be exempt.
The ordinance also includes a list of programs and other incentives to achieve its stated aims. One program through the city’s Parks and Recreation Department would offer rebates of up to $200 for the purchase of qualifying native plants, according to the documents.
Don Rideout, a member of the San Diego Chapter of the California Native Plant Society, said that he supported the ordinance because it would help address the extinction of “the little things that run the world, namely insects and other pollinators.”
“It’s now time for our constructed landscapes to do more than just look pretty,” Rideout said. “It’s time for them to help us retain some vestige of our remaining biodiversity. In addition to keeping the wild places wild, we need to rewild some of our developed spaces on a scale that is possible within Encinitas.”
Camille Perkins, an Olivenhain resident, said during public comment that she opposed the ordinance in its current form and asked for an exclusion for parts of the city at increased risk of fire, especially in Olivenhain.
“The draft policy makes it clear that once the plantings are installed, and if a fire hazard develops at any point in the future, it’s likely impossible to fix because it would require permits issued either by the city or the habitat agencies that could easily cost hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars. That won’t happen,” Perkins said. “No policy should ever be adopted if there’s a high likelihood it’s irrevocable and impossible to unwind ever. We need optionality to course correct.”
Deputy Fire Marshal Jordan Villagomez said that, as coastal chaparral species, most native plants are not more fire-prone than non-native plants and that projects would still be required to comply with defensible space requirements, such as trimming and spacing.
“These projects would still be required to meet all the fire requirements no matter what,” Villagomez said.
Commissioner Susan Sherrod, also a member of the California Native Plant Society, said research the organization conducted in the wake of the 2025 Los Angeles fire showed native plants posed a lower fire risk.
“And the reason why is that they intrinsically have adapted to this climate being a hot, semi-arid sort of area,” Sherrod said. “But you do need to take care of your property.”
Manufactured homes
The Planning Commission also unanimously recommended an ordinance amending the zoning code to allow manufactured homes to be treated the same as other single- or multi-family residential structures throughout the city.
The change would apply the same development standards to manufactured homes as other permanent residences and allow them in areas zoned for single- or multi-family housing.
Charlotte Brenner, a city planner, said tiny homes typically have wheels, which would not be allowed.
“We wouldn’t permit that to be a permanent structure if it had wheels on it,” Brenner said. “Manufactured homes would have to be built on a permanent foundation.”
Units built on or after June 15, 1976, are considered “manufactured homes,” while those built before that date qualify as “mobile homes,” according to the documents.
Brenner said that as long as mobile homes are built on a permanent foundation and meet building safety standards, they could also qualify as single- or multi-family residences under the proposed change.
