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Peachtree City planners debate strict native-plant standards, ask staff to return options
Summary
Peachtree City Planning Commission reviewed a draft amendment to Article 11 that would require native plants for regulated landscapes, sparking debate over numeric standards (75% vs. 60%), special-purpose garden carve-outs and city exemptions; staff will return revised options and a public hearing is required before any vote.
Peachtree City planners spent the bulk of their Dec. 15 meeting reviewing a draft text amendment to Article 11 of the land development ordinance that would encourage or require use of native plants in commercial, institutional and city projects while exempting residential yards.
Kenneth Hamner, the drafter who presented the proposal, said the measure aims "to encourage requiring native plants, to reduce long term maintenance costs associated with water, chemicals, replacement plants, etc., and then also improving just our ecological resilience." The draft would require 100% native plantings for certain buffers, stormwater facilities and city projects and at least 75% native plantings for general commercial and institutional landscapes, with a prohibition on listed invasive species.
Commissioners focused on three fault lines: (1) how percentages are calculated when special-purpose or themed gardens are present, (2) whether the mandate should be a requirement or an incentive, and (3) how to treat city-owned projects and operational constraints raised by public works. The draft currently allows approved themed gardens up to 10% of a site's area and then excludes that 10% from the percentage-calculation for the remainder of the site; some commissioners said the current wording is confusing and could be read as permitting more non-native planting than intended.
One commissioner proposed lowering the requirement to 60% native plantings and removing the special-purpose garden carve-out to simplify administration; other commissioners pushed back, arguing 75% aligns with similar ordinances elsewhere and better supports community goals such as water conservation, lower maintenance and habitat value. Staff and the drafter said they would return with clearer language, definitions (for example, whether percentages apply to plantable area or total site area), a menu of alternative standards from strict to lenient, and edits to make the ordinance compatible with stormwater and erosion manuals and utility easement requirements.
City staff reminded the commission that any ordinance change of this kind would require a formal public hearing before the commission and council. The presenter said he would redraft the ordinance to address the special-garden language, explicitly prohibit persistent problem species such as certain bamboo, correct non-invasive classifications (for example, removing sweetgum from the prohibited list), and produce alternative draft options for discussion at the January meeting.
The commission did not vote on the amendment; members directed staff and the drafter to return with revised language and additional options at the next regular meeting, currently scheduled for Jan. 12, 2026.
