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Flagstaff staff propose overhaul of landscape plant list with prohibited species, fast-track additions
Summary
City water-conservation staff told the April 16 commission they scored 300+ landscape species for water use, fire risk and invasiveness, proposing a prohibited list for hazardous/invasive species plus a faster addition process; commissioners pressed to remove high-water plants and to coordinate with wildland fire outreach.
Tamara, the citywater conservation program manager, told the Flagstaff City Water Commission on April 16 that staff have completed an expert review of the citylandscape plant list and are working through stakeholder feedback to clean taxonomic errors, remove problematic species and create clearer rules for new developments.
"What we really need is a list of 300-plus species that is used typically in new developments," Tamara said, describing an arboretum-led scoring matrix that awards points for drought tolerance, pollinator value, local nursery availability, and fire resistance, and deducts points for invasiveness. She said the review identified species that score poorly on multiple criteria and flagged spelling and genus/species errors that need correction.
The review team convened a stakeholder group that included local nurseries, landscape developers, city staff and academic experts. Tamara said staff plan to publish a "prohibited" list of plants that should not be used in new developments, and to set up a streamlined "fast-track" process to add species to the allowed list when applicants meet defined criteria and an expert review supports inclusion.
Several commissioners urged stronger action on high-water-use plants. Commissioner Rob said he would favor removing any plant that scored zero for water use. Tamara responded that some high-water items remain on the existing list and that the stakeholder process will help determine which should be removed or retained. She also noted that code-enforcement and development-review practices influence what gets installed in practice.
Commissioners and staff discussed wildfire risk and homeowner-insurer interactions. Tamara said staff are considering adding a firewise "zone zero" requirement (a 5-foot area adjacent to structures with no plantings) and noted that wildland-fire staff advise against planting junipers near developments because they are highly flammable.
The commission suggested producing a short, high-scoring plant list for homeowners and nurseries to encourage low-water, fire-resistant choices. Tamara said staff will do further stakeholder review, coordinate with Tiffany Antel (who will bring proposed code changes to council), and return with a refined package for council consideration.
Next steps: staff will complete the stakeholder review, finalize the prohibited-list recommendations and present the code revision to the city council; commissioners requested clearer cross-references to existing neighborhood plant lists and possible outreach to HOAs and wildland-fire teams.
