Pittsburgh exempts native, pollinator gardens from plant-height limits

Pittsburghers with a green thumb will now be able to cultivate native and pollinator gardens.

City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved legislation that would exempt people planting vegetation native to Pennsylvania from the city’s ban on plant growth more than 10 inches high on residential properties.

People will be able to register their rain gardens, pollinator gardens or native gardens with the city to ensure inspectors don’t mistake them for the kind of tall, unsightly weeds the city prohibits.

The registry also will allow the city to ensure these gardens are properly maintained, Councilwoman Barb Warwick, D-Greenfield, said in a statement when she introduced the measure.

“Cultivating native gardens in place of turfgrass lawns improves our local biodiversity, air quality and water quality,” Warwick said. “We as a city should allow and encourage residents to take actions which will protect our ecosystems from the effects of climate change.”

Jim Bonner, executive director of the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania, offered his support.

“Allowing for natural landscapes in the City of Pittsburgh will enable people to connect with nature in their own back (and front) yards,” Bonner wrote in a statement.

Native plants, he added, require less fertilizer and maintenance, and they can help manage stormwater runoff.

“As importantly, native plants provide the necessary conditions for beneficial and desirable insects, which in turn supports birds and other wildlife,” Bonner said.