Rathdrum residents now have more leeway to beautify their yards.

The City Council approved an ordinance last week easing landscaping regulations, some of which made no sense to begin with, officials said.

“The city has come up with alternatives to our previous standard landscaping code,” city planner Cary Siess said Friday. “Not only is it better for the environment, it gives residents more options on how to landscape their own residence.”

Some of the landscaping amendments simply made sense. For example, under previous city law, grass was required to be planted from the street to the front of the house. And only one tree was allowed.

“People with flowers or bushes or beautiful landscaping were technically in violation. No one has grass planted all the way to the street,” Siess said. “We wanted to provide flexibility on what is common practice.”

Under the old code, drive paths behind and beside a house were required to be paved. Under the looser verbiage, gravel driveways are permitted.

The new regulations also support Xeriscaping (zeer-i-skaping), an approach to landscape design and maintenance that promotes water conservation and using native plants of bright colors and diversity.

“Xeriscaping supports a lot of flowering plants that attract butterflies and bees that are important to the environment,” Siess said. “So the benefits are far-reaching and we’re not limiting residents on what they can plant in their yards.”

As Rathdrum’s population continues to soar, Siess said the new landscaping regulations will especially benefit new residents, adding that her staff will continue to propose amendments to the city’s planning codes that take a common-sense approach to growth and development.