A. Landscaping Plan: All commercial and residential developments except one single-unit dwelling or one two-unit dwelling shall be required to submit a landscape plan meeting all of the requirements of this chapter. The landscape plan shall be reviewed for compliance and approved by the planning services division.
B. Design Standards:
1. Landscaped areas shall be provided totaling a minimum of ten percent (10%) of the total paved parking area. All landscaped areas shall be clearly defined by decorative rock and/or mulch and contain plantings proportional to the square footage of the landscaped area. All landscaped areas shall be properly maintained and kept free of weeds and other invasive species.
a. In areas where the amount of landscaping required exceeds two thousand five hundred (2,500) square feet, the applicant may exchange the amount of required landscaping over two thousand five hundred (2,500) square feet at a rate of six hundred (600) square feet for one shade tree. The development services director or designee shall determine the location of the shade trees and the approval and location shall be given in writing, with complete documentation of the requirements.
2. Landscaped islands shall be included at the end of each row of parking stalls that abuts an internal traffic aisle.
a. Landscaped islands at the end of a row of parking stalls containing a single parking module shall provide at a minimum a ninety (90) square foot landscaped island.
b. Landscaped islands at the end of a row of parking stalls containing a double parking module shall provide at a minimum a one hundred eighty (180) square foot landscaped island. (Ord. 2013-20)
3. All parking lots shall include new trees in accordance with the following schedule:
Parking Spaces | Trees Required | Additional Trees Required |
Parking Spaces | Trees Required | Additional Trees Required |
1 to 5 | 1 | None |
6 to 30 | 1 tree for each 6 spaces or fraction thereof up to 30 spaces | None |
31 to 100 | 5 trees for the first 30 spaces | 1 tree for each additional 7 spaces or fraction thereof |
101 to 196 | 15 trees for the first 100 spaces | 1 tree for each additional 8 spaces or fraction thereof |
197 to 303 | 27 trees for the first 196 spaces | 1 tree for each additional 9 spaces or fraction thereof |
304 to 503 | 39 trees for the first 303 spaces | 1 tree for each additional 10 spaces or fraction thereof |
504 or more | 59 trees for the first 503 spaces | 1 tree for each additional 11 spaces or fraction thereof |
(Ord. 2013-31)
4. In parking lots with more than twenty (20) spaces, thirty percent (30%) of required trees shall be placed within the perimeter of the actual paved parking lot surface area.
5. In no case shall ornamental trees account for more than fifty percent (50%) of the total required trees planted.
6. Trees shall be protected from potential damage by vehicles with curbs or other approved barriers.
7. Where parking lots are adjacent to a public right of way on an arterial or collector street, a minimum seven foot (7') buffer shall be provided between the parking lot and the right of way line. This buffer shall be seeded or sodded and include at least one tree every fifteen feet (15'). Where the code requires a larger buffer between the parking lot and the right of way line, the larger buffer shall be provided.
8. All other parking lots, not located on an arterial or collector street, shall provide a minimum three foot (3') buffer between the parking lot and the right of way line. This buffer shall be seeded or sodded.
9. Flexibility in placement of treed landscape islands may be allowed for creative parking lot design and preservation of existing trees and vegetation. However, no more than twenty (20) parking spaces not separated by a treed landscape island shall be allowed. Islands shall always be required at each end of a row of parking spaces.
10. Up to forty (40) contiguous parking spaces may be allowed where rows of head to head parking spaces are separated by a six foot (6') wide linear treed landscape island.
11. Parking lots shall be designed to avoid creating large open expanses of paving. All parking lots shall include landscaping in accordance with the standards established by this section. Existing trees shall be preserved where possible. Surfaces denuded of vegetation shall be seeded or sodded to prevent soil erosion.
C. Primary Materials: Trees, low shrubs, and ground cover shall be used as the primary landscape materials. Ornamental, medium sized, and shade trees shall be incorporated into the design. Tall shrubs or low branching trees that may restrict the visibility of motorists or pedestrians should be avoided. (Ord. 2013-20)
1. The following table includes a list of approved tree species. If a request is made to plant a species not included on the list, it must first be approved in writing by the city's forestry division.
ORNAMENTAL TREES
(15 - 30+ Feet In Height At Maturity)
Common Name | Cultivars |
Common Name | Cultivars |
Akebono cherry | |
American hornbeam, single stem | |
Bald cypress | Lindsey's skyward |
Canada red cherry | |
Carolina silverbell | |
Crabapple | Donald Wyman, golden raindrops, prairiefire, royal raindrop |
Crimson cloud hawthorn | |
Eastern redbud | Appalachian red, floating clouds, forest pansy, Oklahoma, Tennessee pink |
Flowering dogwood | |
Golden rain tree | |
Japanese maple | Bloodgood |
Japanese tree lilac, single stem | Beijing gold, China snow, ivory pillar, ivory silk |
Kawansa cherry | |
Korean maple | |
Kousa dogwood | |
Little gem magnolia | |
Okame cherry | |
Pagoda dogwood | |
Paperbark maple | |
Parrotia | |
Red buckeye or red horse chestnut | |
Royal star magnolia | |
Serviceberry, single trunk | Autumn brilliance, cumulus, robin hill |
Sourwood | |
Tatarian maple | |
Thornless cockspur hawthorn | |
Three flower maple | |
Thundercloud cherry plum | |
Trident maple | |
Washington hawthorn | |
White redbud | |
Yoshino cherry | |
SHADE TREES
(35 - 80+ Feet In Height At Maturity)
Common Name | Cultivars |
Common Name | Cultivars |
American hophornbeam | |
American linden | American sentry |
Bald cypress | Goldrush, Shawnee brave |
Black gum | Wild fire |
Chinese pistache | |
Columnar hornbeam | |
Dawn redwood | |
Elm, hybrids | Accolade, dura heat, frontier, patriot, triumph |
European hornbeam | |
Ginkgo | Autumn gold, princeton sentry |
Japanese zelkova | City sprite, green vase, village green, wireless |
Kentucky coffeetree | Espresso |
Lacebark elm | |
Little leaf linden | Green spire |
Miyabe maple | State street |
Oaks | All cultivars except pin oak |
Red maple | All cultivars except autumn blaze maple |
Silver linden | Green mountain, sterling silver |
Sugar maple | All cultivars |
Summer sprite | Halka |
Sweet gum | Happi daze, rotundiloba, fruitless only |
Thornless honey locust | Imperial, shade master, skyline, street keeper |
Turkish filbert | |
Certain species may not be recommended from time to time due to current biological threats or other recognized industry practices.
(Ord. 2016-72)
2. Wherever practicable, new landscaping shall use native materials, as specified by the University Of Illinois Extension Service in its "Illinois Plant, Landscape And Nursery Technology" publications and website.
3. Preservation and protection of existing native species of plant material is strongly encouraged. Existing native species and natural cover should be retained wherever possible. Where planting requirements for landscaped areas result in the need for additional trees or shrubs in an existing natural area, there shall be minimum disturbance to native species.
4. Where it is not possible to retain existing natural ground cover, landscaped areas shall be seeded and/or sodded, or provided with other acceptable ground cover.
5. Landscaping should be used to minimize potential erosion through the use of plant materials, which aid in soil stabilization.
6. Landscaping should maximize shading of streets and off street parking areas.
D. Standards For Plant Materials: When the seasonal nursery stock does not provide for the required plant and tree sizes, the development assistance committee may approve alternative sizes of the required plantings. All vegetation to be planted shall meet the following standards:
1. Nursery stock shall meet with minimum requirements of the "American Standards For Nursery Stock" (ASNS), published by the American Association Of Nurserymen, Inc.
2. Plants shall be sound, healthy, vigorous, free from mutilation, plant diseases, insect pests or their eggs, and fungus and shall have healthy, normal root systems. Plants shall be nursery grown stock in containers or freshly dug, balled, and burlapped.
3. Caliper measurement, height measurement, minimum container volume, drown spread, and number of canes shall conform to the requirements of the "American Standards For Nursery Stock" (ASNS), published by the American Association Of Nurserymen, Inc.
4. Shade trees shall be at least two inches (2") in diameter at a point three feet (3') above the ground when planted. Ornamental trees shall be a minimum one inch (1") in diameter at a point three feet (3') above the ground when planted. Trees shall not be planted any closer than two and one-half feet (2.5') from the edge of any landscaped area within and along the edges of parking areas and ingress/egress points.
5. Shrubs shall be a minimum of twelve inches (12") to eighteen inches (18") high and/or eighteen inches (18") spread for internal landscaped areas of parking areas and a minimum of twenty four inches (24") to thirty inches (30") height for landscaped strips lying between parking areas. Shrubs making up buffer types "A" and "B" where a continuous hedge is required shall be a minimum of thirty six inches (36") high, otherwise, a minimum size of twenty four inches (24") to thirty inches (30") height is allowable. Shrubs making up buffer types "C" shall be a minimum of thirty six inches (36") high with an aggregate average height of forty eight inches (48").
6. Ground covers other than grass shall be planted in such a manner as to provide reasonably complete coverage within one year after planting.
7. Turf establishment areas may be seeded, sodded, plugged, or sprigged except that sod and/or ground cover plants are required for slopes greater than four to one (4:1) (25 percent).
8. Landscaping materials shall meet the requirements of the corner site visibility standards in section 15.4.6 of this chapter.
E. Design For Safety: To ensure both the perceived and actual safety of pedestrians and bicyclists, it is important to provide clear visibility of the immediate environment along sidewalks and trails. Buffers and other landscaped areas adjacent to sidewalks, trails or other pedestrianways required for pedestrian circulation shall be subject to the standards in this subsection; these standards shall not apply to landscaped areas adjacent to recreational trails:
1. Such areas shall include low growing shrubs (less than 3 feet in mature height) and flowers and grasses within twenty feet (20') of the nearest edge of the sidewalk or trail;
2. Such areas shall not include berms within fifty feet (50') of the nearest edge of the sidewalk or trail;
3. Such areas may include fences or walls, subject to the following additional standards:
a. Fences or walls that are no taller than three feet (3') shall be allowed within a buffer area adjacent to sidewalks or trails;
b. Fences, such as split rail fences, that do not impair visibility, shall be allowed;
c. All other fences or walls are prohibited in portions of open space areas within fifty feet (50') of a sidewalk or trail subject to this subsection.
4. Where berms are used within a landscaped area, slopes shall not exceed forty five degrees (45°) and shall be completely covered with vegetation. (Ord. 2013-20)