A. Purpose: The purpose of this chapter is to promote the health, safety, and general welfare of the public and to enhance the aesthetic features of the city; to protect property values, trap and filter dust and pollutants, reduce soil erosion, protect and conserve city water supplies; and to facilitate the orderly development of an attractive and harmonious community.
B. Definitions: As applied to this chapter:
FRONT YARD: A yard extending across the full width of the lot, between the front lot line and the front wall plane of the main building.
PLANTER STRIP: The area between the street and the sidewalk.
REAR YARD: A yard extending across the full width of the lot, between the rear lot line and the rear wall plane of the main building.
SIDE YARD: A yard extending from the side lot line to the side wall plane of the main building, and extending from the front wall plane to the rear wall plane of the building.
SIDE YARD - CORNER LOT: A yard extending from the front lot line to the rear lot line, between the side lot line and the side wall plane of the main building.
STREET TREES: Trees located in a planter strip.
XERISCAPE: Reduced water usage landscape achieved using good planning and design, limited turf areas, soil improvements, efficient irrigation, mulching, low water use plants, and appropriate trees, shrubs, and ground cover. Failure of an owner to install and maintain landscaping within the front yard under the guise that the vegetation and bare ground that occur naturally on the site constitutes xeriscaping shall not qualify as conforming to the provisions of this section.
ZEROSCAPE: Dirt and weeds are not permitted.
C. Single-Family:
1. All single-family residential lots must have the front yard, side yard - corner lot, or side yard center lot landscaped to the rear wall plane of the dwelling. If there is a sight obscuring fence, on a center lot, landscaping can end at the front of the fence. Planter strips must be landscaped. All landscaping should be completed within three (3) years of receiving a certificate of occupancy or the purchase of an existing home. The applicant must be responsible for the landscaping.
2. Required landscaping may be comprised of an irrigation system, trees, bushes, Xeriscape improvements, other manicured vegetative ground cover, or a combination of them.
a. An irrigation system connected to the Elk Ridge City water system must include the installation of a backflow prevention device (specifically an RPZ valve), a pressure reducing valve (PRV), a rain or soil moisture sensor, low loss heads and/or drip systems as applicable, and an automatic drain system.
3. Water is a precious commodity that should be protected and conserved. The following pertains to those parts of the lot as described in 10-12-36-C-1.
a. Lawn shall not be less than 8 feet at its narrowest point.
b. Lawn shall not exceed 35% of the total landscaped area.
(1) Total Landscaped area: Improved areas of the property that incorporate all the completed features of the landscape. The landscape area does not include footprints of buildings or structures, sidewalks, driveways, and other non-irrigated areas intentionally left undeveloped.
c. Lawns shall not be installed in park strips, paths, or on slopes greater than 25%.
4. In order to ensure landscaping requirements are met, Elk Ridge City must require applicants to provide a deposit with the construction of new homes. The deposit amount is set and may be adjusted from time to time by the city council. The deposit will be returned to the property owner when the required landscaping has been installed. In the event that the required landscaping is not installed within three (3) years after the certificate of occupancy has been issued, the deposit is forfeited to the city.
D. Multiple-Family Dwellings:
1. A development with common areas must have a landscaping plan shown as part of the preliminary application package.
2. A landscaping plan must be designed, drawn, and certified by a licensed landscape architect and submitted to the Elk Ridge City planning commission for their approval. The plan must show street trees, planting materials, irrigation, water runoff controls and containment, structural features, playgrounds, sport fields, building locations, and hard surfaces (streets, driveways, sidewalks, trails, etc.). It must also show grading with contours and spot elevations before construction and anticipated contours and elevations after completion.
a. Lawn shall not be less than 8 feet at its narrowest point.
b. Lawn shall not exceed 35% of the total landscaped area.
i. Total Landscaped area: Improved areas of the property that incorporate all the completed features of the landscape. The landscape area does not include footprints of buildings or structures, sidewalks, driveways, and other non-irrigated areas intentionally left undeveloped.
c. Lawns shall not be installed in park strips, paths, or on slopes greater than 25%.
d. In commercial, industrial, institutional, and multifamily development common area landscapes, lawn area shall not exceed 20% of the total landscaped area, outside of active recreation areas.
3. A cash bond of one hundred percent (100%) of the estimated landscaping costs of the common area(s) must be posted prior to the recording whether the landscaped area is proposed to be in city ownership or in a private homeowners' association. Once the city building inspector inspects any irrigation systems connected to the city water system and verifies the landscaping work for all phases is completed, the cash bond is returned to the cash bond holder.
E. Zones With Animal Rights:
1. Properties within zones that have animal rights may use the property for raising of livestock and for other agriculture uses. This may include as examples the use of corrals, pastures, coops, barns, barnyards, or feed storage.
2. Corrals and pasture are permitted in the front yard except corrals and pasture are not allowed in the planter strip area. Approval by the Elk Ridge City planning commission is required for corrals or pasture in the front yard. Coops, barns, barnyards, feed storage, hay bales, loading chutes, water storage tanks, shall and must not be located in the front yard. Corrals, pastures, coops, barns, barnyards, feed storage, hay bales, loading chutes, water storage tanks, and the like, located in the front yard and existing prior to the effective date of this paragraph, shall be grandfathered.
3. Weed control must be maintained in corral, pasture, coop, barn, and barnyard areas. Noxious weeds and native grasses must be kept less than four inches (4") tall within thirty feet (30') of a structure. Noxious weeds must be kept less than twelve inches (12") tall for all other areas.
F. City Trees: Trees greatly enhance the aesthetic features of the city. Tree lined streets increase property values, reduce summertime temperatures, improve air quality, protect from solar glare, reduce UV rays, reduce stormwater runoff, and reduce noise. The addition of trees in any landscaping plan is encouraged. Trees planted in planter strips are known as street trees and must meet certain requirements. The requirements for street trees are:
1. Single-Family New Construction: Each lot can have street trees. When street trees are planted on a corner lot, the required sight distance at intersections must be maintained in accordance with section 10-12-9 of this chapter. The trunk caliper of each tree should be approximately one and one-half inches (1 1/2") to insure survival of the tree in the harsher planter strip environment. The applicant shall be responsible for the installation of street trees.
2. Multiple-Family Dwellings, Commercial Zones New Construction: Each lot shall have a minimum of two (2) trees in a planter strip. If the lot is a corner lot, there must be a minimum of two (2) additional trees in the planter strip of the side yard. If the lot is a corner lot, the required sight distance at intersections must be maintained in accordance with section 10-12-9 of this chapter. Street trees must have a trunk caliper of two inches (2"). The applicant is responsible for the installation of the required street trees.
3. Automatic Watering: The applicant must provide the street trees with an adequate automatic watering system.
4. Tree Variety: At the time a multiple-family or commercial development is constructed each street should have the same type of tree planted along that street within the planter strip. The type of tree should vary from one named street to the next. A variety of trees from street to street in a development discourages disease and is encouraged.
5. Spacing: Lots with considerable frontage must have a maximum tree spacing of fifty feet (50').
6. Approved Street Trees: All street trees must be approved by resolution or the tree committee.
G. Landscape Maintenance:
1. Landscaped areas must be maintained in a neat, clean, and orderly condition. This is meant to include proper pruning, lawn mowing, weeding, removing of litter, fertilizing, replacing of dead plants, and regular watering of all landscaped areas.
2. Maintenance of the planter strip and street trees in the planter strip must be performed by the adjacent property owner.
3. Newly developed landscaped areas must be maintained with an automatic sprinkler system or other appropriate irrigation systems.
4. All landscaping and/or nonlandscaped rear yards will be kept free from noxious weeds and other nonnative volunteer plants that have the potential to spread, by either growth or seed, beyond the containing yard or common area. For fire safety, noxious weeds and native grasses must be kept less than four inches (4") tall within thirty feet (30') of a structure. Noxious weeds must be kept less than twelve inches (12") tall for all other areas and not allow to reseed.
H. Landscaping Hazards: Landscaping must be maintained to prevent property damage to sidewalks, roads, trails, or other public improvements and to avoid public safety hazards. This may include the removal/replacement of dead or decaying plant material and removal of low hanging branches obstructing sidewalks and traffic sight distance requirements. In the event a tree, shrub, or other plant causes damage to streets, sidewalks, trails, or other public improvements, the city may order the removal of the offending vegetation and/or other landscape features and may require the repair or replacement of the damaged city property at the landowner's expense.
(Ord. 16-1, 5-24-2016; amd. Ord. 19-3, 9-24-2019; Ord. 23-03, 5-23-2023)