These landscaping, street tree, screening and buffer requirements are designed to:
(A) Protect the health, safety and general welfare of the public;
(B) Enhance property values;
(C) Improve the appearance of the community through preservation of natural resources, trees and native plants; and
(D) Maintain the ecological balance of the area. These minimum requirements will:
(1) Safeguard and enhance property values;
(2) Protect public and private investment;
(3) Encourage preservation of existing trees and other significant vegetation;
(4) Encourage proper selection, installation and maintenance of plant materials that result in the conservation of natural resources, including water;
(5) Reduce the negative environmental effects of development while protecting and enhancing the value of developed properties and the surrounding area;
(6) Reduce soil erosion and increase infiltration in permeable land areas essential to storm water management and aquifer recharge;
(7) Mitigate air, dust, noise, heat, chemical pollution and glare, and other adverse environmental effects of development;
(8) Reduce the “heat-island” effect of impervious surfaces, such as parking lots, by cooling and shading the surface area and breaking up large expanses of pavement;
(9) Establish a landscape theme, including street trees and streetscape designs, to be used throughout the city to promote the overall character and identity of the community;
(10) Address the design of entryways into the city to express the community’s values;
(11) Preserve existing native vegetation as an integral part of the wildlife habitats, and incorporate native plants and ecosystems into landscape design;
(12) Promote innovative and cost-conscious approaches to the design, installation, and maintenance of landscaping while encouraging xeriscape planting techniques and water and energy conservation;
(13) Screen unsightly equipment or materials from the view of persons on public streets or abutting properties and buffering from uncomplimentary land uses;
(14) Maintain and increase property values by requiring site-appropriate landscaping to be incorporated into development that is designed and installed by a qualified landscape professional;
(15) Promote walkable, pedestrian-scale streetscapes, traditional neighborhoods and compact centers by exempting uses that relate to each other functionally and visually from certain requirements of this section;
(16) Promote water conservation through rain water capture, treatment and storage, and efficient landscape and irrigation design; and
(17) Promote and protect the health, safety and welfare of the public by creating an urban environment that is aesthetically pleasing and that promotes economic development through an enhanced quality of life.
(Ord. 3020, passed 9-10-2013)