(a) This section establishes the minimum standards by which vehicular use areas (off-street parking, loading, stacking, and access drives) will be screened from adjacent public streets or from adjacent properties. In addition, this section delineates standards for landscaping within the interior of parking areas.
(b) Whenever required screening is adjacent to parking areas or driveways, such screening shall be protected by bollards, wheel blocks, or curbing (see § 1218.04(g)(5)) to avoid damage by vehicles.
(c) Applicability. Unless otherwise stated, this section shall apply to any lot that contains 20 or more parking spaces.
(d) Perimeter areas adjacent to public streets.
(1) Vehicular use areas adjacent to public streets shall be separated from the edge of the right-of-way by a perimeter landscape strip no less than five feet in width, not including the sidewalk or any other paved area.
(2) The landscape strip shall be planted with one tree for each 40 linear feet or fraction thereof and shall include a hedge, wall, or other opaque durable landscape barrier, which will be at least two feet in height at maturity, along the entire length of the landscape strip. See Figure 1216-B. The landscape strip shall be covered with grass or other ground cover, e.g. wood chips.
(3) If the above two-foot landscape barrier is constructed of non-living materials, one shrub or vine shall be planted every ten feet along the barrier.
(4) The remainder of the required landscaped areas shall be landscaped with grass, ground cover or other landscape treatment.
(5) Any public right-of-way or areas reserved for future rights-of-way in compliance with the adopted thoroughfare plan shall not be used to satisfy the requirements of this section. The Development Code Administrator may waive this requirement if, with consultation from the City Engineer, they determine that thoroughfare will not realistically be expanded due to the existing development adjacent to the right-of-way or lack of need for future expansion.
(6) Perimeter landscape strips shall be continuous and unbroken except for driveways or sidewalks required to access the parking area.
(e) Interior parking area landscaping required.
(1) Such landscaping shall be in addition to landscaping adjacent to public streets and screening requirements as specified in this chapter.
(2) A minimum of 5% of the total vehicular use area shall be designed as interior landscaping areas. If the parking lot has more than 100 parking spaces, the percentage shall be increased to 7.5% of the total vehicular use area shall be designed as interior landscaping area.
(3) The interior landscaping shall be located within landscaped islands that are separated from the perimeter landscaping required in division (d) hereof, and shall be scattered throughout the parking area to break up large areas of pavement. Landscaped islands that are designed as extensions from the perimeter landscaping areas shall also be considered as interior parking area landscaping but shall not count as the perimeter landscaping area. See Figure 1216-C.
(4) Landscape islands shall have a minimum size of 180 square feet within a minimum dimension of eight feet in any direction to provide a suitable living environment for the landscaping.
(5) If an existing tree is to be used to meet the requirements of this subsection, the landscape island shall be equal in size to the tree's drip line area to protect the root system of the existing tree.
(6) At least one deciduous tree and two shrubs must be provided per ten parking spaces within landscape islands, provided there is no impairment to visibility of motorists or pedestrians. In no case shall there be less than one tree and three shrubs planted in each landscaped island.
(Ord. O2018-02, passed 2-20-2018)