The following minimum standards shall be observed; however, additional landscaping may be recommended by the architectural review board and required by the director of planning and development services pursuant to Sections 18.76.020 and 18.77.070 of the Palo Alto Municipal Code. Landscape requirements of Section 18.40.130 (Landscaping) shall also be considered in the design of parking lot landscaping.
(a) Perimeter Landscaping
Each unenclosed parking facility shall provide a perimeter landscaped strip at least five feet wide between and adjacent to a line defining the exterior boundary of the parking area and the nearest adjacent property line, not separated by a building. The perimeter landscaped strip may include any landscaped yard or landscaped area otherwise required, and shall be continuous except for required access to the site or to the parking facility. Where the landscaped strip adjoins a public street or pedestrian walkway, the landscaped strip may be required to include a fence, wall, berm, or equivalent feature. Where the parking facility adjoins another site, a fence, wall, or other equivalent screening feature may be required.
(b) Interior Landscaping - Amount Required
Interior landscaping is required within the parking facility between the perimeter landscaped area and the edge of pavement adjacent to any building on the site. Each unenclosed parking facility shall provide a minimum of interior landscaping in accord with Table 2. Where the total parking provided is located in more than one location on a site separated by differences in grade or by at least ten feet of unpaved area, each such area shall be considered a separate facility for the purpose of this requirement.
Size of Facility (Square Feet) | Minimum Required Interior Landscaping (Percentage of Total Parking Facility Area) |
Under 14,999 | 5% |
15,000-29,999 | 7.5% |
30,000 | 10% |
(c) Interior Landscaping - Layout
(1) Interior landscaped islands within a parking area shall have a minimum dimension of five feet by five feet, excluding curbing.
(2) Landscaped islands shall exist for every ten spaces in a single row.
(3) Parking lot trees shall be planted or exist for each six parking stalls. Only fifty percent of the trees located along the perimeter of the parking area may count toward the required number of trees.
(d) Tree Canopy and Sizes
Landscaping within surface parking areas shall include tree plantings designed to result in 50 percent shading of parking lot surface areas within 15 years. Trees required to meet any section of this title shall be a minimum fifteen gallon size, and at least twenty-five percent (25%) shall be twenty-four-inch box or larger. Fifty percent (50%) of shrubs shall be a minimum of five-gallon size. Provided, in the Site and Design Review (D) combining district, the minimum plant size requirements set forth in this section may be decreased, as set forth in Chapter 18.30(G).
(e) Impervious Surfaces
Areas required to be landscaped may contain no more than twenty-five percent impervious surface, exclusive of driveways and walkways needed for access to the site.
(f) Landscape Screens
Where this title requires a landscaped screen or buffer, a combination of trees and shrubs shall be used and the following minimum standards shall apply:
(1) On sites abutting or located opposite a residential site, a dense visual buffer shall be provided. In addition, trees shall be planted or shall exist at a ratio of not less than one tree per three hundred square feet of the landscape screen or fraction thereof, and supplemented with shrubs and groundcover.
(2) Landscape screens required by Chapter 18.16 (CN, CS, and CC Districts) and areas subject to Chapter 18.70 (Landscape Combining District) shall provide a dense visual buffer. In addition, trees shall be planted or in existence at a ratio of not less than one tree per six hundred square feet of the landscape screen area or fraction thereof, and supplemented with shrubs and groundcover.
(g) Irrigation and Landscape Maintenance
(1) Provision shall be made for automatically irrigating all planted areas, unless the director determines that irrigation is not necessary (e.g., for xeriscape plantings).
(2) All landscaping shall be continuously maintained.
(h) Wheel Stops
A permanent curb, bumper wheel stop or similar devices shall be installed which shall be adequate to protect the required sidewalks, planters, landscaped areas and structures from vehicular damage. If such protection is provided by means of a method designed to stop the wheel, rather than the bumper of the vehicle, the stopping edge shall be placed no closer than two feet from the edges of the required sidewalks or any building. The innermost two feet of each parking space (between the curb and any planter or sidewalk) may remain unpaved, be planted with low groundcover, and added to landscaping, to allow for bumper overhang.
(j) Planters
Architectural planters built on top of a deck covering a below-grade parking structure, and proposed to meet minimum requirements for landscaped areas, shall have a soil depth dimension of at least eighteen inches for shrubs and thirty-six inches for trees, and have drainage outlet(s) connected to a storm drain system.
(k) Requirements for Temporary Parking Facilities
The landscaping standards set forth above shall not apply to temporary parking facilities; however, the architectural review board, through its review, may require minimum landscaping for such facilities.
(l) Sight Lines
Landscaping height must meet the requirements of Section 18.54.050(b) (sight distance) within a parking lot and at the intersection of a parking facility driveway or ramp and a public street.
(Ord. 5494 § 3, 2020: Ord. 4964 § 3 (part), 2007)