(A) Planting requirements/point system.
(1) The developer may use any combination of plantings to obtain the necessary number of points required for the development. Different lots and landscapes will lend themselves to different types of plantings. These regulations attempt to encourage creativity and diversity in landscaping.
(2) Landscaping within any developed area must equal or exceed a minimum number of points in order to obtain approval. Site points are determined by the size of the developed area, and parking lot points are determined by the number of parking spaces.
(a) Number of points required for the developed area are as follows.
Size of Developed Area | Number of Points Required |
1 to 5,000 square feet | Site Points = 25 |
Parking Lot Points = Two points per required parking space and one point for each proposed additional parking space | |
More than 5,000 square feet | Site Points = 25, plus one point for each additional 200 square feet of developed area |
Parking Lot Points = Two points per required parking space and one point for each proposed additional parking space |
(b) Exemptions from site points for the developed area include:
1. Industrial use units, and transportation facilities: the number of required points shall be derived from the parking space calculation only (three points per each required parking space).;
2. Single-Family and Duplex Residential; and
3. Developments within C-1.
(c) When only a portion of a large tract is developed (e.g., one acre of a ten-acre tract), only the developed area shall be considered when determining the number of points required.
(d) Examples of retail development are as follows.
Description of Property | Developed Area = 20,000 square feet | |
Required Parking Spaces = 20 | ||
Proposed Parking Spaces = 30 | ||
Requirements | Site Points for sites over 5,000 square feet require 25 points plus one point for each additional 200 square feet. | |
Parking Lot Plantings require two points for each required parking space and one point for each additional parking space. | ||
Calculation of Points | Site Points for 5,000 square feet | 25 |
Additional 15,000 square feet (÷ by 200) | + 75 | |
Site Points | = 100 | |
Two points x 20 required parking spaces | 40 | |
One point x 10 additional parking spaces | + 10 | |
Parking Lot Points | = 50 | |
Total Points Required (100 Site Points + 50 Parking Lot Points) | 150 | |
(3) Landscaping point values are as follows.
Type of Plant Material | Minimum Size (at time of planting) | Point Value | |
Type of Plant Material | Minimum Size (at time of planting) | Point Value | |
Large Tree | 8-inch or greater caliper | 26 | |
7-inch caliper | 24 | ||
6-inch caliper | 22 | ||
5-inch caliper | 20 | ||
4-inch caliper | 11-12 feet height | 18 | |
3-inch caliper | 9-10 feet height | 15 | |
Medium Tree | 2-inch caliper | 7-8 feet height | 12 |
Small Tree or Ornamental Tree | Single trunk: 1-inch caliper | 5-6 feet height | 9 |
Multiple Trunk (minimum 3 trunks): 6-foot height, and the smallest trunk 1-inch caliper minimum | 9 | ||
Large Shrub | 5 gallon, 24-inch height at planting | 3 | |
Medium Shrub | 3 gallon, 12-inch height at planting | 2 | |
Small Shrub | 2 gallon, 8-inch height at planting | 1 | |
Ornamental Grasses | 1 gallon | 1/2 | |
Groundcover | 1 gallon | 1/4 | |
4-inch pots | 1/2 | ||
Existing Significant Tree | 6-inch caliper (see 7-42) | 22 to 50 | |
Landscaped Berm | 30-inch height; 10-foot length, 3:1 slope | 1 per 5 linear foot | |
Turf Grass | N/A | 1/4 per square yard | |
(4) A minimum of 60% of required points shall be used for landscaping in the front and side yards;
(5) A minimum of 25% of required points shall be used for evergreen plantings; and
(6) A maximum of 25% of required points may be used for turf grass.
(B) Landscaping requirements for single-family residential and manufactured home residential use units in the following districts: R-1, R-2, R-3.
(1) All required perimeter yards shall be landscaped. The landscaping of these yards shall, at a minimum, consist of a combination of living vegetation, such as trees, shrubs, grasses or ground cover materials, planted or transplanted and maintained, or preserved as existing natural vegetation areas (e.g., woods or thickets).
(2) Within the perimeter yards, there shall be at least one medium tree planted and/or maintained for every 75 feet, or fraction thereof, of frontage with a minimum of one tree per lot.
(C) All non-residential and commercial use units in the following districts: R-1, R-2, R-3, C-1, GI, and PD.
(1) All required front, side, and rear yards shall be landscaped, except walkways, parking, pertinent equipment, drainage utilities, and other accessory structures permitted by this subchapter. The landscaping of these yards shall consist of a combination of living vegetation, such as trees, shrubs, grasses, or ground cover materials, planted or transplanted and maintained, or preserved as existing natural vegetation areas (e.g., woods or thickets).
(2) All trees and shrubs shall be planted, maintained, or transplanted in accordance with the standards of the American Standard for Nursery Stock (a copy of which is on file in the city office). All newly planted trees and shrubs shall be mulched and maintained to give a clean and weed-free appearance.
(D) Required landscaping for industrial use units, and transportation facilities in the following districts: C-1, GI, and PD.
(1) (a) For each required parking space, three points shall be used to plant parking lot plantings.
(b) If the parking lot is located in the rear of the building, up to 50% of the parking lot points may be used along public frontage or around the building.
(2) For industrial development abutting a street designated as a freeway or expressway by the street plan, landscaping shall be provided according to the following:
(a) For each 20 linear feet, or fraction thereof, of that portion of the developed area abutting a freeway/expressway right-of-way, at least one medium tree shall be planted on the developed area. The tree shall be planted within 20 feet of the right-of-way.
(b) A vegetative buffer consisting of trees, shrubs, and/or berms shall be provided around all parking lots and outside storage areas not screened by buildings from the freeway/expressway. The vegetative buffer shall be at least three feet in height and shall be placed along the freeway/expressway frontage of the parking lots and outside storage areas.
(3) (a) For industrial development abutting a street other than a freeway or expressway, landscaping shall be provided according to the following:
(b) For each 40 linear feet or fraction thereof, of that portion of the developed area abutting a street right-of-way, at least one medium tree shall be planted on the developed area. The tree shall be planted within 20 feet of the right-of-way.
(4) Uses within the ILR or IH District, when located across any street from any use other than industrial, shall provide a continuous five-foot minimum landscape buffer on the outside of any required fence.
(E) Automotive parking lot landscape requirements for the following districts: R-1, R-2, R-3, C-1, GI, and PD.
(1) The purpose of parking lot islands and/or parking lot peninsulas is to help reduce glare and heat buildup; to promote interior islands for pedestrian safety and traffic separation; to visually break up large expanses of pavement; and to reduce surface runoff.
(2) All non-covered, street-level parking facilities established and governed by this subchapter shall be landscaped in accordance with the following requirements.
(a) In addition to the number of site points required, two additional points are added to the site for each required parking space. Any proposed parking space in excess of the number of required spaces shall require one point of landscaping. These points must be used to plant parking lot plantings. The plantings may be located:
1. Around the perimeter of the lot to provide a uniform and attractive design; and/or
2. Within parking lot islands, peninsulas, and/or landscaped areas within the developed parking lot.
(b) Each parking lot island and/or peninsula shall be a minimum of 171 square feet (the minimum area of a single parking space) with a minimum average width of five feet.
(c) Each parking lot island and/or peninsula shall contain a minimum of one tree.
(d) The distance between any parking space and a landscaped area shall be no more than 75 feet.
(e) Required parking lot plantings shall be in-ground and not placed upon a paved surface.
(f) All parking lot planting areas shall be protected with concrete curbs, or equivalent barriers. Bumper blocks shall not be used for boundaries around the landscaped area.
(g) Each tree shall be planted a minimum of two feet away from the outside of any permanent barrier of a landscaped area or edge of the parking area.
(h) Ground cover or grasses shall be planted to cover each parking lot planting area within three years from the date of issuance of the certificate of occupancy. All ground cover shall have a mature height of not more than 24 inches. Loose rock, gravel, decorative rock or stone, or mulch shall not exceed 20% of the parking lot planting area.
(i) Space devoted to required parking lot planting areas shall be in addition to any required front, side, and rear yard buffer requirements.
(j) Stand-alone parking lots shall require two points of landscaping for each parking space.
(F) Exceptions to automotive parking lot landscaping requirements. The requirements of this section shall not apply to:
(1) Parking garages or parking decks;
(2) Display areas for uses in the following use units:
(a) Automotive sales and rentals;
(b) Automotive and equipment: sales and rentals, light equipment; and
(c) Automotive and equipment: sales and rentals, farm and heavy equipment.
(3) Parking lots of existing developments, legally established prior to the adoption of these regulations, unless there is additional square footage added to the parking area, in which case, one point worth of landscaping shall be added for each additional proposed parking space.
(G) Sight-proof screening and security fences.
(1) For properties located in multi-family, office, or commercial or industrial districts, a sight-proof fence on the front property line and/or side property line(s) abutting a street may be erected, provided a five-foot wide landscape buffer shall be required on the outside of the fence.
(2) A security fence in the front yard, not to exceed a height of eight feet, may be erected when permitted in industrial zoned districts and neighborhood and public utility facilities. Such security fences may be topped with strands of barbed wire when the height of the barbed wire is over six feet from grade. When located on a property across any street from residential, office, and commercial zoned districts, a five-foot wide landscape buffer located on the outside of the fence shall be required.
(3) When property within an industrial zoned district, or neighborhood and public utility facilities is separated by a local residential, collector, or arterial street from a residential district or use, no industrial use shall be made of the property until the owner/developer has erected sight-proof fence along a side or rear property line or along the front building or property line. In such cases, a five-foot wide landscape buffer, located on the outside of the fence shall be required on the front and side property lines. If there is any outdoor work, sales, display, and/or storage areas in the required front yard, a sight-proof fence and a five-foot wide landscape buffer, located on the outside of the fence, shall be required along the front property line.
(4) Sight-proof screening or fencing required for any landscape buffer may be credited with two landscape points per every 20 linear feet if constructed of upgraded building materials, such as masonry (limited to brick, split-face concrete block, stone, or cultured stone), decorative pre-cast concrete fence systems, or decorative iron.
(H) Residential buffers.
(1) On any office, commercial, industrial, planned development, or multi-family development (three or more units) adjacent to a single-family or duplex residential district or use, a landscaped buffer along the property line(s) of the developing property is required. The buffer shall run the entire length of the abutting lot line(s).
(2) The type of buffer may consist of any or all of the following:
(a) A solid fence not less than six feet in height, with either:
1. A landscape buffer, minimum five feet in width, located on the inside of the fence; or
2. Trees spaced 25 feet on center.
(b) A landscaped buffer no less than six feet in width, planted with a series of evergreen plantings at least six feet in height and spaced in a manner to provide an impervious visual barrier; or
(c) A natural, undisturbed wooded area at least 20 feet in width.
(I) Subdivision buffers. All residential developments adjacent to arterial streets shall provide a landscaped buffer, located on the outside of any subdivision fence, consisting of any combination of trees, shrubs, groundcovers, earthen berms, and/or rock or stone accents, arranged in a manner to achieve visual continuity.
(1) The buffer shall contain a minimum of four points for every 20 feet of frontage.
(2) If the buffer is provided within the right-of-way, it shall be located within ten feet of the property line along the entire adjacent public street frontage, exclusive of driveways and accessways at points of ingress and egress.
(3) No trees, shrubs, fences, berms, or other landscape improvements that would impede visibility shall be located in sight triangles.
(4) The type and location of plantings within the public rights-of-way shall not interfere with utilities. Plantings whose mature height exceeds 15 feet shall not be planted beneath overhead utility lines. Approval by the appropriate city departments responsible for street and utilities shall be required.
(Ord. passed 2-3-2011, § 2.32.060)