A. Landscape Maintenance: All landscaped areas shall be properly maintained to ensure water use efficiency and overall plant health. A regular maintenance schedule shall be submitted to the town and the local water purveyor, if applicable, with the landscape certificate of completion for all projects subject to the provisions of this chapter.
1. Responsibilities Of Property Owners: Property owners shall be responsible for the installation and the regular maintenance and management of landscaped areas on their property and within the contiguous landscaped rights of way/parkways. Those rights of way/parkways that are maintained by the town shall not be the responsibility of the property owner.
2. Maintenance Practices: The following maintenance practices shall be part of the regular maintenance schedule and shall be performed on a regular basis to ensure water use efficiency and overall plant health:
a. For the overall health of plant material pruning, cultivating, weeding, fertilizing, watering, and replenishing mulch on a regular basis shall be part of a regular maintenance schedule. All pruning shall be in compliance with the adopted pruning standards of the western chapter of the International Society Of Arboriculture.
b. The removal of dead, decayed, diseased, or hazardous trees and/or shrubs, weeds, and debris constituting unsightly appearance, dangerous to public safety and welfare or detrimental to neighboring properties or property.
c. Any dead or dying plant material shall be removed and replaced as quickly as possible. Any accumulation of leaves, twigs, bark, and other similar materials shall be removed on a regular basis. All landscaped areas shall be kept in a weed free fashion at all times.
d. Litter removal from all landscaped areas shall be performed on a regular basis.
e. All turf areas shall be mowed, aerated, and dethatched on a regular basis to ensure the overall health of the turf.
f. Plantings shall be irrigated as often as necessary to maintain healthy growing conditions. Damage to the landscaping and irrigation systems shall be corrected as quickly as possible.
g. All irrigation systems, and components, shall be routinely inspected, adjusted, and repaired. Any obstructions to emission devices shall be removed. If repair to the irrigation equipment is necessary, the replacement parts shall conform to all standards that govern the original irrigation installation and/or approved landscaping plans.
h. Mulch shall be routinely replenished as part of the regular maintenance schedule. The depth, type, and replenishment frequency of all mulch within landscaped areas shall be listed as part of the regular maintenance schedule.
i. The operation of the irrigation systems outside of the normal watering window shall only be allowed for system auditing and maintenance.
j. The property owner is encouraged to implement sustainable and/or environmentally friendly practices for overall landscape maintenance. If sustainable and/or environmentally friendly landscape maintenance practices are utilized then those practices shall be outlined within the regular maintenance schedule.
3. Trimming To Prevent Encroachment Or Obstruction: Plant material (i.e., trees and shrubs), when established, shall be trimmed so that they do not encroach upon sidewalks, property lines, or streets. Plant materials shall not encroach, impede and/or interfere with vehicle or pedestrian traffic, or obstruct the illumination from any streetlight to the street or sidewalk. Refer to section 9.31.020, "Clear Sight Triangle", of this article 3, concerning clear sight triangles and sections 9.07.120 and 9.09.040 of this title (permitted projections into required setback areas) concerning projections into yards.
4. Trees:
a. In residential subdivisions, the developer shall guarantee street trees for a minimum of one year after acceptance of the tract or until eighty percent (80%) of the units are occupied, whichever is later. Maintenance of all trees shall become the responsibility of the homeowner upon occupancy.
b. As necessary, all tree guys, stakes, etc., shall be adjusted on a regular basis and replaced in order to maintain a neat appearance and to prevent damage to trees. All tree guys, stakes, etc., shall be removed after the first growing season to ensure the continuing health of the plant.
B. Irrigation Schedule: An irrigation schedule shall be developed for all landscaped areas in order to ensure the efficient use of water. The site specific irrigation schedule shall be developed, managed, and evaluated to utilize the least amount of water required to ensure plant health. The site specific irrigation schedule shall meet the following criteria:
1. Two Separate Irrigation Schedules: Two (2) site specific irrigation schedules shall be prepared. The first schedule shall be for the initial establishment period of six (6) months and the second schedule shall be for the established landscape, and shall incorporate the specific water needs of on site plant material throughout the calendar year.
2. Watering Window For Conventional (Overhead) Spray Systems: All conventional (overhead) spray systems shall be scheduled to run between the hours of eight o'clock (8:00) P.M. to nine o'clock (9:00) A.M. The project developer shall check with the local water purveyor, if applicable, to determine their suggested watering window, and the stricter of the two shall apply. The operation of the irrigation systems outside of the normal watering window shall only be allowed for system auditing and maintenance.
3. Maximum Applied Water Allowance (MAWA): The total water applied to the site landscaping shall be less than or equal to the site specific maximum applied water allowance (MAWA).
4. Copies Of Irrigation Schedule: A copy of the project specific irrigation schedule shall be located within the irrigation controller enclosure for maintenance purposes. Additionally, a copy of the schedule shall be given to the property owner prior to occupancy. (Ord. 254, 12-16-2014)