10-07-09: OFF STREET PARKING LANDSCAPE PROVISIONS:

This section shall apply to all parking lots, which contain more than twelve (12) parking spaces.

(1) Right Of Way Landscaping: A landscape buffer shall be placed between all parking lots and adjacent streets in keeping with the street buffer provisions outlined in section 10-07-08 of this article. All other perimeter landscaping is subject to the provisions outlined in subsection (2) of this section.

(2)     Perimeter Landscaping:

A. Perimeter landscaping helps to define and screen parking, loading, and other vehicular use areas and minimizes the negative impact of two (2) adjoining lots becoming one large paved expanse. The perimeter landscape requirement is not intended to hinder the ability to provide vehicular access or pedestrian use between lots.

B. The following perimeter landscaping standards shall apply to interior lot lines, side or rear lot lines, areas adjacent to parking lots or other vehicular use areas, including driveways:

1. Size And Location: The controller is to provide a minimum five foot (5') perimeter landscape strip along all interior lot lines, side or rear lot lines or areas that are adjacent to parking, loading, or other paved vehicular use areas, including driveways, vehicle sales, truck parking, bus parking and vehicle storage.

2. Landscaping: The five foot (5') perimeter landscape strip shall be planted with class 2 trees. The spacing of these trees shall be equivalent to a minimum of one tree per thirty-five (35) linear feet. The landscape strip shall consist of shrubs, lawn, or other vegetative ground cover to encompass the whole area with landscaping. If the thirty-five foot (35') linear application results in a remaining buffer area of more than eighteen (18) linear feet, one additional tree shall be added. Minimum shrub planting density shall be equivalent to one shrub per seven (7) linear feet of buffer area. Lawn coverage is optional for those areas planted with shrubs, spaced at intervals of seven feet (7') or less width. No tree shall be planted in the perimeter landscape area that is also serving as a utility easement without the city engineer's approval. Piped irrigation shall be provided for perimeter landscaping.

3. Shopping Centers: All shopping centers larger than five (5) acres in size shall have a landscape buffer constructed to a width of twenty-five feet (25') along any public street frontage. The landscape buffer width shall be twenty feet (20') for shopping centers containing less than five (5) acres.

(3) Interior Parking Lot Area Landscaping: Interior parking lot landscaping shall be required for any parking lot with more than twelve (12) parking spaces. The interior parking lot landscaping shall be accomplished by the installation of landscape planters or other types of landscape application.

A. Required Landscaping Percentages: The required amount of internal landscaping is based on the following scale:

B. Landscape Planter Islands: Landscape planter islands are interior parking areas surrounded by curbing material intended to provide visual relief from the expanse of asphalt, while also protecting the landscape from vehicular injury. Interior landscape planters aid in the orderly circulation of vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Landscape planter islands shall contain a minimum of sixty (60) square feet, and shall be no less than five feet (5') in any horizontal dimension, measured from the inside curbs. The five foot (5') minimum dimension may be reduced when a planter is configured in a triangular shape to accommodate angled parking. Piped irrigation shall be provided to each planter area/island.

C. Internal Planter Islands To Provide Visual Relief: Linear grouping of parking spaces shall not exceed twelve (12) in a row, without the installation of an internal planter island.

D. Parking Lot Layout To Guide Vehicle Turning Movement: Interior landscaping shall be designed to help guide major traffic movement within the parking area. Accordingly, interior landscape planters shall be spaced as evenly as feasible at the ends of parking rows throughout the lot to guide vehicle turning movements.

E. Trees Required Within The Interior Planter Island: The interior planter island, serving a single row of parking spaces, shall be landscaped with at least one class 1 or 2 tree and covered with low shrubs, lawn, or other vegetative ground cover. Interior planter islands, accommodating a double row of parking spaces, shall have one hundred twenty (120) square feet of area to include a minimum of one tree and be completely covered with low shrubs, lawn, or other vegetative ground cover.

Deciduous shade trees installed in the interior planting island must be pruned to a clear branch height of eight feet (8') above the path surface after the tree has reached a maturity so as to not injure its health. Class 3 trees are prohibited in the interior planters due to their massive size at maturity.

F. Interior Landscaping Design Flexibility: If the required amount of landscaping seriously encumbers the parking lot and traffic circulation functions, the community development director has discretion to allow the relocation of up to fifty percent (50%) of the required internal landscaping to the entranceways or perimeter of the general parking lot area; likewise, the director has discretion to reallocate the landscaping in cases involving small or oddly configured land parcels. The amount of landscape relocated shall be in addition to the perimeter landscaping and street landscape buffer requirements.

G. Landscape Damage: Parking areas and service drives shall be designed to prevent bumper overhang from damaging the adjoining landscaping.

H. Exclusion Within Industrial Zones: Parking, storage, circulation and loading areas located within industrial zones are excluded from this section's interior parking lot landscape requirements as well as the five percent (5%) common open space requirement for certain internal features. Other than these noted exclusions, industrial zoned development shall meet all perimeter right of way landscape buffer and open space requirements (see subsection 10-07-05(4) of this article). Traffic islands or separators located at the entranceway of industrial zoned land shall be landscaped to include a water supply source. Property shall not be rezoned to industrial for the purpose of avoiding the interior landscape requirements. Business parks are subject to the standard interior parking lot landscape requirements and the design review process.

I. Interior Parking Lot Landscape Maintenance: It shall be the responsibility of the controller to keep all parking lot landscaping in good condition and free from weeds, refuse and debris or they shall be subject to the city's refuse/nuisance abatement remedies as outlined in this code.

(4) Existing Parking Lot Applicability: Parking lots existing prior to November 18, 2002, shall comply with the following landscape requirements when they are subject to further improvement or repair:

A. No additional landscaping is required for parking lot improvements involving restriping, application of a parking lot overlay or sealant, parking lot replacement or other repair constituting less than fifty percent (50%) of the parking lot area. If the property has more than one parking area, a fifty percent (50%) improvement to any of them will trigger the site's landscape requirements.

B. All current landscape standards shall be met for a parking lot replacement or repair representing greater than fifty percent (50%) of the parking area.

C. The community development director shall determine how to apply the landscape standards in the event a physical impediment (like the location of a building) prevents conformance with this section's landscaping requirements or the implementation of these requirements conflicts with the parking standards outlined in the zoning ordinance. (Ord. 2533, 12-20-2004)