Article 6 — LANDSCAPE REGULATIONS

Except for driveways and other entrances, parking lots shall be enclosed with a decorative masonry wall as follows:

a) When a parking lot abuts property in a residential zone or property used for residential purposes, a decorative masonry wall six (6) feet in height shall be erected along said abutting property line. Such wall shall not be less than four (4) feet in height above the surface of the adjoining property; provided, however, that such walls shall uniformly step down to a height of 3O-36 inches within the required front yard setback area of the adjacent property.

b) Where a parking lot is located across a street or highway from property in a residential zone or property used for residential purposes, a decorative masonry wall 3O-36 inches in height shall be erected along and not less than three (3) feet from the property line of said parking lot, which shall parallel said street and highway. Provided however, that a tree well, having a minimum depth of five (5) feet from property line shall be provided on an average spacing of every fifty (50) feet of street frontage, unless trees have been provided in the parkway area on an average spacing of fifty (50) feet. The setback area shall be landscaped and continuously maintained.

(Amended by O-1902; O-2276)

Not less than five (5) percent of a parking lot comprising more than twenty (20) parking spaces shall be landscaped and continuously maintained; not less than four (4) percent of a parking lot comprising not more than twenty (20) parking spaces shall be landscaped and continuously maintained; and not less than three (3) percent of a parking lot comprising not more than ten (10) parking spaces shall be landscaped and continuously maintained. Upon the approval of the Planning Director, the landscaped area between the front property line and the building on the site may be counted up to one (1) percent as part of the required area for landscaping. Any unused space resulting from the design of the parking spaces should be used for planting purposes, but an even distribution of the planting beds must be maintained throughout the parking area. The planting bed area shall have a minimum width of three (3) feet and a minimum area of nine (9) square feet. Upon approval of the Planning Director, the front portion of parking spaces may be used to fulfill the minimum width and area requirements. A method of irrigating all planting areas shall be provided by a permanent water system. For the protection of the landscaped areas a minimum four (4) inch high curb shall be provided on all sides.

A planting list shall be shown on the required plot plan to obtain a grading permit, or building permit, for the building for which the parking lot is provided, which planting list shall give the botanical and common names of the plants to be used, the sizes to be planted, the quantity of each, and the spacing to insure balance and design. The plants shall be listed alphabetically and assigned key numbers to be used in locating the plants on the plan.

(Amended by O-1902; O-2276)

The choice of plant material shall be trees or shrubs combined with ground cover. All planters shall be provided with a minimum of one (1) five (5) gallon shrub for each twenty (20) square feet of planter area. One (1) twenty-four (24) inch boxed tree shall be provided for each ten (10) parking spaces or portion thereof. For parking lots with ten (10) or less spaces, two (2) fifteen (15) gallon trees may be substituted for the one (1) twenty-four (24) inch boxed tree.

(Added by O-1902)

A plot plan indicating the location of all landscaping shall be submitted for approval by the Planning Director. The decision of the Planning Director may be appealed to the Planning Commission.

(Added by O-1902)

Upon approval of the Planning Director, parking lots in the M-1 and M-2 Districts may be excluded from the provisions of Article 6 of this Code upon determination that:

a) The parking area is used primarily for employee parking,

b) Sufficient landscaping is provided to screen such parking areas from the view of the general public.

(Added by O-1902; Amended by O-1946)

Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 53.1.3 (a), the provisions of this Article shall apply to parking lots used with buildings and structures used for nonresidential purposes which are hereafter constructed or expanded; provided, however, that the provisions of this Article shall not apply (1) to parking areas enclosed within a building, or (2) to an addition to or alteration of any building or structure which is required by other provisions of this Code or State Law, or (3) an addition to or alteration of any building or structure the cost of which does not exceed One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) as provided in the Building Code of the City for building permit valuation purposes.

(Added by O-2307)

Not less than five (5) percent of the total paved area for driveways and for open parking shall be landscaped where such areas are visible from apartment units on the property or from adjacent residential uses or from public rights-of-way. A planter bed shall have an average width of three (3) feet and a minimum area of nine (9) square feet. One (1) twenty-four (24) inch box tree shall be provided for each ten (10) open parking spaces. All planting areas shall be provided with a permanent sprinkler system.