La Mirada — Landscaping and Screening

Last reviewed: July 2, 2026

Overview

This page summarizes what the La Mirada zoning ordinance requires for landscaping and screening (including fences, walls, buffers, street trees, parking-lot planting, irrigation, and maintenance). All mandatory standards and design controls in this guide are drawn from the La Mirada Municipal Code (Title 21) and cite the controlling sections where the rules appear. For related topics see the city's pages on La Mirada Zoning, La Mirada Development Standards, La Mirada Design Review, La Mirada Overlay Districts, La Mirada ADUs, La Mirada Parking, and the California Building Standards Code.

How the code applies (key chapters and purpose)

• The City establishes minimum landscape standards and buffering goals in Chapter 21.66 — Landscaping for all development; the chapter states the purpose and applicability and requires plans and maintenance (see § 21.66.010, § 21.66.020, § 21.66.030) .
• Fences and walls (heights, location, special arterial and interior design rules, and required buffers between different uses) are regulated in Chapter 21.62 — Fences and Walls (permit triggers, height tables, sight triangles, arterial-wall materials, and required masonry walls between uses) — see § 21.62.020, § 21.62.040, § 21.62.050, § 21.62.060, and § 21.62.070 .
• Parking-lot landscaping and screening, shade-tree ratios, perimeter screening heights, and percent coverage are in § 21.68.140 and related parking sections (parking-landscape rules) .
• Water-efficiency, irrigation, and maintenance standards live in § 21.66.060 and § 21.66.070; property maintenance rules are enforced under Chapter 21.72 (maintenance standards) .
• Site-plan / design review criteria include landscaping, buffering and screening considerations used during review in § 21.114.050 .

District-by-district breakdown (where landscaping rules differ)

Note: the code lists minimum landscape coverage and perimeter widths by the city's zoning districts in Table 21.66.040; the table is the controlling summary for district-specific planting and width requirements (§ 21.66.040) .

R-1 (Single-family Residential)

• Purpose / typical uses: single-family homes and their yards (standard neighborhood residential). See general zoning maps via La Mirada Zoning.
• Key landscaping standards: 20% minimum landscape coverage; 20 ft minimum landscape strip abutting a street (but note the special rule that if a solid 6-foot-high fence encloses the street side yard of a single-family lot, the 20 ft strip requirement does not apply) — see § 21.66.040 (Table 21.66.040) .
• Fences/walls: front-yard fence/wall maximum 42 inches; interior/rear yards up to 7 feet (measurement rules and exceptions apply) — see § 21.62.040 .
• Where it applies: all single-family parcels in the R-1 district; street-tree spacing rules also apply along frontage (§ 21.66.040(b)) .

R-3 and R-4 (Multi-family Residential)

• Purpose / typical uses: medium- and higher-density apartments/condos.
• Key landscaping standards: 20% minimum landscape coverage; 10 ft minimum landscape strip abutting streets; 5 ft interior strip; 10 ft width where abutting a residential district/use (§ 21.66.040, Table 21.66.040) .
• Buffers/walls: where single-family and multi-family abut, a 6‑foot decorative masonry wall is required as a visual buffer (§ 21.62.040(c)(2)) .

C-O, C-1, C-4 (Commercial: Office/Neighborhood/Retail)

• Purpose / typical uses: office, retail, and neighborhood commercial uses.
• Key landscaping standards: 15% minimum landscape coverage; 10 ft minimum street landscape strip; 5 ft interior strip; 10 ft where abutting residential uses (Table 21.66.040 / § 21.66.040) .
• Parking and screening: perimeter planters for parking must provide partial vehicle screening to 30 inches high; parking lots must provide 1 tree per 10 spaces and 10% of parking area landscaped (§ 21.68.140) .
• Walls between commercial and residential uses: 6‑foot decorative solid masonry wall required along common boundary (§ 21.62.040(c)(1)) .

C-F (Freeway Commercial)

• Purpose / typical uses: businesses that front freeway corridors, auto-oriented uses.
• Key landscaping standards: 15% minimum landscape coverage; 15 ft minimum street landscape strip (wider than C-O) as shown in Table 21.66.040 (§ 21.66.040) .
• Electrified fences: extremely limited — permitted only under narrow conditions along rear/interior lines abutting a railroad, floodway, or M-2 (see § 21.62.075) .

M-2 (Industrial)

• Purpose / typical uses: heavier industrial and manufacturing uses.
• Key landscaping standards: 10% minimum landscape coverage; 10 ft street landscape strip; 5 ft interior; 10 ft where abutting residential uses (§ 21.66.040, Table 21.66.040) .
• Electrified fences are permitted only in M-2 and subject to location rules (not next to residential) and other development standards (§ 21.62.075) .
• Arterial-facing walls and retaining walls have material and color requirements (split-face tan masonry block with decorative cap) — see § 21.62.060 .

Most decision-relevant standards (quick reference table)

Practical guidance and interpretation (plain-English, application-oriented)

• Landscape plans are not optional: for any new construction, major renovation, expansion, or change of use the city requires a detailed landscape and irrigation plan prepared by a registered landscape architect and approval before building permits or occupancy are issued (§ 21.66.030, § 21.66.020) . If you are preparing an application, include species lists, plant sizes, irrigation zones, and show all walls/fences and how planting meets required widths in Table 21.66.040 (§ 21.66.040) .
• If your site borders a different zoning/use (for example commercial adjacent to residential, or single-family next to multi-family), expect to provide a 6‑ft decorative masonry wall as a buffer unless the director approves an alternative for site-specific reasons (§ 21.62.040(c)) .
• For parking areas, design for shade and screening: plan for one canopy tree per ten spaces, a minimum 30‑inch perimeter screen where parking meets streets, and 10% of the parking area planted — these plantings do not substitute for district landscape coverage required by Table 21.66.040 (§ 21.68.140) . Link your parking plan with the city parking rules during submittal via the La Mirada Parking page.
• Walls facing major arterials must follow material/color design requirements (split-face tan masonry block with decorative cap), and when you rebuild more than 50% of an arterial wall the entire wall must meet the standard (§ 21.62.060) . Expect the planning division to review design and materials; coordinate with La Mirada Design Review.
• Water-efficiency rules push for drought-tolerant planting and limit turf; irrigation systems must avoid overspray and runoff; except single-family/double-family projects, required areas must have automatic irrigation (§ 21.66.060, § 21.66.070) . These overlap with state requirements in the California Building Standards Code and state water-conservation law — verify project-level triggers for any additional state submittals.

Checklist

• Prepare a detailed landscape and irrigation plan prepared by a registered landscape architect and submit with building permit application (§ 21.66.030) .
• Confirm minimum landscape coverage and perimeter widths from Table 21.66.040 for the property's zoning (§ 21.66.040) .
• Show street-tree locations: one tree per 40 ft of frontage (round up) where required (§ 21.66.040(b)) .
• Parking-lot plan: show 1 tree per 10 spaces, 10% planted area, and 30‑in perimeter screen (§ 21.68.140) .
• Identify required walls between zoning/use boundaries (e.g., 6‑ft masonry wall between residential and commercial or single-family and multi-family) and show materials (§ 21.62.040(c)) .
• Ensure fences and walls meet the height limits (front 42 in, interior/rear 7 ft) and sight-triangle rules near corners and driveways (§ 21.62.040, § 21.62.050) .
• Provide automatic irrigation for required landscape areas (except single-family) and show irrigation details to prevent runoff (§ 21.66.070) .
• Include landscape maintenance responsibility and replacement plan (dead/diseased plants replaced within 30 days per plan) (§ 21.66.070(b)) .
• If the project triggers design review, certificate of compatibility, or overlays, coordinate planting/wall design with those approvals (see La Mirada Design Review, La Mirada Overlay Districts).

Risks & Ambiguities

Plain-English Summary

La Mirada requires a professional landscape plan, minimum percent coverage and perimeter planting widths that vary by zoning (for example, 20% coverage for R‑1 and a 20‑ft street strip for single‑family lots), mandatory irrigation and maintenance, parking‑lot shade and screening standards, and specific fence/wall height and masonry-buffer requirements between conflicting uses — see the controlling code sections cited above for the exact numbers and exceptions (§ 21.66.040, § 21.62.040, § 21.68.140, § 21.66.070) .

Source References

• § 21.66.010 – Purpose (Landscaping); La Mirada Municipal Code (Chapter 21.66)
• § 21.66.020 – Applicability (landscape standards apply to new construction, expansion, renovation)
• § 21.66.030 – Landscape plan required; who prepares them
• § 21.66.040 – Landscape requirements and Table 21.66.040 (district-by-district minimums)
• § 21.66.050 – Planting type, size and spacing (trees/shrubs/groundcover)
• § 21.66.060 – Water-efficient landscaping
• § 21.66.070 – Landscape irrigation and maintenance
• § 21.62.020 – Fence and wall permit requirements
• § 21.62.040 – Fence/wall heights, measurement, and walls required between uses
• § 21.62.050 – Sight clearance requirements (42‑inch visibility triangle)
• § 21.62.060 – Special design provisions for arterial highways (masonry, cap)
• § 21.62.070 – Interior fence/block wall design criteria
• § 21.62.075 – Electrified fence standards
• § 21.68.140 – Parking lot landscaping (trees, screening, 10% rule)
• § 21.68.150 – Off-street loading (context for screening service areas)
• § 21.72.x – Property maintenance and standards for upkeep of landscaping and fences
• § 21.114.050 – Site plan / design review considerations (landscaping & buffering)

Retrieved passages

• La Mirada Zoning Code (§ 9) High relevance show source text
• La Mirada Zoning Code High relevance show source text
• La Mirada Zoning Code (chapter on) High relevance show source text
• La Mirada Zoning Code (Chapter 21.46.) High relevance show source text
• La Mirada Zoning Code (§ 9) High relevance show source text
• La Mirada Zoning Code (Section 21.68.120.) High relevance show source text
• La Mirada Zoning Code (section establishes) High relevance show source text
• La Mirada Zoning Code (Section 65591) High relevance show source text

Cited sections

• **§ 21.66.010 – Purpose (Landscaping)**; La Mirada Municipal Code (Chapter 21.66) (§ 21.66.010)
• **§ 21.66.020 – Applicability** (landscape standards apply to new construction, expansion, renovation) (§ 21.66.020)
• **§ 21.66.030 – Landscape plan required; who prepares them** (§ 21.66.030)
• **§ 21.66.040 – Landscape requirements and Table 21.66.040 (district-by-district minimums)** fileciteturn0file1turn0file5 (§ 21.66.040)
• **§ 21.66.050 – Planting type, size and spacing (trees/shrubs/groundcover)** (§ 21.66.050)
• **§ 21.66.060 – Water-efficient landscaping** (§ 21.66.060)
• **§ 21.66.070 – Landscape irrigation and maintenance** (§ 21.66.070)
• **§ 21.62.020 – Fence and wall permit requirements** (§ 21.62.020)
• **§ 21.62.040 – Fence/wall heights, measurement, and walls required between uses** (§ 21.62.040)
• **§ 21.62.050 – Sight clearance requirements (42‑inch visibility triangle)** (§ 21.62.050)
• **§ 21.62.060 – Special design provisions for arterial highways (masonry, cap)** (§ 21.62.060)
• **§ 21.62.070 – Interior fence/block wall design criteria** (§ 21.62.070)
• **§ 21.62.075 – Electrified fence standards** (§ 21.62.075)
• **§ 21.68.140 – Parking lot landscaping (trees, screening, 10% rule)** (§ 21.68.140)
• **§ 21.68.150 – Off-street loading (context for screening service areas)** (§ 21.68.150)
• **§ 21.72.x – Property maintenance and standards for upkeep of landscaping and fences** (§ 21.72.x)
• **§ 21.114.050 – Site plan / design review considerations (landscaping & buffering)** (§ 21.114.050)
• LaMirada_ZoningCode.md

• Official La Mirada code library