Point Arena — Landscaping and Screening

Last reviewed: July 2, 2026

Overview

Point Arena's zoning code sets specific landscaping and screening rules focused on protecting neighbors, preserving visual resources, and requiring native/drought-tolerant planting in development. The principal landscaping standards governing where a formal plan is required and what it must include are in § 18.25.140; fence/wall and sight‑triangle rules are in § 18.25.110.

This page summarizes what the Point Arena ordinance actually requires about screening, fences/walls, parking landscaping, trees and plant species (and where the code is silent). Verify parcel‑specific applicability with the planning department. See the city's zoning and land‑use resources for related topics such as parking, design review, development standards, overlay districts, ADUs, and the California Building Standards Code.

What the ordinance requires (core rules)

• Landscaping plans are mandatory for new development in the MR, C, HWC, HC, and I zones; applicants must submit a landscaping and screening plan as part of any coastal development or other permit application. See § 18.25.140.

• Maintenance: required plantings and screening must be maintained in good growing condition; dead or nonfunctional plant material must be replaced. See § 18.25.140 (1).

• Plant materials and species: where trees or dense landscaping are required they must be of species, maturity and spacing acceptable to the planning commission; plantings must be chosen to blend with existing natural vegetation and invasive species are prohibited. See § 18.25.140 (2), (6)–(7).

• Screening for nonresidential uses: a dense landscaping or solid wall/fence minimum height of 6 ft is required along rear and side lot lines where a nonresidential use abuts a residential use, and to screen storage or display areas from adjacent properties and public right‑of‑way. See § 18.25.140 (3).

• Exceptions where equivalent screening already exists immediately abutting the lot line are allowed. See § 18.25.140 (4).

• Parking landscaping (when five or more spaces are required): provide perimeter landscaping at least 4 ft wide between parking and adjacent street right‑of‑way (protected by curb or header); one tree for every five required parking spaces minimum, with an additional tree required for every 10 additional spaces; trees planted in 4 ft × 4 ft tree wells with irrigation; at least 4% of the parking area (including required landscaping) must be landscaped. See § 18.25.140 (5).

• Parking screening: off‑street parking spaces abutting a residential use require a screening device not less than 6 ft in height (dense landscaping, fence, wall, grille, etc.); where parking adjoins a street or front yard, a solid wall/fence, vine‑covered fence, or compact evergreen hedge at least 4 ft high is required on the property line or rear line of the required front yard. See § 18.25.140 (5) and related parking design requirements.

• Fence, wall and hedge heights by location:

  • Front yard (required front yard or side yard adjacent to a street): sight‑obscuring fences/hedges generally must not exceed 4 ft; sight‑obscuring elements more than 2.5 ft in the corner sight triangle (20 ft from corner) are prohibited. See § 18.25.110 (3) and § 18.25.110 (6).
  • Interior side / rear yards: fences/freestanding walls may be up to 8 ft. See § 18.25.110 (4).
  • Buildable portion of lot: fences and freestanding walls shall not exceed 15 ft. See § 18.25.110 (5).
  • Categorical exclusions note fences up to 6 ft and freestanding masonry walls up to 36 inches are allowed in many cases (except in riparian/unstable areas). See § 18.30.120 (2)(b).

• Corner lots: within the triangular area connecting the front and street side lot lines at 20 ft from the intersection, sight‑obscuring fences/walls/vegetation shall not exceed 2.5 ft above grade; tree trunks/posts up to 18 in cross section allowed if lower limbs are pruned up to 8 ft. See § 18.25.110 (6).

• Pools: accessory swimming pools must be completely enclosed by a wall/fence of at least 4.5 ft height with self‑closing, self‑latching gates (additional openings limits apply). See § 18.25.120 (2).

• Tree removal and replacement: developments should avoid removing trees where feasible; when trees are removed to accommodate development, at least two trees shall be planted for every one removed and native, water‑wise species such as bishop pine and sargent cypress are preferred. See § 18.25.150 (k).

• Visual resource / scenic areas: landscape screening is expressly not to substitute for better siting/design alternatives; the planning commission prefers project redesign to avoid visual impacts before accepting landscape mitigation. See § 18.25.150 (c)–(d).

• Retaining walls and visible hardscape: long continuous retaining walls should be broken into sections/undulations and use veneers/textures/colors that blend with surrounding materials when visible from scenic roads/trails. See § 18.25.150 (q).

District-by-district breakdown (where landscaping/screening rules explicitly apply)

Note: the ordinance text establishes which zones must submit formal landscaping/screening plans; the code snippets retrieved do not contain full district purpose statements or the complete list of permitted uses for each zone. Where the code text is missing those details this entry notes that expressly.

MR (Mineral Resources or Mixed Residential — as labeled in the code)

• Landscaping requirement: New developments in MR must submit landscaping and screening plans as part of permit applications. See § 18.25.140.
• Key screening standards that apply in the MR zone: 6 ft minimum screening for nonresidential uses abutting residential uses; parking landscaping/tree counts when five or more spaces are required per § 18.25.140 (3)–(5).
• Purpose / permitted uses / where it applies: Not found in retrieved materials. Verify with the jurisdiction and the city zoning map. Verify with the Point Arena Zoning page.

C (Commercial)

• Landscaping requirement: Formal plans required for new development in C per § 18.25.140.
• Typical, decision‑relevant standards: 6 ft screening for nonresidential uses abutting residential; 4 ft perimeter planting adjacent to streets for parking; tree wells 4×4 ft; parking landscaping ≥4% of parking area. See § 18.25.140 (3)–(5).
• Purpose / typical permitted uses / where it applies: Not found in retrieved materials — see Point Arena Land Use and the city's zoning map for parcels in C.

HWC (Highway Commercial)

• Landscaping requirement: HWC is listed among zones requiring landscaping plans under § 18.25.140.
• Key standards: same screening/fence/parking landscaping requirements in § 18.25.140 apply; special attention to views from scenic roads in separate site development standards § 18.25.150.
• Purpose / permitted uses / where it applies: Not found in retrieved materials. Verify with the jurisdiction.

HC (Harbor/Coastal Commercial or similar)

• Landscaping requirement: Included in the list of zones subject to § 18.25.140 landscaping and screening plan requirement.
• Key standards: native/drought‑tolerant plant preference; invasive species prohibited; screening heights and parking landscaping as in § 18.25.140.
• Purpose / permitted uses / where it applies: Not found in retrieved materials. Verify with the jurisdiction.

I (Industrial)

• Landscaping requirement: I is included among zones required to submit landscaping/screening plans in § 18.25.140.
• Key standards: industrial storage/display areas must be screened from adjoining residential or public view with 6 ft landscaping or walls; exemptions if equivalent screening exists on adjacent lot. See § 18.25.140 (3)–(4).
• Purpose / permitted uses / where it applies: Not found in retrieved materials. Verify with the jurisdiction.

If you need a parcel‑level statement of which zone your property is in (and thus which of the above rules apply), confirm with the city zoning map; see the Point Arena zoning & planning overview and Point Arena Zoning.

Quick reference table — decision‑relevant standards

Checklist

• Submit a landscaping and screening plan with permit (required in MR, C, HWC, HC, I) — § 18.25.140.
• Include maintenance program (replacement strategy, irrigation) — § 18.25.140 (1).
• Specify species (native / drought‑tolerant) and spacing acceptable to the planning commission; explicitly exclude invasive species — § 18.25.140 (2), (7).
• If project has ≥5 parking spaces: show 4 ft perimeter planters, tree count and 4% landscaped area calculation; indicate 4×4 ft tree wells, curbs and irrigation — § 18.25.140 (5).
• Provide fence/wall height diagram showing compliance with § 18.25.110 (front/side/rear/buildable limits) and corner sight triangle rules — § 18.25.110 (3)–(6).
• If removing trees, include tree removal justification and a 2:1 replacement plan (species and locations) — § 18.25.150 (k).
• For projects visible from scenic roads/beaches, include a visual analysis and show that screening is not being used in lieu of feasible design alternatives — § 18.25.150 (5), (c–d).

Risks & Ambiguities

Plain‑English summary

If you're building or making significant changes in the city’s commercial, mixed, highway, harbor or industrial zones, you will almost certainly need to submit a landscaping and screening plan that uses native, drought‑tolerant plants, avoids invasives, meets parking tree and planter minimums, and follows the fence and sight‑triangle height limits; major projects must show that screening is not being used in place of better siting or design. See § 18.25.140 and § 18.25.110.

Information Gaps

• Full text of permitted uses, purposes and exact boundaries for MR, C, HWC, HC, I zones: Not found in retrieved materials. Verify with the city zoning map/code.
• Complete, codified parking section numbering (some parking design text appears across snippets): the controlling section for all parking design rules is partly in § 18.25.140 but other parking subsections and their exact section numbers were not fully captured. Verify with the official city ordinance text.
• A codified list of approved native/species for screening: Not found in retrieved materials — get species approval from planning or design assistance committee.
• Precise triggers for when a homeowner fence (vs. a permitted small fence) requires a permit/coastal development permit in special areas: verify with the jurisdiction (some categorical exclusions exist in § 18.30.120).

Source References

• § 18.25.140 — Landscaping and screening (purpose; required plans; maintenance; materials; screening heights; parking landscaping and tree counts; native/invasive plant rules).
• § 18.25.110 — Yards, fences, walls and hedges (front/corner sight triangle, height limits for front, rear/interior, buildable area).
• § 18.25.120 — Swimming pools (fence enclosure minimum 4.5 ft and safety gate requirements).
• § 18.25.150 — Site development and architectural review (tree replacement 2:1, preference for native trees, visual resource guidance, retaining wall guidance).
• § 18.30.120 — Categorical exclusions (small fences up to 6 ft, masonry freestanding walls up to 36 in in many cases; exclusions do not apply in riparian/unstable areas).
• Additional parking and off‑street parking design excerpts as captured in the code excerpts (parking screening, tree wells, planter curbs) appear within the landscaping/parking subsections in the chapter.

Retrieved passages

• Point Arena Zoning Code (§ 5.13) High relevance show source text
• Point Arena Zoning Code (§ 5.28) High relevance show source text
• Point Arena Zoning Code (Chapter X) High relevance show source text
• Point Arena Zoning Code (Section 30514) High relevance show source text
• Point Arena Zoning Code High relevance show source text
• Point Arena Zoning Code High relevance show source text
• Point Arena Zoning Code High relevance show source text
• Point Arena Zoning Code (§ 5.14) High relevance show source text

Cited sections

• **§ 18.25.140** — Landscaping and screening (purpose; required plans; maintenance; materials; screening heights; parking landscaping and tree counts; native/invasive plant rules). (§ 18.25.140)
• **§ 18.25.110** — Yards, fences, walls and hedges (front/corner sight triangle, height limits for front, rear/interior, buildable area). (§ 18.25.110)
• **§ 18.25.120** — Swimming pools (fence enclosure minimum **4.5 ft** and safety gate requirements). (§ 18.25.120)
• **§ 18.25.150** — Site development and architectural review (tree replacement **2:1**, preference for native trees, visual resource guidance, retaining wall guidance). (§ 18.25.150)
• **§ 18.30.120** — Categorical exclusions (small fences up to **6 ft**, masonry freestanding walls up to **36 in** in many cases; exclusions do not apply in riparian/unstable areas). (§ 18.30.120)
• Additional parking and off‑street parking design excerpts as captured in the code excerpts (parking screening, tree wells, planter curbs) appear within the landscaping/parking subsections in the chapter.
• PointArena_ZoningCode.md

• Official Point Arena code library