§ 18.36.050 — General Landscape Standards

A. General Location for Landscape Improvements. Landscaping shall be provided in the following locations for all types of development as listed below, unless the Review Authority approves an alternative landscape approach. Nothing in this Chapter is intended to discourage landscape areas outside and beyond the minimum requirements listed herein. 1. Setbacks. All setback areas required by this Code shall be landscaped in compliance with this Chapter except where a required setback is occupied by a sidewalk, driveway, or permitted off-street parking area, or is enclosed and screened from abutting public rights-of-way. 2. Undeveloped Areas. All areas of a project site not intended for a specific use or purpose in conjunction with a current application, including pad sites being held for future development, shall be landscaped in compliance with this Chapter. 3. Parking Areas. All parking areas shall be landscaped for shade and climate control, to enhance project design, and to screen the visual impact of vehicles and large expanses of pavement consistent with the requirements of this Chapter. B. Plant Type. Landscape planting shall emphasize drought-tolerant and native species (especially along natural, open space areas), shall complement the architectural design of structures on the site, and shall be suitable for the soil and climatic conditions specific to the site. 1. Street and Parking Lot Trees. Street and parking lot trees shall be selected from the City’s adopted master list of street trees and parking lot trees. 2. Trees Adjacent to Walkways. Trees planted within 10 feet of a street, sidewalk, paved trail, or walkway shall be separated from hardscapes by a root barrier to prevent physical damage to public improvements. C. Planting Size, Spacing, and Planter Widths. To achieve an immediate effect of a landscape installation and to allow or sustained growth of planting materials, minimum plant material sizes, plant spacing, and minimum planter widths (inside measurements) are as follows: 1. Trees. The minimum planting size for trees shall be 15 gallons, with at least 25 percent of all trees on a project site planted at a minimum 24-inch box size. For commercial, office, community/civic, and industrial development, tree spacing within perimeter planters along streets and abutting residential property shall be planted no farther apart on center than the mature diameter of the proposed species. Minimum planter widths for trees shall be between five and ten feet, consistent with the City’s adopted master list of street trees and parking lot trees. 2. Shrubs. Shrub planting shall be a minimum five-gallon size, with a 15-gallon minimum size required where an immediate landscape screen is required by the Review Authority. The minimum planter width for shrubs is four feet. 3. Ground Cover. Plants used for mass planting may be grown in flats of up to 64 plants or in individual one-gallon containers. Rooted cuttings from flats shall be planted no farther apart than 12 inches on center, and containerized woody, shrub ground cover plantings shall be planted no farther apart than three feet on center to achieve full coverage within one year. Minimum planter width for ground cover is two feet, except for sod, which requires a minimum planter width of six feet.