17.80.070 Landscaping | Moab Municipal Code

17.80.070 Landscaping.

A. All planter beds and tree planters shall be bordered by a concrete curb not less than six inches in height adjacent to the parking surface except where areas of landscape are used for storm water detention. If used in this manner, all asphalt abutting landscaping shall terminate with a concrete ribbon curb one and one-half feet in width and ten inches in thickness.

B. All plants and irrigation systems shall be installed according to the landscape installation guidelines shown on the approved landscape plan. The owner shall guarantee the quality of work, health and condition of plants, and installation of materials including, but not limited to, plant types, size, spacing, and irrigation systems. Prior to final acceptance of the project and issuance of a certificate of occupancy, the City shall inspect and certify that the installation is in compliance with the approved plans and specifications. All corrections, adjustments, and/or replacement of landscape elements and execution of a landscape maintenance agreement shall be done prior to final approval by the City. In the event corrections cannot be made or installation cannot be completed prior to issuance of a certificate of occupancy, the City shall require a cash deposit equal in value to a percentage, as specified in the Master Fee Schedule, Chapter 3.50, of the cost of the landscaping project. A cash deposit is returned only when the City gives final approval of the project.

C. Landscaping shall be provided and maintained in good condition by the property owner. Failure to maintain shall constitute a misdemeanor and be punishable as established in Chapters 17.75 and 17.78 and Section 12.24.160.

D. Any changes to an approved landscape plan shall be reviewed and approved by the planning director prior to the alteration taking place.

E. Landscaping Materials and Spaces. Required landscaping shall be limited to the following materials and spaces:

1. Living ground cover;

2. Permeable, continuous nonliving ground cover;

3. Living plant life other than ground cover;

4. Retained native vegetation;

5. Natural or manufactured features, including but not limited to boulders and planters;

6. Pedestrian ways; and

7. Public spaces.

F. Landscaping Materials and Design Mix. Separate sections of landscaping shall be composed of the required materials in any combination as follows:

1. Living plant life other than ground cover or natural vegetation shall have a minimum coverage of five percent;

2. Living ground cover shall have a maximum coverage of eighty percent;

3. Permeable nonliving ground cover shall have a maximum coverage of twenty percent;

4. Natural or manufactured features shall have a maximum coverage of fifteen percent;

5. Pedestrian ways or public spaces shall have a maximum coverage of fifty percent.

6. Plant materials shall be sized and spaced to achieve immediate effect and shall not be less than a five-gallon container for specimen shrubs, a fifteen-gallon container for trees, and a one-gallon container for mass planting, unless otherwise approved by the land use authority.

1. Plants selected for landscape areas shall consist of plants that are well suited to the microclimate and soil conditions at the project site. Plants with similar water needs shall be grouped together as much as possible.

2. Turf areas shall be limited to areas with suitable shade and shall not be allowed in spaces narrower than ten feet wide. Turf shall not be used in more than ten percent of total landscape area, and should be located in places where people will use it.

3. For projects located at the interface between urban areas and natural open space nonirrigated, highly drought tolerant plants shall be selected that will blend with the native vegetation and are fire resistant or retardant. Plants with low level fuel volume or high moisture content shall be emphasized. Plants which tend to accumulate excessive amounts of dead wood or debris shall be avoided.

4. Areas with a slope greater than thirty-three percent shall be landscaped with deep rooting, water conserving plants for erosion control and soil stabilization.

5. Parking strips and other landscaped areas less than eight feet wide shall be landscaped with water conserving plants.

1. A detailed irrigation plan shall be drawn to the same scale as the landscape plan and shall contain the following information:

a. Layout of irrigation system and summary legend outlining the type and size of all components of the system, including manufacture name and model number with approved equals; and

b. Flow rate in gallons per minute and design operating pressure in pounds per square inch for each valve and precipitation rate in inches per hour for each valve with sprinklers.

I. Building Foundation Landscaping. A minimum of fifty percent of a facade length containing a primary customer entrance shall have a foundation landscaped area extending at least six feet out from the building. All other facades that can be viewed from existing public rights-of-way shall have foundation landscaping extending a minimum of eighty percent of the facade length. The City may waive this requirement where necessary because of geotechnical conditions.

1. Large parking areas should be enhanced with additional landscaping. Creative site design, to include preservation of existing stands of trees and clustered landscaped areas, is encouraged over symmetrical rows of small landscaped islands.

2. To the greatest extent possible, landscape islands shall be designed so that plant material is not located on the first one foot of the edge of the island, where it is most likely to be trampled by individuals exiting and entering parked vehicles. Such edge shall be mulched or paved with porous paving materials such as pavers.

a. Landscaping. Parking lot landscaping is an important element in reducing reflective heating, controlling water runoff and improving the aesthetics of a site. Increasing the landscape requirements may also help in the adaptive reuse of large-scale retail buildings. Landscaping shall be installed and maintained as established elsewhere in this section.

b. Parking lot dividers, islands, planters and planting areas shall be a minimum of six feet wide at the widest point, and six feet long except that all new or retrofitted tree planters shall be a minimum of nine feet by seven feet, measured to the outside perimeter of the planter, and shall have no less than forty-eight square feet of permeable soil planting area.

c. Landscaping shall be used to define parking areas, primary vehicular drives and pedestrian areas in an aesthetically and environmentally pleasing manner.

d. Landscaped areas shall be distributed throughout the entire parking area as evenly as is appropriate in the design of the park facility.

3. Where trees already exist, the parking lot shall be designed to make the best use of this existing growth and shade wherever it is reasonably possible.

4. Landscaping shall include shrubs, trees, vines, ground covers, hedges, flowers, bark, chips, decorating cinders, gravel, and similar material which will improve the appearance of parking areas.

a. Tree Requirements. Off-street open parking areas shall provide fifty percent or more of shade coverage at the time of maturity of the trees. To achieve this coverage the applicant shall:

i. Design, where possible, north/south oriented parking areas to provide maximum shade;

ii. Plant at least one medium or large-scale tree for every three parking stalls;

iii. Utilize a diversity of tree species that have the ability to survive the climate zone.

b. The minimum size tree planted shall be no less than a one-and-one-half-inch tree measured at four feet from the base of the tree and sized to specifications according to the American Standard for Nursery Stock (ANSI Z60.1) Low water use and “native” plant materials shall be used to the greatest extent possible. Problematic trees having shallow or invasive roots or having brittle or weak branching structure are prohibited. All trees shall be planted and maintained according to the landscaping plan detail sheet and in such a manner to maximize the growth, health and longevity of the plantings.

c. Trees shall be maintained in accordance with Chapter 12.24, Tree Stewardship. Violations shall be punishable as established in Sections 12.24.150 and 12.24.160.

d. The interior of all vehicular use areas shall be landscaped so as to define parking aisles and limit unbroken rows of parking and provide for pedestrian accessibility and safety. Ends of parking rows and corner areas shall be curbed and landscaped.

K. Internal Pedestrian Walkway Landscaping. All internal pedestrian walkways, as required by this chapter, shall feature adjoining landscaped areas that include trees, shrubs, benches, flower beds, ground covers, or other such materials for no less than fifty percent of their length.

L. Parking Lot Trees Required. All proposed parking areas shall have shade trees planted at spacing no greater than forty feet trunk to trunk around the entire perimeter, with exception of those areas where the placement of trees would constitute a clear visual safety hazard. All landscaped islands in the interior of parking lots shall have, at a minimum, one large shade tree every forty feet. Each separate landscaped island or area shall contain a minimum of one hundred sixty-five square feet, shall have a minimum dimension of eight feet in any direction and shall include at least one tree. Trees shall be required within the interior planting islands of any vehicular use area exceeding four thousand five hundred square feet.

M. Adjacent Buffer Required. A landscaped buffer of at least fifteen feet in width shall be required along the entire edge of any parking lot or the edge of a building facade without a primary or pedestrian oriented entrance when adjacent to a public right-of-way. The landscaped buffer shall incorporate canopy shade trees planted at a minimum of thirty feet on-center for the buffer area.

1. Seventy-five percent of the lot frontage adjacent to any arterial street, exclusive of vehicular and pedestrian entrances, shall provide screening of parking areas by means of on-site buildings, landscaping, decorative walls and retaining walls, or other approved methods which may include primary structures. Additional screening of on-site parking shall be reviewed and approved by the Planning Commission.

2. Fifty percent of the lot frontage adjacent to all other streets and adjacent properties shall provide screening of on-site parking by means of on-site buildings, decorative walls, decorative retaining walls, landscaping, or other buildings and shall be reviewed and approved by the Planning Commission.

3. Lot frontage adjacent to residential uses or residential zoning districts shall provide screening of on-site parking by means of walls, landscaping, or buildings.

O. Installation and Maintenance. All landscape materials required by this section shall be installed in accordance with standard practices of horticultural professionals and in good and workmanlike manner and shall be maintained by the property owner in good condition. (Ord. 19-29 (part), 2019; Ord. 17-18 (part), 2017: Ord. 12-07 (part), 2012: Ord. 08-10 (part), 2008)