Chapter 19.16
DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS – LANDSCAPING
Sections:
19.16.010 Purpose.
19.16.020 Application.
19.16.030 Landscaping materials and maintenance.
19.16.040 Berms and walls.
19.16.050 Native trees.
19.16.060 Mixed use developments.
19.16.070 Modification due to site characteristics.
19.16.080 Descriptions of screens and landscaping types.
19.16.090 Required landscape buffers.
19.16.100 Landscaping requirements for parking and outdoor display areas.
19.16.110 Landscaping – Plan required.
19.16.115 Landscaping – Soil amendment.
19.16.120 Landscaping – Maintenance.
19.16.130 Landscaping – Alternative options.
19.16.010 Purpose.
The purpose of this chapter is to preserve the aesthetic character of communities; to improve the aesthetic quality of the built environment; to promote retention and protection of existing vegetation; to reduce the impacts of development on drainage systems and natural habitats; and to increase privacy for residential zones by:
(1) Providing visual relief from large expanses of parking areas and reduction of perceived building scale;
(2) Providing physical separation between residential and nonresidential areas;
(3) Providing visual screens and barriers as a transition between differing land uses;
(4) Retaining existing vegetation and significant trees by incorporating them into the site design where applicable; and
(5) Providing increased areas of permeable surfaces to allow for:
(a) Infiltration of surface water into ground water resources;
(b) Reduction in the quantity of storm water discharge; and
(c) Improvement in the quality of storm water discharge. (Ord. 2131, 1997).
19.16.020 Application.
All new commercial, industrial, and multiple-family development, substantial improvements, or changes in occupancy shall be subject to the provisions of this chapter. For the purpose of this chapter, a substantial improvement means any, structural modification, addition or other improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50 percent of the market value of the structure before the modification or addition is started; provided, that specific landscaping provisions for uses established through a conditional use permit shall be determined during the applicable review process. (Ord. 2131, 1997).
19.16.030 Landscaping materials and maintenance.
Landscaping materials and the maintenance thereof shall conform to and be installed in accordance with the overall site development plan. Landscaping shall be installed prior to building occupancy; provided, that the planning department may authorize up to a 120-day delay where planting season conflicts would produce a high probability of plant loss. Security for maintenance in accordance with Chapter 19.51 MMC shall be required for a minimum duration of one year. (Ord. 2785 § 3, 2009; Ord. 2131, 1997).
19.16.040 Berms and walls.
Berms and walls for noise screening, may be required by the hearing examiner or planning director in accordance with recommendations from a qualified sound consultant. (Ord. 2131, 1997).
19.16.050 Native trees.
Where a site has substantial numbers of native trees, site development shall be sensitive to the preservation of such vegetation, including the root zone. Prior to any site work, any trees which have been identified for preservation shall be fenced at their drip lines. (Ord. 2131, 1997).
19.16.060 Mixed use developments.
Residential structures within a project, shall be buffered from commercial structures and adjoining parking lots by use of vegetation, landscaping, fencing, walls, berms or other similar methods which are deemed under the circumstances to create effective and aesthetically pleasing screens or buffers between such diverse land uses. (Ord. 2131, 1997).
19.16.070 Modification due to site characteristics.
Except where specifically prohibited by the hearing examiner, the planning department, concurrently with action on the final site plan, may
waive or modify landscaping requirements abutting residentially designated property where abutting residential uses will not be adversely affected, and where existing physical improvements, physiographic features or imminent changes in abutting land uses will render full compliance with said requirements ineffective. If said requirements are waived, or width of the buffer reduced, the planning division shall establish the minimum side and rear yard building setbacks from residentially designated property. (Ord. 2131, 1997).
19.16.080 Descriptions of screens and landscaping types.
The following five basic types of landscaping are hereby established and are used as the basis for requirements set forth in Table 1.
(1) Opaque Screen, Type A. A screen that is opaque from the ground to a height of at least six feet, with intermittent visual obstructions from the opaque portion to a height of at least 20 feet. An opaque screen is intended to exclude all visual contact between uses and to create a strong impression of spatial separation. The opaque screen may be composed of a wall, fence, landscaped earth berm, planted vegetation, or existing vegetation. Compliance of planted vegetative screens or natural vegetation will be judged on the basis on the average mature height and density of foliage of the subject species, or field observation of existing vegetation. The opaque portion of the screen must be opaque in all seasons of the year. At maturity, the portion of intermittent visual obstructions should not contain any completely unobstructed openings more than 10 feet wide. The portion of intermittent visual obstructions may contain deciduous plants. Suggested planting patterns that will achieve this standard are included in administrative guidelines prepared by the planning department.
(2) Semi-Opaque Screen, Type B. A screen that is opaque from the ground to a height of three feet, with intermittent visual obstruction from above the opaque portion to a height of at least 20 feet. The semi-opaque screen is intended to partially block visual contact between uses and to create a strong impression of the separation of spaces. The semi-opaque screen may be composed of a wall, fence, landscaped earth berm, planted vegetation, or existing vegetation. Compliance of planted vegetative screens or natural vegetation will be judged on the basis of the average mature height and density of foliage of the subject species, or field observation of existing vegetation. At maturity, the portion of intermittent visual obstructions should not contain any completely unobstructed openings more than 10 feet wide. The zone of intermittent visual obstruction may contain deciduous plants. Suggested planting patterns which will achieve this standard are included in administrative guidelines prepared by the planning department.
(3) Broken Screen, Type C. A screen composed of intermittent visual obstructions from the ground to a height of at least 20 feet. The broken screen is intended to create the impression of a separation of spaces without necessarily eliminating visual contact between the spaces. It may be composed of a wall, fence, landscaped earth berm, planted vegetation, or existing vegetation. Compliance of planted vegetative screens or natural vegetation will be judged on the basis of the average mature height and density of foliage of the subject species, or field observation of existing vegetation. The screen may contain deciduous plants. Suggested planting patterns which will achieve this standard are included in administrative guidelines prepared by the planning department.
(4) Parking Area Landscaping, Type D. Landscaping that provides shade and visual relief while maintaining clear sight lines within parking areas. Planting areas should contain a mixture of evergreen and deciduous trees, shrubs and groundcover in planting islands or strips having an area of at least 75 square feet and narrow dimension of no less than five feet. Suggested planting patterns which will achieve this standard are included in administrative guidelines prepared by the planning department.
(5) Retention/Detention Pond Landscaping, Type E. Landscaping that provides visual relief through a reduction in sight lines visible from a public right-of-way. Landscaping shall include all visible perimeter areas including side slopes and benches visible from said right-of-way. Planting areas must be a minimum of five feet in width along adjacent right-of-way and may incorporate no more than 30 percent deciduous plantings due to maintenance and pond performance constraints. Landscaped areas shall be on the exterior of any walls or fences; provided, that this requirement shall not apply to side slopes or benches within the fenced area. Suggested planting patterns that will achieve this standard are included in administrative guidelines prepared by the community development department.
(6) The screening and landscaping requirements set forth in this section may be interpreted with some flexibility by the planning director in the enforcement of the standards. It is recognized that because of the wide variety of developments and the relationships between them, it is neither possible nor prudent to establish inflexible screening requirements. Therefore, minor deviations may be granted to allow less intensive screening, or requirements for more intensive screening may be imposed, whenever such deviations are more likely to satisfy the intent of this section. (Ord. 2694 § 6, 2007; Ord. 2480 § 1, 2003; Ord. 2131, 1997).
19.16.090 Required landscape buffers.
|
Proposed use |
Adjacent use |
Width of buffer |
Type of buffer |
|
Commercial |
Property designated single-family by the Marysville comprehensive plan. |
20′ |
A * |
|
Commercial |
Property designated multiple-family by the Marysville comprehensive plan. |
10′ |
B * |
|
Commercial, industrial, multifamily and business park parking areas and drive aisles |
Public right-of-way or private access roads 30 feet wide or greater. |
10′ |
C |
|
Commercial, industrial, multifamily and business park parking areas and drive aisles |
Public arterial right-of-way. |
15′ |
C |
|
Industrial and business parks |
Property designated residential by the Marysville comprehensive plan. |
25′ |
A |
|
Industrial, commercial and business park building and parking areas |
I-5 or S.R. 9 right-of-way. |
15′ |
B |
|
Apartment, townhouse, or group residence |
Property designated single-family by the Marysville comprehensive plan. |
10′ |
A * |
|
Storm water management facility |
Public right-of-way or private access roads 30 feet wide or greater. *** |
5′ |
E *** |
|
Outside storage or waste area or above ground utility boxes |
|
5′ |
A** |
|
WCF and/or base station not in ROW |
Property designated residential by the Marysville comprehensive plan or on property designated residential by the comprehensive plan. |
10′ |
A* |
* Plus a six-foot sight-obscuring fence or wall.
** Or a six-foot sight-obscuring fence or concrete wall.
*** Screening of storm water facilities shall be extended to cover all sides visible from a public right-of-way and shall be consistent with Section 4.1 (34-38) of the Administrative Landscaping Guidelines.
(Ord. 2728 § 3, 2007; Ord. 2625 § 5, 2006; Ord. 2480 § 2, 2003; Ord. 2412 § 1, 2002; Ord. 2298 § 18, 1999; Ord. 2151 § 13, 1997; Ord. 2145 § 9, 1997; Ord. 2131, 1997).
19.16.100 Landscaping requirements for parking and outdoor display areas.
(1) Parking areas or outdoor storage areas fronting on a street right-of-way shall provide a landscaped buffer, in accordance with Table 1, along the entire street frontage except for driveways; provided, that the plantings shall not obstruct the sight distance at street intersections.
(2) Additional plantings may be placed on street rights-of-way behind the sidewalk line if the property owner provides the city with a written release of liability for damages which may be incurred to the planting area from any public use or right-of-way.
(3) Ten percent of the parking area, in addition to the required buffers above, shall be landscaped with Type D landscaping; provided, that:
(a) No parking stall shall be located more than 45 feet from a landscaped area;
(b) All landscaping must be located between parking stalls, between rows of stalls, or at the end of parking columns. The use of strips or islands as bioretention swales or cells is encouraged, subject to approval by the city engineer. No
landscaping which occurs between the parking lot and a building or recreation area shall be considered in the satisfaction of these requirements;
(c) A minimum of one tree for every 120 square feet of required internal landscaped area shall be dispersed throughout the internal landscaped areas. Some trees may be grouped, but the groupings should be dispersed. Existing trees may be used to meet this standard. If existing trees are retained, each tree six inches or less in diameter counts as one tree. All trees will have a minimum diameter of three inches. Trees between six inches and nine inches in diameter count as two trees. Each additional three-inch diameter increment above nine inches counts as one tree;
(d) Parking lots containing less than 20 parking spaces need provide only perimeter screening to satisfy the 10 percent area requirements;
(e) All landscaped areas shall be protected from vehicle damage by a six-inch protective curbing. Wheel stops may be substituted when required to allow storm water to pass;
(f) The landscaping requirements of this section may be modified if a development is located in an area where a special streetscape plan has been approved by the city. (Ord. 2694 § 6, 2007; Ord. 2298 § 19, 1999; Ord. 2131, 1997).
19.16.110 Landscaping – Plan required.
A scaled site plan shall be submitted as part of application for a building permit. Said site plan shall include:
(1) Designation and dimensions of all use areas within the lot;
(2) Boundaries and dimensions of all landscape areas including location and common names of all landscape elements;
(3) Area, in square feet of individual and collective landscape areas;
(4) Location of screening, where required;
(5) Method of irrigation, if applicable;
(6) Location of outdoor storage area, if applicable;
(7) Location of driveways. (Ord. 2131, 1997).
19.16.115 Landscaping – Soil amendment.
All landscaped and lawn areas, except areas within the dripline of preserved trees, shall be amended with four inches of well-composted organic matter mixed into the top eight inches of soil or shall have an organic content of between eight and 13 percent dry weight and a pH suitable for proposed plantings. Deeper soil amendment will provide improved growing medium and increased water holding capacity. (Ord. 2694 § 6, 2007).
19.16.120 Landscaping – Maintenance.
(1) All landscaped areas and plants required by this chapter must be permanently maintained in a healthy growing condition in order to accomplish the purpose for which it was required.
(2) Dead or diseased plants must be replaced within 30 days of notification, or as soon as practical in regard to freezing weather, or complex situations involving the removal and replacement of large trees.
(3) All landscaped areas must be kept free of debris and weeds.
(4) Plant material must not interfere with public utilities, restrict pedestrian or vehicular access, or constitute a traffic hazard.
(5) The owners, their agents and assigns, are responsible for providing, protecting, and maintaining all landscaping material in a healthy and growing condition, replacing it when necessary, and keeping it free of refuse and debris.
(6) All fencing, walls and other features used for screening purposes shall be kept free of litter, debris, and weeds. (Ord. 2131, 1997).
19.16.130 Landscaping – Alternative options.
The following alternative landscape options may be allowed only if they accomplish equal or better levels of screening and are subject to city approval:
(1) When the total area for required landscaping, and that within the dripline of retained trees exceeds 15 percent of the area of the site, the landscaping requirement may be reduced so that the total required landscape and tree retention area will not exceed 15 percent of site area;
(2) The width of the perimeter landscape strip may be reduced up to 25 percent along any portion where: (a) berms at least three feet in height or architectural barriers at least six feet in height are incorporated into the landscape design; and (b) the landscape materials are incorporated elsewhere on-site;
(3) When an existing structure precludes installation of the total amount of required site perimeter landscaping, such landscaping material shall be incorporated on another portion of the site;
(4) The width of any required perimeter landscaping may be averaged, provided the minimum width is not less than five feet;
(5) The width of the perimeter landscaping may be reduced up to 10 percent when a development retains 10 percent of significant trees or 10 significant trees per acre on site, whichever is greater;
(6) The landscaping requirement may be modified when existing conditions on or adjacent to the site, such as significant topographic differences, vegetation, structures or utilities would render application of this chapter ineffective or result in scenic view obstruction;
(7) Street perimeter landscaping may be waived provided a site plan is approved that provides a significant amount of street trees and other pedestrian-related amenities. (Ord. 2131, 1997).