This Article is intended to provide for the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the Town by preserving existing vegetation and providing that future development provide landscaping that meets the following objectives and criteria:

(1)

All efforts will be made to preserve existing trees.

(2)

Proposed landscaping improvements will be of high quality and guaranteed by the developer.

(3)

Proposed landscaping improvements will be of such species as necessary to live in the Town's mountain environment.

(4)

Landscaping to be installed shall be of a sufficient quantity and size to:

a.

Screen all buildings from adjoining properties.

b.

Screen parking areas from roads and neighboring properties with dense landscaping.

c.

Provide a buffer between commercial properties and the road through substantial landscaping. Such buffers shall allow visibility by the general public, but also provide vegetation that will screen portions of the building and parking area.

d.

Provide a landscaped area between residential properties and the street, including trees and other landscape materials.

e.

Screen developments on slopes of over fifteen percent (15%). Developers shall be required to place additional trees in sufficient number to screen such properties from major thoroughfares, such as Highway 6 and Chief Colorow Street.

(Ord. 19-96 §7.01)

All yards and parking areas shall be landscaped in accordance with the following requirements:

(1)

Provisions for landscaping, screening and maintenance are a continuing obligation of the property owner, and where approved trees, shrubs or other landscaping materials die or are removed, it shall be the responsibility of the applicant to replace them with materials of a comparable nature and size to those originally approved.

(2)

Site plans indicating landscaping improvements shall be included with the plans submitted to the Planning and Zoning Commission for approval. Issuance of a building permit includes these required improvements which shall be completed or guaranteed prior to issuance of a certificate of occupancy.

(3)

Existing trees, plant material and special site features shall be preserved within a project site to the fullest extent possible.

(4)

All required yards and the entire open space of all multi-family dwelling sites, exclusive of walks, drives, parking areas and buildings, shall be landscaped and permanently maintained. Landscaping shall primarily consist of ground cover, trees, shrubs and other living plants with sufficient irrigation to properly maintain all vegetation. Decorative design elements such as fountains, pools, benches, sculptures, planters, fences and similar elements may be placed within the area, but shall not be the dominant feature of any yard.

(Ord. 19-96 §7.02)

(a)

All open storage areas shall be screened from public rights-of-way or adjacent property by use of landscaping, berms or a combination of landscaping and other structural elements to a height of six (6) feet. Parking or storage uses accessory to a primary single-family use and located on an adjoining lot shall be fully screened with the use of decorative fencing that is architecturally compatible to the primary residence (using wood, stone or similar natural materials).

(b)

Any site contiguous to or facing any residential zone or residential use shall screen its parking areas, loading docks or similar uses through the use of landscaping elements to a height of four (4) feet.

(c)

All surface areas designated on the approved site plan that will not be a hard surface shall be planted with adequate ground cover as approved by the Town and shall be top-dressed with a minimum of two (2) inches of top soil prior to planting. In addition, irrigation systems shall be provided in those instances where required to guarantee the proper growth of the landscaping being provided.

(d)

Not less than seven percent (7%) of the interior of all parking lots and drive-in establishments shall be placed in landscaping.

(e)

Trees shall be provided in the following manner:

(1)

Street trees shall be provided for all projects where front yards are required, at a rate of one (1) tree for every fifteen (15) linear feet, or fraction thereof, of street frontage, including street side yards.

(2)

In addition to the street trees required above, trees shall be provided for all projects other than single-family, at a rate of one (1) tree per five (5) parking spaces or fraction thereof. These trees shall be placed within or immediately adjacent to the parking lot.

(3)

Within all other yards, trees shall be provided in a number adequate to buffer the project from adjacent uses.

(4)

All required trees shall be a minimum of six (6) feet in height, with the exception that twenty-five percent (25%) of the required trees for any project shall be a minimum of eight (8) feet in height.

(5)

All required trees shall have a minimum caliper, measured two (2) inches above ground level, of one and one-half (1½) inches.

(6)

A minimum of thirty percent (30%) of all required trees shall be evergreens, and at least twenty-five percent (25%) of the evergreens shall be a minimum of eight (8) feet in height.

(f)

Public rights-of-way adjacent to the site shall also be landscaped if in the opinion of the Commission such landscaping is necessary to complete the project. Specifically, the applicant is responsible for improving the area between the street roadway and the applicant's property line.

(Ord. 19-96 §7.02; Ord. 05-04 §7)