The provisions of this chapter are to provide minimum standards for landscaping in order to maintain and protect property values and enhance the general appearance of the town in all zoning districts.

The planning director shall have the authority to waive specific requirements or impose additional requirements in unique or special circumstances to ensure the fulfillment of the stated purpose of this chapter and to allow for flexibility and innovation of design. Special circumstances or unique conditions should be reviewed with the planning director prior to submittal of a landscape plan. Examples of special conditions might include:

A building permit shall not be issued until the landscaping plan has been approved;

At the time of development plan review, the planning director shall review specific landscape requirements with the owner or his representative.

Failure to complete all of the required landscaping or any part of it within six months of the building occupancy, issuance of the certificate of occupancy or the building director's final inspection shall constitute a zoning violation.

It shall be the responsibility of the project manager or business owner to contact the planning director upon completion of the landscaping work and request an inspection.

The planning director may inspect the landscaping upon request of the project manager or business owner or at any time after the six-month expiration date.

All parking areas of over 20,000 square feet shall have a minimum of 10 percent of the parking area, maneuvering area and loading space landscaped as a means to reduce the barren appearance of the lot and to reduce the amount of stormwater runoff. Fifty percent of the perimeter landscaping, required adjacent to property lines, may be calculated as part of the 10 percent figure.

All ingress or egress easements which provide corridors to the subject lot, not adjacent to a public right-of-way, shall be considered the same as a public right-of-way. Landscape requirements for easement corridors shall be the same as those required adjacent to public rights-of-way.

All outside storage areas shall be screened by fencing and landscaping a minimum of five feet in depth unless it is determined by development plan review that such screening is not necessary because stored materials are not visually obtrusive. The five-foot deep landscaped area can occur within the street right-of-way abutting the property line.

All portions of a lot not devoted to building, future building, parking, storage or accessory uses shall be landscaped in a manner appropriate to the stated purpose of this chapter.

All required landscaping areas shall extend to the curbline or the street edge. A crushed rock path in lieu of landscaping may be required where appropriate as determined by the planning director.

Required landscape areas which are inappropriate to landscape due to the existence of rail lines or other features shall be relocated, first, to another lot line, or second, to an equal-sized area in another portion of the lot, to be determined by the planning director upon review with the owner or developer.

Bark mulch, gravel or other nonvegetative material shall only be used in conjunction with landscaping to assist vegetative growth and maintenance or to visually complement plant material. Nonvegetative material is not a substitute for plant material.

Required landscape areas shall be provided with adequate drainage.

Slopes shall not exceed a three-to-one ratio (width to height), in order to decrease erosion potential and assist in ease of maintenance.

The perimeter of all parking areas which abut residential zones or uses shall be landscaped to a minimum depth of three feet with type II landscaping unless otherwise provided by this chapter. A six-foot high solid wood or equivalent fence is also required. Substitute fencing, including, but not limited to, chainlink fence with slats, may be approved by the planning director upon application of the developer and adjacent residential property owners when such fencing shall provide buffering consistent with the purpose and intent of this chapter. The term "adjacent residential property," for purposes of this section, shall mean abutting property, and lots immediately adjacent to abutting property, and shall not mean property across a public road.

Landscaping shall not conflict with the safety of those using adjacent sidewalks or with traffic safety. Safety features of landscaping shall be discussed at the time of development plan review, if necessary. Quantity, arrangement and types of plants installed shall be appropriate to the size of the required landscape area and purpose of planting area as noted in EMC § 18.07.050 pertaining to types of landscaping.

All trash containers shall be screened from abutting properties and streets by a 100 percent sight-obscuring fence or wall and appropriate landscaping.

Landscaping shall be placed outside of sight-obscuring or 100 percent sight-obscuring fences unless it is determined by the planning director that such arrangement would be detrimental to the stated purpose of this chapter.

A minimum of one tree shall be provided for each 100 square feet of required landscape area.

Landscape plans shall be completed by a landscape architect.

Type I: Solid Screen.

Type II: Visual Screen.

Type III: Visual Buffer.

Type IV: Low Cover.

Type V: Open Area Landscaping.

Single-Family Residential Development in the SF-1, SF-2 and SF-3.

Medium- and High-Density Multifamily Residential, MF-1 and MF-2.

Downtown Commercial District, C-1.

General Commercial, C-2.

Industrial District, I.

Mixed-Use District, MU.

Aerospace District, AP.

Airport Overlay Zone.

Planned Unit Development, PUD. In addition to all other applicable standards, the landscaping standards of EMC § 18.04.190(C)(8) (PUD) shall apply.

Required. Whenever landscaping is or has been required in accordance with the provisions of this title or any addition or amendments to this title, or in accordance with the provisions of any previous code or ordinance of the town, the landscaping shall be permanently maintained in such a manner as to accomplish the purpose for which it was initially required.

Notice of Violation. The planning director or his designated representative is hereby authorized and empowered to notify the owner of any property required to be landscaped, or the agent, tenant, lessee or assignee of any such owner, that the landscaping is not being adequately maintained and the specific nature of such failure to maintain. The notice shall specify the date by which the maintenance must be accomplished, and shall be sent by certified mail, addressed to the owner at his last known address.

Action Upon Noncompliance.

Charge for Maintenance by Town to Be Included in Tax Bill. When the town has performed landscape maintenance or has paid for such maintenance, the actual cost thereof, plus accrued interest at the rate of eight percent per annum from the date of the completion of work, if not paid by such owner prior thereto, may be charged to the owner of such property on the next regular tax bill forwarded to such owner by the town, and if so charged shall be due and payable by the owner at the time of payment of such bill.

Lien for Payment of Charges. If the full amount due the town is not paid by such owner within 30 days after performance of the maintenance as provided for in subsection C of this section, then, in that case, the planning director (or the director's designated representative) may cause to be recorded in the office of the town clerk a sworn statement showing the cost and expense incurred for the work, the date the work was done, and the legal description of the property on which the work was done. The recording of such sworn statement shall constitute a lien and privilege on the property, and shall remain in full force and effect for the amount due in principal and interest, plus court costs, if any, until final payment has been made. The costs and expenses shall be collected in the manner fixed by law for the collection of taxes and further shall be subject to a delinquent penalty of eight percent per annum if the costs and expenses are not paid in full on or before the date the tax bill upon which the charge appears become delinquent. Sworn statements recorded in accordance with the provisions of this subsection shall be prima facie evidence that all legal formalities have been complied with and that the work has been done properly and satisfactorily, and shall be full notice to every person concerned that the amount of the statement plus interest constitutes a charge against the property designated or described in the statement and that the charge is due and collectible as provided by law.

Alternative Methods of Collection of Charges. In addition to or in lieu of the provision of subsections D and E of this section, the town may, at its option, commence a civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction to collect for any charges incurred by the town for performance of maintenance as provided in subsection C of this section.