Fountain Valley City Zoning Code
CHAPTER 21
20 LANDSCAPING
§ 21.20.010 Purpose.
It is the purpose of this chapter to establish landscape standards to mitigate the effects of urbanization on the environment and to provide for an aesthetically pleasing urban setting. The city recognizes the importance of landscaping to the health, well-being, and quality of life of the community and desires to enhance the overall appearance of development projects in the city. It is the intent of this chapter to establish a measure of uniformity in landscaping for new projects as well as provide a mechanism to require upgrading of existing landscaping in existing developments when improvements are proposed. It is also the intent of this chapter to encourage optimum use of drought-tolerant plant materials in conjunction with waterconserving automatic irrigation systems and to allow synthetic turf meeting the standards set forth herein to further assist water conservation. In adopting this chapter, the city is complying with the Water Conservation in Landscaping Act, Government Code Section 65590 et seq.
(Ord. 1440 § 2, 2009)
§ 21.20.020 Applicability.
All nonresidential, multi-family residential projects, single-family residential subdivisions and single-family properties shall provide landscaping in compliance with the requirements of this chapter.
(Ord. 1440 § 2, 2009)
§ 21.20.030 Definitions.
means the portion of water supplied by the irrigation system to the landscape.
means a project where the site is intentionally altered to establish a defined, indigenous, historic ecosystem.
means the average annual total amount of water estimated to be necessary to keep plants in a healthy state, calculated as provided in the Guidelines. It is based on the reference evapotranspiration rate, the size of the landscape area, plant water use factors, and the relative irrigation efficiency of the irrigation system.
is equal to the plant factor divided by the irrigation efficiency factor for a landscape project, as described in the Guidelines. The ETAF is calculated in the context of local reference evapotranspiration, using site-specific plant factors and irrigation efficiency factors that influence the amount of water that needs to be applied to the specific landscaped area. The evapotranspiration adjustment factor (ETAF) for the landscape project shall not exceed a factor of 0.55 for residential areas and 0.45 for non-residential areas, exclusive of special landscape areas. The ETAF for a special landscape area shall not exceed 1.0. ETAF for existing non-rehabilitated landscapes is 0.8.
refers to the Guidelines for Implementation of the water efficient landscape provisions included in Section 21.20.050(c), as adopted by the city council, which describes procedures, calculations, and requirements for landscape projects subject to the water efficient landscape provisions.
means a portion of the landscaped area having plants with similar water needs that are served by a valve or set of valves with the same schedule. A hydrozone may be irrigated or nonirrigated. For example, a naturalized area planted with native vegetation that will not need supplemental irrigation once established is a nonirrigated hydrozone.
means the measurement of the amount of water beneficially used divided by the amount of water applied. Irrigation efficiency is derived from measurements and estimates of irrigation system characteristics and management practices. Refer to the Guidelines for irrigation efficiency requirements. The irrigation efficiency for purposes of these water efficient landscape provisions of Section 21.20.050(c) are 0.75 for overhead spray devices and 0.81 for drip systems.
means all the planting areas, turf areas, and water features in a landscape design plan subject to the maximum applied water allowance and estimated applied water use calculations. The landscaped area does not include footprints of buildings or structures, sidewalks, driveways, parking lots, decks, patios, other pervious or non-pervious hardscapes, and other non-irrigated areas designated for non-development (e.g., open spaces and existing native vegetation).
means a person licensed by the state of California to construct, maintain, repair, install, or subcontract the development of landscape systems.
means all the planting areas, turf areas, outdoor dining areas per Section 21.10.070, and water features in a landscape design plan subject to the maximum applied water allowance and estimated applied water use calculations. The landscaped area does not include footprints of buildings or structures, sidewalks, driveways, parking lots, decks, patios, other pervious or non-pervious hardscapes, and other non-irrigated areas designated for non-development (e.g., open spaces and existing native vegetation).
means the documents required to be provided to the city for review and approval of landscape design projects, as described in the Guidelines.
means total area of landscape in a project, as provided in the definition of "landscaped area," meeting the requirements under Section 21.20.050(c)(1) of this Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance.
means the planting and continuous maintenance of some combination of natural vegetation (e.g., trees, shrubs, vines, ground covers, flowers or lawns). In addition to plant life, landscaping may also include synthetic turf, as defined herein, and a limited amount of, benches, ponds, statuary, and other materials as provided for in Section 21.20.050(b)(2)(A) and outdoor dining per Section 21.10.070.
means any entity, including a public agency, city, county, or private water company that provides retail water service.
means the upper limit of annual applied water for the established landscaped area as specified in Section 2.2 of the Guidelines. It is based upon the area's reference evapotranspiration, the ET Adjustment Factor, and the size of the landscaped area. The estimated applied water use shall not exceed the maximum applied water allowance. MAWA = (ETo) (0.62) [(ETAF x LA) + ((1-ETAF) x SLA)].
means any surface mining operation with a reclamation plan approved in accordance with the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1975.
means a new building with a landscape area or other new landscape area such as a park, playground, or greenbelt without an associated building.
means any surface or natural material that does not allow for the passage of water through the material and into the underlying soil.
means any surface or material that allows the passage of water through the material and into the underlying soil.
means an authorizing document issued by local agencies for new construction or rehabilitated landscape.
is a factor, when multiplied by reference evapotranspiration (ETo), that estimates the amount of water needed by plants. The plant factor range for very low water use plants is 0 to 0.1; the plant factor range for low water use plants is 0 to 0.3; the plant factor range for moderate water use plants is 0.4 to 0.6; and the plant factor range for high water use plants is 0.7 to 1.0. Plant factors are derived from the publication "Water Use Classification of Landscape Species." Plant factors may also be obtained from horticultural researchers from academic institutions or professional associations as approved by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR).
means areas of active play or recreation (e.g., sports fields, schoolyards, picnic grounds) or other areas with intense foot traffic.
means treated or recycled waste water of a quality suitable for non-potable uses such as landscape irrigation and water features. This water is not intended for human consumption.
means a standard measurement of environmental parameters which affect the water use of plants. ETo is given expressed in inches per day, month, or year as represented in Appendix C of the Guidelines, and is an estimate of the evapotranspiration of a large field of four-to seven-inch tall, cool-season grass that is well watered. Reference evapotranspiration is used as the basis of determining the maximum applied water allowances.
means any re-landscaping project that meets the applicability criteria of Section 21.20.050(c), where the modified landscape area is greater than two thousand five hundred square feet.
means an automatic timing device used to remotely control valves that operate an irrigation system and which schedules irrigation events using either evapotranspiration (weather-based) or soil moisture data.
means an area of the landscape dedicated solely to edible plants such as orchards and vegetable gardens, areas irrigated with recycled water, water features using recycled water, and recreational areas dedicated to active play such as parks, sports fields, golf courses, and where turf provides a playing surface.
means man-made, synthetic material manufactured from nylon, polypropylene, polyethylene, or a blend of nylon, polypropylene and polyethylene fibers which simulates the appearance of live turf, organic turf, grass, sod, or lawn, and meets the requirements of Section 21.20.070.
means a ground cover surface of mowed grass. Annual bluegrass, Kentucky bluegrass, Perennial ryegrass, Red fescue, and Tall fescue are cool-season grasses. Bermudagrass, Kikuyugrass, Seashore Paspalum, St. Augustinegrass, Zoysiagrass, and Buffalo grass are warm-season grasses.
means a device used to control the flow of water in an irrigation system.
means a design element where open water performs an aesthetic or recreational function. Water features include ponds, lakes, waterfalls, fountains, artificial streams, spas, and swimming pools (where water is artificially supplied). The surface area of water features is included in the high water use hydrozone of the landscaped area. Constructed wetlands used for on-site wastewater treatment, habitat protection or storm water best management practices that are not irrigated and used solely for water treatment or storm water retention are not water features and, therefore, are not subject to the water budget calculation.
(Ord. 1440 § 2, 2009; Ord. 1507 § 5, 2015; Ord. 1574 § 7, 2021)
§ 21.20.040 Landscape area requirements.
(a)
Nonresidential and Multi-Family Uses. Each land use, except single-family, shall provide and maintain fifteen percent of the site in landscaping. The landscaping requirement may include setback areas and other unused areas of the site that are not intended for future use. In addition, permanent outdoor dining areas may comprise up to ten percent of the total required landscaping.
(b)
Single-Family Subdivisions. All areas between the front of the residence and the front property line shall be landscaped within six months of issuance of the certificate of occupancy or three months from recorded sale (date of recording) whichever is earlier. All single-family designated property shall maintain a minimum of fifty percent of the front yard setback, as defined in Chapter 21.08, as landscaping. Landscaping shall consist of live plant materials, synthetic turf meeting the criteria provided in Section 21.20.070, or other materials in a limited amount as provided for in Section 21.20.050(b)(2)(A). If installed by the developer, landscape plans shall be in compliance with Section 21.20.050(a) (Landscape standards). If installed by the individual homeowner, landscape plans do not require city approval.
(c)
Unused Areas. All areas of a project site not intended for a specific use, including pad sites in shopping centers held for future development, shall be landscaped unless it is determined by the director that landscaping is not necessary to fulfill the purposes of this chapter.
(d)
Parking Areas.
(1)
Perimeter Parking Lot Landscaping.
(A)
Adjacent to Streets. Parking areas adjoining a public street shall be designed to provide a landscaped planting strip between the street right-of-way and parking area a minimum fifteen feet in width. The planting strip shall be planted with live shrubbery, a minimum of three feet in height. The perimeter planting strip shall not be included within the interior parking lot landscaping calculations. Permanent outdoor dining may be located in this area per Section 21.10.070.
(B)
Adjacent to Commercial Use. Parking areas for nonresidential uses adjoining a nonresidential use shall provide a landscape planting strip between the parking area and the nonresidential use a minimum of four-feet in width, unless common/reciprocal parking area is shared. For each one hundred lineal feet of landscaped planting strip, a minimum of six trees shall be provided. A minimum of twenty-five percent of trees in landscape planting strip shall be of a fifteen-gallon variety at planting.
(C)
Adjacent to Residential Use. Parking areas for nonresidential uses adjoining residential uses shall provide a solid masonry wall, a minimum of eight feet in height, and landscaped buffer yard a minimum of ten feet in width between the parking area and the common property line bordering the residential use. For each one hundred lineal feet of landscaped buffer yard, a minimum of six trees shall be provided. A minimum of twenty-five percent of trees in landscape buffer yard shall be of a fifteen-gallon variety at planting.
(2)
Interior Parking Lot Landscaping.
(A)
Amount of Landscaping. For off-street parking areas with ten or more spaces, a minimum of one tree shall be planted for each ten parking stalls, and accompanied by an appropriate amount of shrubs and ground cover. Setback areas required to be landscaped by other subsections of this chapter shall not be considered part of the required parking lot landscaping. Parking lot trees shall be a minimum of a five-gallon size variety at planting.
(B)
Planters Required. Trees shall be in planters located throughout the parking area. In order to be considered within the parking area, trees shall be located in planters that are bounded on at least three sides by parking area paving. Planters shall have a minimum interior dimension of four feet. All ends of parking lanes shall have landscaped islands. In cases where permanent outdoor dining may be located in planters per Section 21.10.070, the required tree shall be maintained or replaced elsewhere on the property.
(C)
Larger Projects. Parking lots with more than one hundred spaces shall provide a concentration of landscape elements at primary entrances, including specimen trees, flowering plants, enhanced paving, and project identification. Specimen trees shall be a minimum of a thirty-six-inch box variety at planting.
(Ord. 1440 § 2, 2009; Ord. 1507 § 6, 2015; Ord. 1574 § 8, 2021)
§ 21.20.050 Landscape standards.
(a)
General Requirements.
(1)
Landscape Plan. A comprehensive landscape and irrigation plan prepared and signed by a California-licensed landscape professional shall be submitted for review and approval when required through a discretionary permit or the water efficiency landscape provisions of subsection (c).
Landscape materials, trees, shrubs, groundcover, turf, synthetic turf and other vegetation, and planting symbols shall be clearly drawn and plants labeled by botanical name, common name, container size, spacing and quantities of each group of plants indicated.
(2)
Minimum Width. Landscaped areas that may be counted toward required landscaping shall have a minimum interior width of four feet, exclusive of curb or wall.
(3)
Concrete Curb Required. Landscaping shall be protected with a minimum six-inch high concrete curb.
(4)
Maintenance Required. Landscaping shall be continuously maintained free of weeds, debris, litter and temporary signage.
(5)
Irrigation Required. All landscaped areas (except naturalized hydrozones) shall be provided with a smart automatic irrigation controller as provided in subsection (c) unless synthetic turf is used.
(6)
Limitation on Turf Area and/or live groundcover. The percentage of turf, live groundcover and synthetic turf for nonresidential projects shall not exceed forty-five percent of the required landscaping for single-family residential property or seventy-five percent of the required landscaping for multi-family residential property.
(b)
Planting Material.
(1)
Trees.
(A)
Trees shall not be planted under any eave, overhang, or balcony.
(B)
Trees shall be staked in compliance with city standards.
(C)
The minimum interior width of planters containing trees shall be four feet exclusive of curbs.
(D)
Trees in landscape planters less than ten feet in width or located closer than five feet from a permanent structure shall be provided with root barriers.
(2)
Groundcover and Shrubs.
(A)
Required landscaping shall consist of live nondeciduous groundcover, shrubs, turf, live plants that are predominantly drought-tolerant, synthetic turf, or other pervious materials (i.e. crushed rock, redwood chips, mulch, pebbles, stone, decorative pavers) in an amount not to exceed twenty percent of the required landscaping.
(B)
Groundcover and/or shrubs counted towards the landscaping requirement for residential front yard setbacks shall be planted at a spacing that will provide for full coverage of the live landscape requirement, except for the limited pervious material allowed for in subsection (b)(2)(A) of this section, within eighteenmonths of planting.
(C)
A minimum of two five-gallon size shrubs shall be provided for every six feet of distance along street setbacks.
(c)
Water Efficient Landscape Provisions.
(1)
Beginning February 1, 2016, all planting, irrigation, and landscape-related improvements required by these water efficient landscape provisions shall apply to the following landscape projects:
(A)
New landscape projects with an aggregate landscape area equal to or greater than five hundred square feet, requiring a building or landscape permit, plan check or design review;
(B)
Rehabilitated landscape projects with an aggregate landscaped area equal to or greater than two thousand five hundred square feet, requiring a building or landscape permit, plan check or design review;
(C)
New or rehabilitated landscape projects with an aggregate landscape area of two thousand five hundred square feet or less may comply with the performance requirements of water efficiency performance requirements or conform to the prescriptive measures contained in Appendix A of the Guidelines;
(D)
New or rehabilitated projects using treated or untreated graywater or rainwater capture on site, and any lot or parcel within the project that has less than two thousand five hundred square feet of landscape area and meets the lot or parcel's landscape water requirement (estimated total water use) entirely with the treated or untreated graywater or though stored rainwater capture on site is subject only to Appendix A Section (5) of the Guidelines.
(3)
This chapter does not apply to:
(A)
Registered local, state, or federal historical sites;
(B)
Ecological restoration projects that do not require a permanent irrigation system;
(C)
Mined-land reclamation projects that do not require a permanent irrigation system; or
(D)
Plant collections, as part of botanical gardens and arboretums open to the public.
(4)
Implementation procedures shall be as follows:
(A)
Prior to installation, a landscape documentation package shall be submitted to the city for review and approval of all landscape projects subject to the provisions of this chapter. Any landscape documentation package submitted to the city shall comply with the provisions of the Guidelines.
(B)
The landscape documentation package shall include a certification by a California-licensed landscape professional stating that the landscape design and water use calculations have been prepared by or under the supervision of the licensed professional and are certified to be in compliance with the provisions of this chapter and the Guidelines.
(i)
Landscape and irrigation plans shall be submitted to the city for review and approval with appropriate water use calculations.
(ii)
Water use calculations shall be consistent with calculations contained in the Guidelines and shall be provided to the local water purveyor, as appropriate, under procedures determined by the city.
(iii)
Verification of compliance of the landscape installation with the approved plans shall be obtained through a certification of completion in conjunction with a certificate of use and occupancy or permit final process, as provided in the Guidelines.
(5)
Landscape Water Use Standards.
(A)
For applicable landscape installation or rehabilitation projects subject to the water efficiency landscape provisions as defined in subsecton (c)(1), the estimated applied water use allowed for the landscaped area shall not exceed the maximum allowed water allowance calculated using an evapotranspiration adjustment factor of 0.55 for residential areas and 0.45 for non-residential areas, except for special landscaped areas where the maximum allowed water allowance is calculated using an evapotranspiration adjustment factor of 1.0; or the design of the landscaped area shall otherwise be shown to be equivalently water-efficient in a manner acceptable to the city; as provided in the Guidelines.
(B)
Irrigation of all landscaped areas shall be conducted in a manner conforming to the rules and requirements of the local water purveyor, and shall be subject to penalties and incentives for water conservation and water waste prevention as determined and implemented by the local water purveyor or as mutually agreed by local water purveyor and the city.
(6)
Delegation. The city may delegate to, or into a contract with, a local agency to implement, administer, and/or enforce any of the provisions of this chapter on behalf of the city.
(Ord. 1440 § 2, 2009; Ord. 1507 § 7, 2015)
§ 21.20.060 Maintenance.
Landscaping shall be properly maintained at all times.
(a)
Irrigation equipment shall be continuously maintained in good working condition and to avoid overspray.
(b)
Litter shall be removed from all landscaped areas in a timely fashion.
(c)
Turf areas shall be mowed on a regular basis and be kept green. Accumulation of leaves, twigs, bark, and other similar materials shall be removed on a regular basis. Planting areas shall be kept in a weedfree fashion at all times. Synthetic turf shall be maintained so as to replicate live turf and shall be replaced when worn.
(d)
Landscaping maintenance shall include pruning, cultivating, weeding, fertilizing, replacement of plants, and watering on a regular basis.
(e)
Landscape maintenance shall include the removal of dead, decayed, diseased, or hazardous trees, weeds and debris constituting unsightly appearance, dangerous to public safety and welfare or detrimental to neighboring properties or property values. Compliance shall be by removal, replacement, or maintenance.
(f)
All landscaping (trees, shrubs, ground cover, turf, etc.) which, due to accident, damage, disease, lack of maintenance, or other cause, fail to show a healthy appearance and growth, shall be replaced. Replacement plants shall conform to all standards that govern the original planting installation, approved landscaping plan, or as approved by the director of planning.
(Ord. 1440 § 2, 2009)
§ 21.20.070 Synthetic turf standards.
The use of synthetic turf, as defined in Section 21.20.030, shall be permitted as follows:
(a)
Materials. Synthetic turf shall be of a type known as cut pile and shall be manufactured from nylon, polypropylene, or polyethylene or a blend thereof, stitched onto a mesh or hole-punched backing. An eight-year minimum no-fade product warranty shall be required as well.
(b)
Installation. Synthetic turf shall be installed by a licensed contractor, pursuant to manufacturer specifications and shall be anchored at all edges and seams. A proper drainage system must be installed to prevent excessive run-off or pooling. Synthetic turf shall be separated from flower beds by a bender board or similar material, to prevent the intrusion of living plants into the artificial turf.
(Ord. 1440 § 2, 2009)
§ 21.20.080 Violations of landscaping standards.
It is unlawful for any owner, operator, tenant or other person in control of property within the city for which the standards set forth in this chapter apply, to fail to install or maintain landscaping or the landscape plan as required by this chapter.
(Ord. 1440 § 2, 2009)