A.

Purpose.

The purpose and intent of this chapter is to provide landscape development and buffering requirements in order to maintain and protect property values, enhance the appearance of the development, protect the aesthetic assets of the community, reduce erosion and storm water run-off, and provide screening between incompatible land uses. The landscape requirements of this chapter are minimum standards.

B.

Definitions

As used in this chapter.

"Berm" means an earthen mound designed to provide visual interest, screen undesirable views, and/or decrease noise.

"Buffer" means a combination of physical space and vertical elements, such as plants, berms, fences, or walls, the purpose of which is to separate and screen incompatible land uses from each other.

"Deciduous" means a plant with foliage that sheds annually.

"Conifer" means a plant with foliage that persists and remains green year-round, commonly known as evergreens.

"Ornamental tree" means a deciduous tree planted primarily for its ornamental value or for screening purposes; tends to be smaller at maturity than a shade tree.

"Screen" means a method of reducing the impact if noise and unsightly visual intrusions with less offensive or more harmonious elements, such as plants, berms, fences, walls, or any appropriate combination thereof.

"Shade tree" means usually a deciduous tree planted primarily for its high crown of foliage or overhead canopy; normally a deciduous and rarely an evergreen.

"Shrub" means a woody plant, smaller than a tree, consisting of several small stems from the ground or small branches near the ground; may be deciduous or evergreen.

"Tree" means a large, woody plant having one or several self-supporting stems or trunks and numerous branches. May be classified as deciduous or coniferous.

(Ord. No. 25-1708, § 1, 6-2-2025)

This chapter shall apply to all RM zones, MH zones, CS zones, I zones, public facilities, and any residential developments where the development is larger than four lots. No building permit, shall be issued where landscaping is required until a landscaping plan has been submitted and approved by the community development director or their designee. A landscaping plan is not required for a single-family building permit.

(Ord. No. 25-1708, § 1, 6-2-2025)

Landscape development plans shall indicate all areas to be preserved and planted including proposed fencing and landscape features. The landscaping plan shall also show locations of individual trees and shrubs; and include name, size, spacing and quantity of the plant materials and all proposed irrigation lines and structures. It is recommended that a landscape architect or a professional nurseryman prepare required plans.

(Ord. No. 25-1708, § 1, 6-2-2025)

No permanent occupancy permit shall be granted until landscaping required under this chapter is completed. However, a permanent occupancy permit may be granted if a performance guarantee bond in the amount of one hundred fifty percent of the anticipated cost of the unfinished landscaping is posted guaranteeing the installation of required landscaping is posted within one hundred eighty days. If landscaping is not so completed, the city may finish it, in accordance with the approved plan, using the bond to pay the completion costs. The bond may be posted by certified check payable to the city, assignment of a restricted savings account to the city, or posting an irrevocable letter of credit or a bond with the city.

(Ord. No. 25-1708, § 1, 6-2-2025)

Plantings including trees and shrubs shall be maintained in a healthy growing condition. Dead plants or trees shall be replaced by the property owner. If it becomes necessary for the city to take action in removal and/or replacement of required landscaping, the property owner will be billed for all costs associated with the removal and/or replacement. The property owner is also responsible to keep the landscaped areas reasonably free of weeds and trash.

All species shall be native to the area or recognized as being easily adaptable to the climate. The city will require the applicant to conform to the city's design and development standards including modifying the plant choice to:

A.

Eliminate undesirable species which may conflict with power lines or sewers because of their growth or invasive root systems.

B.

Provide a diversity of species.

C.

Provide plant materials that will fulfill the buffering or landscaping purposes of that planting on a year-round basis.

D.

Provide visual relief on long facades.

E.

Provide species that are resistant to drought conditions.

(Ord. No. 25-1708, § 1, 6-2-2025)

A.

TYPE I. Ornamental Landscaping. This landscaping shall consist of a combination of trees, shrubs and other landscaping materials, including bark and/or decorative rock, or grass. The landscaping shall be designed to improve the appearance of the development, not necessarily to obscure it. A mixture of evergreen and deciduous plantings reaching a maximum height of thirty inches is recommended. This does not apply to non-sight obscuring trees.

B.

TYPE II. Mixed Trees, Shrubs, Low Plantings. This planting strip shall consist of one row of trees spaced a maximum of ten feet on center. The remainder of the planting strip shall be planted with plantings that will result in an attractive ground cover within two years.

C.

TYPE III. Sight Screening Evergreen Hedge. The purpose of this landscaping type is to provide a sight, sound and psychological barrier between zones with some degree of incompatibility. The spacing of evergreen plants shall be such that they form a dense hedge within three years. The minimum height, at the time of planting, shall be four feet, except where the hedge would interrupt the clear vision triangle.

D.

TYPE IV. Low Plantings, Trees, and Fencing. Evergreen conifer trees shall be spaced a maximum of fifteen feet on center, backed by a seventy-two inch fence which forms an effective barrier to sight, except where the fence would interfere with the clear vision triangle (see Chapter 15.28). The fence shall be placed on the inside of the planting strip. The remainder of the landscape area shall be planted with plantings that will result in an attractive ground cover within three years.

E.

TYPE V. Wall of Trees. The purpose of this landscape type is to provide a sight, sound and psychological barrier between zones with a high degree of incompatibility. This planting strip shall consist of two rows of trees staggered and spaced a maximum of ten feet on center, so as to form an effective visual barrier within five years. The minimum tree height, at the time of planting, shall be six feet, except where it would obscure the vision triangle.

F.

TYPE VI. Boulevard or Parking Strip. Boulevard or parking strip plantings are encouraged. The strip should be planted with non-fruit bearing, deciduous trees a minimum of fifty feet on center. At the time of planting deciduous trees shall be at least three inches in diameter at four feet in height, and all necessary root barriers shall be installed.

(Ord. No. 25-1708, § 1, 6-2-2025)

Objective—To enhance the aesthetics of communities through the installation of landscape and the screening undesirable elements. Also, to enhance safety and function of residential properties through appropriate maintenance of landscape plantings.

A.

Detached Residential Single-Family (RS) Landscape Requirements.

1.

Property owners may landscape adjacent to sidewalks on any city street provided that at no time the landscape encroaches into the path of the sidewalk which would impede pedestrian movement or create unsafe conditions. It is the property owner's responsibility to maintain the landscape in this manner.

2.

Hedges. To facilitate visibility along streets and sidewalks, hedges which fully block visibility must not be planted within three feet of the sidewalk. View triangles, which protect sight distance, at street intersections may require additional height restrictions.

3.

Street trees are required at the time of plat as outlined in Chapter 18.14. Additionally, the installation or replacement of street trees may be required to this standard when building permits are sought for additions, decks, remodeling, or the construction of accessory structures.

4.

All plantings on city property are subject to removal by the property owner at the city's discretion and property owner's expense. In the case that the property owner does not remove the planting, the removal will be done by the city and the property owner will be billed.

B.

Multi-Family Residential (RM) and Attached Single-Family Landscape Requirements. All proposed multi-family and attached single-family development greater than two attached units in these zones shall comply with the following standards. Variances, in accordance with the process set forth in Chapter 17.17 LMC, may be authorized by the community development director where factors such as but not limited to, topography, other site constraints prevent strict compliance.

1.

All public streets will be required to include street trees between the curb and sidewalk, or, to better support the health of the tree, internal to the property but within ten feet of the sidewalk. If located internal to the property a landscape easement must be recorded which recognizes an area as a qualified location for the required street trees. The public works department may disqualify locations if tree planting will conflict with public utilities

2.

Entry areas, access easements, and driveways shall be landscaped to create a feeling of identification and continuity of plant materials related to the plantings around the buildings and parking areas. The primary entrances to the multi-family development, defined for this section as the entrances from public roadways, shall have landscaped areas on either side of the entrance. This landscape area shall be a triangle beginning at a point where the back of the sidewalk and the driveway intersect and running a distance of twenty feet parallel with the street, and fifteen feet from the back of the sidewalk along the driveway, and diagonally connecting the two lines. These areas may be utilized as rain gardens.

3.

Plant choices should include those plants that are native to the region, have minimal maintenance requirements and high survival rates. Large, more mature plant materials are encouraged to ensure that some immediate effect on the project's appearance will be attained within two years of planting. The following sizes and spacing are suggested and/or required for plant materials at time of installation:

a.

Street trees shall have a minimum caliper size of two inches. Trees located along drives and in the street side of planting areas adjacent to parking areas or buildings shall have a minimum caliper size of one and one-half inches. Trees located elsewhere are to have a minimum caliper size of one inch and equivalent to a fifteen-gallon container size.

b.

At the time of installation, shrubs must be a variety of sizes (one to five-gallon pots) and upright shrubs must have a minimum height and spread of eighteen to thirty-six inches. Spreading shrubs should have a minimum of twelve to eighteen inches (smaller shrub sizes may be approved where it is more appropriate within the particular landscape plan). Hedge material must have a minimum height of four feet at the time of planting.

c.

Ground covers planted from flats shall have a maximum spacing of twelve inches on center or, when planted from one-gallon pots, a maximum spacing of twenty-four inches on center.

4.

Earth berms and rain gardens are convenient devices for providing variation in the ground plane and for screening interior portions of the site. The bermed areas should be as long, as gradual and as graceful as space will allow. Maximum slopes for bermed areas should not exceed 4:1.

5.

Building foundation plantings are required around all areas of the building except immediately adjacent to entries or garage doors. Sidewalks shall not be included within these areas. Installation of plant material is required and must be appropriate to the scale of the building. Area required is as follows:

a.

Buildings containing two—four units must provide a planting area a minimum of four feet in width. Required area of foundation planting may be averaged, but in no case may the width be less than two feet.

b.

Buildings containing more than four units must provide a planting area a minimum of six feet in width. Required area of foundation planting may be averaged, but in no case may the width be less than three feet.

(Ord. No. 25-1708, § 1, 6-2-2025)

A.

In order to reduce the incompatible characteristics of abutting properties with different land use classifications, minimum landscaping standards shall be applied to planting strips on the interior property lines of the most intense land use. In the case of a less intense land use being developed directly adjacent to an existing land use of higher intensity, the landscaping requirements may be established as a permit condition and may be placed on the interior property line of the less intense land use.

B.

For the purpose of this chapter, the following is a listing of land uses in order of intensity from the highest to the lowest: ID, CSL, HBD, CSR, IBZ, TR, MH, RM-4, RM-3, PU, RM-PC, RM-2, RM-1, RMD, RS-7,200, RS-8,400, RS-10,000.

1.

All I zones adjacent to all CS zones: Type III planting strip, ten feet in width.

2.

All I zones adjacent to public, semi-public or PU areas: Type III planting strip, fifteen feet in width.

3.

All I zones adjacent to MH zones: Type III planting strip, ten feet in width.

4.

I zones adjacent to TR zones: Type III planting strip, fifteen feet in width.

5.

All I zones adjacent to RM housing: Type IV planting strip, ten feet in width. If IBZ, fencing is optional.

6.

All I zones adjacent to RS housing: Type V planting strip, fifteen feet in width.

7.

CS zone adjacent to all MH: Type III planting strip, ten feet in width.

8.

All zones more intense than PU, at noted above, and adjacent to public or semi-public or PU areas: Type III planting strip, ten feet in width.

9.

All CS zones adjacent to RM housing: Type II planting strip, ten feet in width.

10.

All CS zones adjacent to RS housing: Type IV planting strip, fifteen feet in width.

11.

TR zone adjacent to RM zones: Type III planting strip, ten feet in width.

12.

TR zone adjacent to RS zones: Type IV planting strip ten feet in width.

13.

MH zone adjacent to RS housing: Type IV planting strip, ten feet in width.

14.

MH zone adjacent to RM housing: Type III planting strip, ten feet in width.

15.

RM housing adjacent to RS housing: Type IV planting strip, ten feet in width. Fencing is optional.

16.

PRD adjacent to all other zones: Type II planting strip five feet wide, except I and CS zones where it shall be ten feet in width.

17.

Public buildings and utility sub-stations within all RS and RM zones: Type I planting strip five feet wide.

18.

All PU zones adjacent to RM-PC, RM-1, RM-2, RMD, or RS zones: Type II planting strip ten feet in width.

B.

Placement. Landscape buffers must always be placed along the property line of the more intense use when adjacent to residential uses. However, when adjoining properties are located within industrial, commercial or public use zones the landscape buffer may be moved into the property so that a drive aisle may be located between the property line and the required buffer.

(Ord. No. 25-1708, § 1, 6-2-2025)

A.

Parking Lots. Landscaping requirements for parking lots should incorporate LID techniques as feasible and seek to provide cover over paved areas to slow stormwater runoff and reduce the impact of heat and glare. Parking lot designs must meet the following standards:

1.

Parking lots fronting on a public street right-of-way shall have fifty square feet of "Type I" landscaping for every thirty-five hundred square feet of parking area in addition to their required street trees. Planting shall not obstruct the vision triangle at street intersections and driveways.

2.

Additional plantings may be placed on street right-of-way behind the sidewalk line if the owner agrees to remove the landscaping, at the owner's expense, upon request of the city. The owner will maintain all landscaping placed in the right-of-way.

3.

Parking lot landscape islands are required for commercial, multi-family, and public use zoned properties as well as schools and houses of worship per the following:

a.

Only a maximum of twelve contiguous stalls are permitted without placement of a landscape island.

b.

Landscape islands must be a minimum of eight feet wide and sixteen feet long in order to support the growth of a shade tree.

c.

Every row of parking stalls must terminate in a landscape island that is a minimum of eight feet wide except that up to half of these terminals may instead accommodate an eight foot sidewalk or a combination of sidewalk and landscape area which equals a total of eight feet in width.

d.

The community development director may approve landscaping plans involving alternatives to this specification for individual properties if the proposed alternative would create an equal amount of landscape area and support the same or more shade trees internal to the parking lot.

4.

All landscaping must be located between parking stalls, at the end of parking columns, or between stalls and the property line. No landscaping which occurs between the parking lot and a building or recreation area shall be considered in satisfaction of these requirements.

5.

When a parking lot abuts residentially designated property along any interior property line, a "Type III" buffer, or a minimum five-foot wide "Type IV" buffer with plantings spaced to form a solid sight-obscuring screen within three years, shall be installed along the property line. An earthen berm may be substituted for the above landscaping requirements, provided that the berm acts as a substantial buffer or screen, is height and width appropriate to the area and is planted with grass or other appropriate ground cover. This requirement shall not apply when the abutting residentially designated property is six feet or more above or below the elevation of the immediately adjacent parking area.

6.

All landscaped areas shall be protected from vehicle damage by a six-inch protective curbing and, if necessary, wheel blocks.

B.

Property Perimeter Landscape.

1.

Landscape buffers between zones are required as described in LMC 19.61.090.

2.

All public streets will be required to include street trees between the curb and sidewalk or between the sidewalk and the property whichever is most conducive to the long-term health of the tree and meets the approval of the public works director.

3.

The property perimeters adjacent to public streets must have a six foot Type 1 landscape buffer unimpeded by vehicle overhang or eight feet when including vehicle overhang from adjacent parking. Tree and plantings shall be located for interest, variety and public safety. Tree plantings shall conform to the approved selection list available from the city. Trees planted here may be counted toward the street tree requirement if a landscape easement is recorded recognizing the area as a qualified location for required street trees, however, the public works director may disqualify one of these locations if it conflicts with public utilities

4.

All landscaped areas shall have an appropriate irrigation system to ensure that plantings are adequately watered. Irrigation systems shall be designed to minimize water runoff onto sidewalks or streets.

5.

Landscape improvements within adjacent rights-of-way are required. At a minimum this includes the establishment of lawn within parking strips and adjacent to sidewalks. Additional landscape material in these areas is permitted provided it does not impede pedestrian movement, block vision triangles at intersections, or create a condition which is deemed unsafe by the public works director.

C.

Foundation planting. Landscape enhancement may be required along primary facades per LMC 19.23.080(A) depending on the scale of the building. Facades which are visible from public streets, a shared access easement, or primary parking areas but do not include primary entrances, loading facilities, or sidewalks must incorporate foundation landscaping as described in this section.

1.

These facades, on buildings with footprints of ten thousand square feet or less must include planting areas a minimum of four feet wide by the length of the façade.

2.

These facades, on buildings with footprints greater than ten thousand square feet but less than fifty thousand square feet must include planting areas a minimum of six feet wide by the length of the façade.

3.

These facades, on buildings greater than fifty thousand square feet must include planting areas a minimum of twelve feet wide by the length of the façade.

D.

Plant Selection and Sizing. The following sizes and spacing are required for plant materials at time of installation.

1.

Street trees shall have a minimum caliper size of one and one half inches. Trees located elsewhere including planting islands within parking areas or adjacent to buildings shall have a minimum caliper size of one inch. Tree species which drip sap or could drop fruit must be avoided in parking lots and near sidewalks.

2.

At least half of the shrubs installed must be a minimum of a three-gallon pot size. Spreading shrubs should have a minimum of eighteen to twenty-four inches of growth (smaller shrub sizes may be approved where it is more appropriate within the particular landscape plan).

3.

Perennials and grasses must be at least one gallon in size at the time of installation.

4.

Ground covers planted from flats must have a maximum spacing of twelve inches on center or, when planted from one gallon cans, a maximum spacing of twenty-four inches on center.

(Ord. No. 25-1708, § 1, 6-2-2025)

A.

No person shall remove any tree(s) or shrub from any street, alleys, boulevard or parking strips of the city of Lynden without first having applied for and received a permit from the city to do so. The application for the permit and the permit shall be on forms prescribed by the city and there will be no charge for such a permit.

B.

No person shall plant any tree(s), or shrubs on the streets, alleys, boulevard or parking strips of the city of Lynden without first having applied and received a permit from the city. There will be no charge for such a permit.

(Ord. No. 25-1708, § 1, 6-2-2025)

Boulevard or parking strips are encouraged and may be required by the city as part of development permit approval. Planting requirements are listed above as Type VI planting strips. Where street trees are required, the trees fronting a building lot must be installed prior to final occupancy for that building constructed on the building lot. At the time of plat approval, a note shall be placed on the face of the plat indicating that it is the responsibility of the property owner to maintain all trees placed within the city right-of-way abutting their property.

(Ord. No. 25-1708, § 1, 6-2-2025)

A.

Street trees shall be planted in accordance with accepted commercial planting procedures and appropriate root barriers shall be installed at the time of planting.

B.

Street trees shall be chosen in accordance with the plantings recommended by Puget Sound Energy. Lists of recommended trees are available from the community development department.

C.

The public works director will prune and maintain, or cause to be pruned and maintained at the expense of the property owner, all of the trees along Lynden streets. The city will maintain the street trees on Front Street between First and seventeenth Streets. The remaining trees will be the responsibility of the adjacent property owner to maintain. If said trees are not maintained, the public works director may cause those trees to be maintained at the expense of the adjoining property owner.

D.

All trees along city streets shall maintain a minimum clearance of thirteen feet, six inches between the ground and lowest branch. Street trees shall not be planted within the clear vision triangle.

E.

Adjacent property owners shall be liable for any persons injured or who otherwise suffers damage due to the failure of trimming and proper maintenance of trees by adjacent property owners. This shall include the replacement of sidewalks damaged by intruding roots.

(Ord. No. 25-1708, § 1, 6-2-2025)

When a building or development is planned on a site that includes existing trees greater than twelve inches in diameter at five feet in height, every reasonable effort shall be undertaken to preserve those trees. Except however, that those trees that are diseased or that pose a threat to public safety may be removed. All landscape plans must show all existing trees, those trees to be removed and the placement of a number of trees equal to that number of trees to be removed.

(Ord. No. 25-1708, § 1, 6-2-2025)

All proposed development within IBZ and ID zones shall comply with the following standards.

A.

All public streets will be required to include street trees between the curb and sidewalk or within the property if located within ten feet of the sidewalk and a landscape easement is recorded recognizing the area as a qualified location for required street trees. The public works department may disqualify one of these locations if it conflicts with public utilities.

B.

The parcel's street frontage will have a ten foot Type 1 landscape buffer. Tree and plantings shall be located for interest, variety and public safety. Tree plantings shall conform to the approved selection list available from the city.

C.

Entry areas and driveways shall be landscaped to create a feeling of identification and continuity of plant materials related to the plantings around the buildings and parking areas. The primary entrance, defined for this section as that entrance frequented by office staff and visitors to the site, shall have a landscaped area on either side of the entrance. This landscape area shall be a triangle beginning at a point where the back of the sidewalk and the driveway curb intersect and running a distance of fifty feet parallel with the street, and fifteen feet from the back of the sidewalk along the driveway, and diagonally connecting the two lines.

D.

Plant choices should include those plants that are native to the region, have minimal maintenance requirements and high survival rates. Large, more mature plant materials are required to ensure that some immediate effect on the project's appearance will be attained within two years of planting. The following sizes and spacing are suggested and/or required for plant materials at time of installation.

1.

Street trees shall have a minimum caliper size of two inches. Trees located along drives and in the street side of planting areas adjacent to parking areas or buildings shall have a minimum caliper size of one and one-half inches. Trees located elsewhere are to have a minimum caliper size of one inch and equivalent to a fifteen-gallon container size.

2.

Shrubs should be a minimum of five-gallon pot size and upright shrubs should have a minimum height of eighteen inches with a minimum spread of eighteen inches. Spreading shrubs should have a minimum of eighteen to twenty-four inches (smaller shrub sizes may be approved where it is more appropriate within the particular landscape plan).

3.

Ground covers planted from flats should have a maximum spacing of twelve inches on center or, when planted from one gallon cans, a maximum spacing of twenty-four inches on center.

E.

Earth berms and rain gardens are convenient devices for providing variation in the ground plane and for screening interior portions of the site. The bermed areas should be as long, as gradual and as graceful as space will allow. Maximum slopes for bermed areas should not exceed 4:1.

F.

All landscaped areas shall have an appropriate irrigation system to ensure that plantings are adequately watered. Irrigation systems shall be designed to minimize water runoff onto sidewalks or streets.

G.

There shall be a minimum Type III landscape buffer between industrial development and any residential zone. This buffer shall be a minimum of ten feet in width.

(Ord. No. 25-1708, § 1, 6-2-2025)