(a)

Purpose and intent. These regulations have been adopted for the purpose and intent of:

(1)

Ensuring minimal conflict between placement of trees and other landscaping, and both overhead and underground utility lines;

(2)

Providing for landscaping and trees to shade buildings and paved surfaces and to reduce the amount of runoff, erosion, reflected heat, air pollution, wind, and noise;

(3)

Improving the attractiveness of the city as a place for economic growth and the general safety of developments; and

(4)

Providing screening between incompatible land uses.

(b)

Tree classification. The planning commission shall establish classifications of trees by category of small, medium, and large based on growth characteristics for the purpose of implementing this chapter.

(c)

General planting and maintenance standards. The following requirements set forth in this section are applicable to trees on both public and private property:

(1)

The requirements for tree and other landscape material locations are:

a.

Except for areas zoned CB, or in the case of P districts located immediately adjacent to a CB district, trees shall be planted no closer to any public curb or sidewalk than three feet for small trees, four feet for medium trees, and five feet for large trees;

b.

Except for areas zoned CB, or in the case of P districts located immediately adjacent to a CB district, landscaping and trees shall be planted to maintain clear vision at intersections;

c.

Trees planted in the public right-of-way must be of a type which will grow tall enough so that they will not block vision of drivers to see other traffic, pedestrians, signage and traffic control devices;

d.

Landscape material shall be planted in such a way as to not obstruct access to a fire hydrant, utility meters or utility poles;

e.

Only those trees listed as small trees may be planted under or within ten lateral feet of any overhead utility wire, or over or within five lateral feet of any underground water, sewer, electric, telephone, cable or natural gas line. Any tree which is planted within a dedicated easement will be subject to damage, pruning and removal, as necessary, to allow full utilization of the easement and maintenance of utilities contained therein;

f.

Plant materials being planted to meet landscape requirements of this chapter should be planted during the spring or fall months to improve chances of survival. If all other requirements are met, a certificate of occupancy will be issued for properties which are developed during the other times of the year without the landscape materials being installed, provided, however, that the plant materials must be planted within the first planting season to following completion of construction; and

(2)

The following shall be observed in the care of existing trees:

a.

The city shall have the right to prune, spray, or partially remove trees or shrubs that have originated within or have grown into public rights-of-way, public properties or public easements as may be necessary to protect persons and property, to provide access to public utilities, to provide needed clearances from public utility infrastructure, and to maintain visibility of traffic signals and traffic warning or directional signs. Franchised utilities operating within utility easements shall have the same rights to provide clearance and access to their equipment that is installed within dedicated easements. Whether the work is to be done by the city or a franchised utility, a property owner shall be notified by posted written notice three days prior to work on a tree located on their property or the adjacent street right-of-way, when the trimming involves removing any branch greater than 1½ inches diameter or more than five branches of less than one-half-inch diameter. Persons receiving notice under this section may appeal to the city manager provided that such appeal is taken within three days of posting said notice.

b.

When plant material is causing an immediate public safety threat or preventing access to a utility that is in imminent danger or is failing, the tree of shrub, or any portion thereof, may be removed to eliminate the immediate threat for emergency and/or public safety purposes without notification to property owners. When such emergency work has been carried out, property owners shall be notified of the work that was done by posted written notice. In the case of major ice storms, tornadoes or other natural disasters, posted written notice will not be left.

c.

If development plans include preservation of existing trees or other vegetation on site during construction, the building permit plans shall specify the method to be used to protect the trees or vegetation.

d.

When, on the basis of citizen complaint or observation by the city manager, the city manager determines that a tree poses a safety threat to persons in public ways or adjacent private or public property, the city manager may order the tree, or any portion thereof, to be removed. When the city manager orders removal of a tree on private property, the owner of the property shall be given ten days' written notice to remove the tree. If the tree has not been removed in the specified time, the city shall proceed to have the tree removed and bill the property owner the cost of removal. A lien shall also be placed on the property to recover the cost of tree removal. For the purposes of this chapter, removal shall mean cutting the tree off at ground level. The property owner may appeal the decision to trim or remove the tree to the board of adjustment; provided that such appeal is taken within ten days from the date of notification by the city forester. If such an appeal is made, action to remove the tree shall be stayed until a decision is reached by the board of adjustment.

e.

For purposes of this section, time periods are exclusive of weekends and legal holidays.

(d)

Multiple-family, commercial, and industrial park landscape requirements. Multiple-family uses shall be considered more than four dwelling units per lot. All new construction, expansion or redevelopment within the city for multiple-family, commercial and industrial park uses, except in the CB zoning district, shall include the provision of landscape areas to provide for the planting of trees and other landscape materials. In all cases, property within this category, including in the CB zoning district, not being used for a structure, parking space, driving aisle, open display area, sidewalk or outdoor storage area shall be maintained as landscape area. Designated or approved landscape areas shall not be used for display or storage of goods or materials.

(1)

The actual minimum landscape area requirements for a development shall depend on the size of the associated parking area. For parking areas containing between six and 20 parking spaces, inclusive, the only landscape area required shall be the parking area setback requirement. For parking areas of more than 20 spaces, the required landscape area shall be equal to at least nine percent of the developed portion of the lot. Except as follows, the developed portion of the lot shall be considered the entire piece of property being developed:

a.

The developed portion of the lot shall not include detention or compensatory storage areas when detention and/or compensatory storage requirements are met off of the parking surface.

b.

When only a portion of a piece of property is being developed, that portion not being developed shall be so designated on the site plan and will not be included in the development area.

c.

Property beyond any normal setback requirements which lies within a 100-year floodplain, or other drainage channels, and which will not be functioning as part of the detention or compensatory requirements of the site, may be designated, in whole or in part, as part of the developed area by the applicant provided that a sufficient amount of landscape area is distributed across the entire site. Because each site will be different, it will be up to the applicant and staff to agree on what is sufficient in a given case. In general, staff will be looking to see that the intent of this chapter is being met and that landscaping will not be concentrated away from public portions of the site. When an agreement cannot be reached, the planning commission shall make the final determination.

(2)

Landscaping areas within the occupant, customer and/or employee parking area of a development, shall be located in such a way as to meet the requirements set forth in this subsection. The following requirements do not apply to areas designated for open display:

a.

Landscape areas shall be located so that at least 60 percent of the trees planted to meet the point requirements on the site can be located within ten feet of the paved parking area.

b.

When a parking area is to provide parking for more than 100 vehicles, landscape islands shall be provided at the ends of the rows of parking to separate the parked vehicles from an adjacent driving aisle.

c.

Landscape areas shall be placed so that at least a portion of every parking space is within 59 feet of the parking area setback area or another landscape area meeting the minimum area requirement. The distance a parking space may be from a landscape area may be increased by one foot for each additional 30 square feet of area contained within a landscape area which is surrounded on all sides by paved parking area; provided, however, that in no case shall the distance between a parking space and a landscape area exceed 80 feet.

(3)

Landscape area size requirements are described as follows:

a.

The width of parking lot landscape areas shall be measured exclusive of any curbing or bumper blocks.

b.

The standard, minimum width of a landscape area shall be four feet. At the end of a row of 90-degree parking spaces that are next to a setback area, the setback area may be reduced to two feet to facilitate backing out from a parking space. Also, specific points of other landscape areas may be reduced to as narrow as two feet to meet design requirements. Landscape areas placed parallel to a parking space, or at the end of a row of parking spaces shall be no less than two feet shorter than the paved length of the parking stall. Except for the buffer strip areas, landscape areas that have bumper overhang shall have a minimum of four feet of width in addition to the bumper overhang.

c.

A landscape area placed parallel to a parking space, or at the end of a row of parking, shall be a minimum of 80 square feet, if one parking stall in length, and 165 square feet if two stalls in length. Any other landscape areas shall be a minimum of 80 square feet in size.

(4)

To provide flexibility in designing the best landscape plan for each site, no specific materials or locations are required for landscaping by these regulations.

a.

Developments shall include landscape material from the following list, in any combination, such that the total points received for the development equal at least 50 points per 100 square feet in all areas:

1.

Berms, minimum 30 inches tall earn five points per ten linear feet.

2.

Turf shall earn ten points per 100 square feet.

3.

Vegetative ground cover (other than natural turf or sod) shall earn 25 points per 100 square feet of cover.

4.

Small shrubs (mature height of four feet) shall earn 25 points each.

5.

Large shrubs (mature height over four feet) shall earn 75 points each.

6.

Trees of one-inch caliper or greater at the time of planting which are classified as follows:

(i)

Small trees earn 100 points;

(ii)

Medium trees earn 150 points and shall be designated by a scaled 20-foot diameter circle;

(iii)

Large trees earn 200 points and shall be designated by a scaled 35-foot diameter circle;

(iv)

Evergreen trees shall be designated by a scaled 20-foot diameter circle.

7.

Preservation of existing trees will earn the same base points as new trees based on the size classification of tree. For trees over four-inch caliper, an additional 20 points will be awarded for each inch of caliper over four, up to double the point value of the tree. (For example: saving a tree which is classified in the large tree category will earn 200 points; if the tree measures to be eight-inch caliper, an additional 80 points will be awarded.) The diameter of the tree shall be measured at 4½ feet above the ground.

8.

Any plant materials installed to meet the requirements of this chapter which die, or are otherwise removed, must be replaced with plant materials which will earn at least the same number of points. If the replacement materials are to be located more than 20 feet from where the previous materials had been, a revised landscape plan shall be submitted to the city planner for administrative review and approval.

b.

Site plan designation. Site plans shall be labeled with the number of square feet contained within each landscape area. The landscaping shown on site plans shall specify the vegetation according to the categories listed below. Symbols shall be used to identify planting sites for landscape materials as designated below, and standard sizes shall be used for trees. Landscaping in addition to that shown on the site plan is encouraged and will not be a violation of the site plan. The required site plan designations shall be:

1.

"Berm," and the contour thereof at 30 inches of height;

2.

"TF" for turf;

3.

"GC" for vegetative ground covers;

4.

"SS" for small shrubs;

5.

"LS" for large shrubs;

6.

"ST" for a small tree;

7.

"MT" for a medium tree;

8.

"LT" for a large tree; and

9.

"EV" for evergreen trees.

(5)

Plans submitted for building permits for these developments shall include the information required by this section in sufficient detail to evaluate compliance with these regulations. For those developments which require city council site plan approval prior to the issuance of a building permit, a conceptual landscape plan shall be included with the site plan. The minimum requirements for this conceptual landscape plan include:

a.

The location of all landscape area;

b.

The calculations showing compliance with the minimum landscape area requirements and what the minimum point requirements are for plan material;

c.

An illustration of the concept which will be used in placement of landscape materials by area across the site (i.e., the approximate number and size as well as the general location of trees, shrubs, and ground covers); and

d.

Existing trees which will be preserved.

In approving any site plan reviewed by the planning commission and/or city council, they may reserve the right to review the final landscape plan prior to issuance of a building permit.

(e)

Visual barriers and transitional yards. Visual barriers and/or transitional yards are to be provided as required in this subsection to help separate more intense land uses from less intense ones, and to screen some uses from view. The visual barrier may have openings of reasonable length to accommodate driveways and walkways.

(1)

Certain districts of more intense use are to have visual barriers installed when they abut districts of less intense use.

a.

In such cases, visual barriers are not required when parking lots abut one another, no matter what zoning district.

b.

When the office district abuts an RSS, RSL, RT or RM district, a visual barrier is required on the property zoned office district.

c.

When CS, CB, CG, IL or IG district abuts an RSS, RSL, RMH, RT or RM district, a visual barrier is required on the property zoned CS, CB, CG, IL or IG district.

d.

Separation of properties by an alley, right-of-way or road easement does not exempt such properties from these requirements.

(2)

Wherever any provision of his chapter requires the construction and maintenance of a visual barrier or transitional yard as a condition for initiating and subsequently continuing any use, such barrier or yard shall be constructed and maintained on the lot containing or proposed to contain such use, in accordance with the provisions of this section. When the area required to have a visual barrier is within a utility easement, the visual barrier shall be constructed as required in this subsection. When located within a dedicated easement, the materials used to construct the visual barriers may be removed without liability for replacement by a public utility, or private contractor representing a public utility, to gain access for the installation, removal, extension or repair of utility lines and equipment. Such barriers and yards shall also make provision for easy access to meters, transformers, junction boxes, and other utility equipment commonly found in utility easements. Visual barriers shall not impede access to dumpsters and access by emergency personnel. Locations and situations where visual barriers or transitional yards are required include the following:

a.

As may be required as a condition of approval of a site plan for a specific use or planned unit development;

b.

Along the frontage of a principal or minor arterial street where there is open storage of equipment, machinery, materials, products, supplies, vehicles or work in progress which is not otherwise screened from the street by building, except for temporary uses, and except for the display and sale or rental of operable motor vehicles, recreational vehicles, trailers, mobile homes, boats, aircraft, construction equipment and farm machinery in the districts where permitted; and

c.

Along certain portions of district boundaries, provided also that where a lot falls within the provisions of this subsection, no part of such lot that is within 100 feet of the abutting property shall be developed, used, or subsequently maintained for any use that is not a use of right in the district in which the abutting property is located or in an RM district, unless and until there is provided on such lot a visual barrier meeting the requirements of this section.

(3)

The purpose of visual barriers and transitional yards is to provide separation between uses and screen potentially unsightly areas. These goals can be met in a variety of ways described as follows:

a.

When a visual barrier is required for the purpose of screening outdoor storage areas, the provided barrier shall be at least 80 percent opaque, and not less than six feet high above the highest point within ten feet of either side of the property line, exclusive of any earth berms created to satisfy this requirement.

b.

When a visual barrier or transitional yard is required to provide separation between land uses, the design of the barrier or yard shall follow the guidelines set forth in this subsection. The type of materials used to provide the visual barrier will vary depending upon the width of the transitional yard.

1.

A yard width up to five feet shall require a visual barrier that is at least 75 percent opaque up to four feet, and 60 percent opaque between four and six feet above the height of the highest point within ten feet of either side of the property line, exclusive of any earth berms created to satisfy this requirement.

2.

A yard width over five feet and up to ten feet wide shall require a visual barrier that is at least 70 percent opaque up to three feet, and 50 percent opaque between three and six feet tall above the height of the highest point within ten feet of either side of the property line, exclusive of any earth berms created to satisfy this requirement.

3.

A yard width over ten feet shall require a visual barrier that is at least 70 percent opaque up to three feet, and 40 percent opaque up to five feet tall above the height of the highest point within ten feet of either side of the property line, exclusive of any earth berms created to satisfy this requirement.

c.

Visual barriers may consist of any combination of earth berms, shrubs, trees, fences, and other natural and decorative man made materials. Where vegetation is used to provide the visual barrier it shall immediately provide at least 50 percent of the required screening and will be given two years from the date of installation to achieve the height and coverage designated for the given screen or transitional yard. When vegetation is proposed to provide the required visual barrier, the plans for the development shall specify the types of plant material to be used in order to evaluate whether or not the proposed plant material can meet the screening requirement.

d.

All properties within the city shall be required to meet these requirements within one year of April 15, 2008.

(Ord. No. 3023, § 1(23.230), 3-3-2008)

(a)

Glare. No indoor or outdoor artificial lighting source, or building or structural facade, shall direct or reflect light such that the glare is a nuisance to other properties or creates a distraction to, or impairs the vision of, motor vehicle drivers on any public street.

(b)

Air, water and solid waste. All uses shall be in compliance with applicable regulations administered by local, state and federal agencies.

(c)

Natural features. Existing watercourses and other natural features must be considered for preservation when planning open space, location and orientation of buildings, underground services, paved surfaces and finished grade level of development of any lot.

(d)

Maintenance. All structures and land governed by his chapter, including buildings, yards, signs, paving, fences, walls, landscaping and drainageways shall be kept and maintained in a neat, clean, orderly, operable, safe and usable condition.

(Ord. No. 3023, § 1(23.231), 3-3-2008)