The intent of this chapter is to establish minimum requirements and standards for landscaping and screening where needed to:

1.

Promote safety;

2.

Provide screening between incompatible land uses to safeguard privacy and to protect the aesthetic assets of the community;

3.

Retain existing native vegetation and trees by incorporating them into site design;

4.

Facilitate the infiltration of surface water into groundwater, provide flow control, and/or improve the quality of stormwater discharge to protect surface waters.

(Ord. 11398 § 3 (part), 1997: Ord. 6708 § 3 (part), 1980)

(Ord. No. 15355, 1(Att. A, § WW), 10-18-2016)

1.

Landscape plans. A plan of the proposed landscaping and screening shall be provided, which may be incorporated into plans submitted for preliminary plat, site plan review or building permit review.

Landscape plans shall be prepared by a licensed Landscape Architect, certified Professional Horticulturist, or certified Sustainable Landscape Professional, except that for land divisions of four or fewer lots, plans may be prepared by the applicant. Landscape plans are subject to approval by the reviewing authority.

Landscape plans shall be drawn to scale, including dimensions and distances, and clearly delineate:

a.

The location, size, species, and number of plants to be planted;

b.

The existing and proposed parking spaces, or other vehicular use area, access aisles, and driveways;

c.

A narrative description and timeline detailing the site preparation, installation, and maintenance measures necessary for the long-term survival and health of the plants.

2.

To the extent practical, internal landscaped areas shall be lower in elevation than the surrounding impervious surfaces and shall serve as aesthetic amenities and as conveyance and/or detention systems for storm drainage. Landscaping around the perimeter may be a combination of swales and berms and to the extent that the objectives of screening of parking areas and the provisions of stormwater conveyance and detention are compatible, both functions shall be served.

3.

Tree and Vegetation retention. Retention and salvage of existing native vegetation and trees is preferred over removal and replacement of vegetation, and shall meet the following standards:

a.

Retained trees shall be windfirm and shall not constitute a safety hazard.

b.

To be identified for credit, retained trees must be a minimum six inch diameter at breast height.

c.

Areas designed for retention of trees shall be protected by temporary fencing prior to the initiation of any clearing and grading. Such fencing shall follow the standards in TCC [Section] 24.25.070.

4.

Permitted plant types. The applicant shall utilize plant materials which are non-invasive, but adapted to local climatic conditions, including drought conditions. The following resources may be used to identify appropriate plants:

a.

Native and/or appropriate drought-tolerant plant choices identified by a professional horticulturalist, subject to approval by the reviewing authority;

b.

The WSU Extension native and waterwise plant lists;

c.

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) plant database for plants that occur in Thurston County; or

d.

Materials developed and/or provided by the department with an advisory listing of trees and other plants recommended for new plantings. Such a list shall describe their general characteristics and suitability, and provide guidelines for their inclusion within required landscape areas.

5.

Ground cover shall be planted and spaced to result in coverage of eighty percent of the landscaped area within three years, unless mulched areas between plants will allow for superior function of landscaped area or stormwater facility.

6.

Maintenance.

a.

The property owner shall maintain all required landscaping for the life of the project.

b.

All landscape areas shall be kept free of trash.

c.

Plants lost due to lifecycle or disease shall be replaced within one hundred eighty days, between October 1 and March 31, unless area is irrigated.

d.

Landscape areas functioning as stormwater facilities shall be maintained in accordance with the Drainage Design and Erosion Control Manual, TCC [Section] 15.05.010.

e.

The county shall require a maintenance assurance device for a period of one year from the completion of planting in order to ensure compliance with the requirements of this chapter. The value of the maintenance assurance must equal to at least twenty percent of the replacement cost of the landscape materials, and shall be utilized by the county to perform any necessary maintenance, and to reimburse the county for documented administrative costs associated with action on the device.

f.

The county may accept, as an alternative to a maintenance assurance device, a contractual agreement or bond between the owner or developer and a licensed landscape contractor registered in Washington State, along with a rider or endorsement specifically identifying the county as a party to the agreement for purposes of enforcement.

7.

Grand Mound Design Guidelines: See Chapter 20.36.

(Ord. 11653 § 8, 1998: Ord. 11398 § 3 (part), 1997: Ord. 9859 § 15, 1991: Ord. 6708 § 3 (part), 1980)

(Ord. No. 15355, 1(Att. A, § XX), 10-18-2016; Ord. No. 16332, § 2(Att. A, § VIII), 12-12-2023)

Where a multifamily structure containing five or more units is located adjacent to a lesser residential use, the provisions of Section 20.45.040 shall apply.

(Ord. 11398 § 3 (part), 1997: Ord. 6708 § 3 (part), 1980)

1.

Commercial uses must have a minimum five-foot landscaped buffer strip along all public rights-of-way or adjacent to a residential district or use. Some visibility into parking lots from public rights-of-way is desirable for public safety.

2.

Buffers adjacent to public rights-of-way shall be any combination of trees, live groundcovers, shrubs, earthen berms, and other landscape features; provided that the resultant effect is to provide partial screening and to soften the appearance of parking lots and structures. The size and spacing of plant material and landscape features shall be selected and maintained so that the entire landscape area is covered within three years.

3.

Such screening and landscaping shall be interrupted by normal entrances and exits.

4.

Buffer strips adjacent to residential districts or uses shall contain any combination of trees, live ground covers, shrubs, earthen berms, and other landscape features which will provide a year round sight-obscuring screen within three years. An aesthetically pleasing high solid fence may be substituted for the vegetative screen. See Section 20.45.060 regarding incompatible uses.

5.

There shall be no signs hung or attached to a vegetative screen.

(Ord. 12032 § 17, 1999: Ord. 11398 § 3 (part), 1997: Ord. 11025 § 26, 1995: Ord. 6708 § 3 (part), 1980)

(Ord. No. 14439, § 8, 11-16-2010)

A protective strip of land twenty-five feet in width bordering the external boundaries of the industrial districts shall be devoted exclusively to the planting, cultivation and maintenance of sight obscuring trees, shrubs and plants as the use develops. See Section 20.45.060 regarding incompatible uses.

(Ord. 11398 § 3 (part), 1997: Ord. 6708 § 3 (part), 1980)

(Ord. No. 14439, § 9, 11-16-2010)

1.

An incompatible use is defined as:

a.

A commercial or industrial zoning district or use adjacent to: (1) a residential lot of two acres or less, or (2) a residential zoning district with a density of one unit per two acres or greater.

b.

A proposed residential subdivision lot that is less than fifty percent of the square footage of an existing contiguous residential lot.

2.

Applicability.

a.

This section applies where the common property line is at least twenty feet in length and where a new proposed use is adjacent to an incompatible use as described in section 1.

b.

Individual single-family residences, existing, legal non-conforming uses and properties separated by a public road are exempt from the requirements of Section 20.45.060.

c.

A variance to reduce the buffer width may be permitted pursuant to the applicable sections of TCC 20.07.050.

3.

Screening between incompatible uses—Screening shall consist of a thirty foot wide buffer containing the following:

a.

A vegetated buffer of predominantly native and drought tolerant species that will provide a very dense sight barrier and physical buffer to significantly separate conflicting uses and land use districts.

b.

Plant materials and ground cover shall be selected and maintained so that the 30-foot buffer will be fully vegetated within three years.

c.

A combination of trees, shrubs, earthen berms, and related plant materials or design features may be selected, provided that the resultant effect is sight-obscuring from adjoining properties. In addition, fences and walls may be incorporated into the landscaping buffer.

d.

A minimum of one tree per twenty-five linear feet shall be planted. Trees shall be a minimum one inch in caliper measured six inches above the base at the time of planting.

e.

Shrubs must be capable of growing to a minimum of five feet in height, within three years. Shrubs shall be planted on eight foot centers at minimum.

f.

Ground cover shall consist of bark, mulch, native grasses and/or native understory vegetation such as salal, Oregon grape, Sword fern, etc.

4.

The thirty-foot buffer required by this section may be used for the following so long as the design standards of subsection 3 can be met.

a.

Storm water treatment facilities.

b.

Critical area protection.

c.

Required landscaping.

5.

In the event of a conflict between the standards for individual uses and other general requirements of this chapter, the more stringent shall apply. Determination of the appropriate standards shall be made by the department.

(Ord. No. 14439, § 10, 11-16-2010; Ord. No. 15355, 1(Att. A, § YY), 10-18-2016)

1.

Landscaping shall be provided within parking facilities that exceed five thousand square feet; and for the addition of ten or more spaces to an existing parking lot. Parking area landscaping is required in addition to any perimeter landscaping required by this section.

2.

Standards.

a.

An area equal to at least ten percent of the parking area shall be landscaped. Parking area includes all parking stalls, aisles, and entryways.

b.

Parking area landscaping shall be constructed to retain, infiltrate, and cleanse stormwater generated from the parking lot area, wherever feasible.

c.

Interior landscaping strips or islands shall be a minimum width of eight feet in all directions. If interior landscaping includes trees, this minimum width requirement may be increased by the reviewing authority to allow sufficient space for tree survival. The minimum width requirement may be reduced by the reviewing authority if the design allows for sufficient stormwater infiltration.

d.

Landscape areas shall be distributed evenly throughout the parking area; however, clustering of landscaping is permitted to accommodate preservation of existing vegetation or specific design objectives.

e.

Planting areas shall be fully protected by curbs, wheel stops, or other appropriate means to prevent damage to plants from pedestrian or vehicular traffic, except that curbs shall be designed with regular cuts to allow water drainage. Vehicle overhang up to two feet into landscape areas is permitted.

f.

Design of landscaped areas shall consider pedestrian access to the site.

3.

Credits.

a.

The amount of required landscape area may be reduced by up to twenty percent if design of the site emphasizes retention of native vegetation or continuity between landscaped areas, open space, critical areas, and other undisturbed areas for the purpose of wildlife habitat or stormwater management.

b.

The amount of required landscape area may be reduced by up to twenty-five percent if the parking area is surfaced with a minimum of five percent pervious surfaces, in accordance with the Drainage Design and Erosion Control Manual, TCC 15.05.

(Ord. No. 15355, 1(Att. A, § ZZ), 10-18-2016)