HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 17-034 Ordinance 17-034
An Ordinance amending the Zoning Ordinance of the City of Brookings and
pertaining to Landscaping Requirements for the purposes of Adminisfiration of
the Zoning Ordinance.
Be It Ordained by the City Council of the City of Brookings, State of South Dakota: that
Chapter 94, Zoning, shall be amended as follows:
Section 1.
Section 94-399 — Landscaping
(a) Purpose and intent. The city recognizes the health, safety, aesthetic, ecological
and economic vaiue of landscaping and screening. The provisions of this section
are intended to:
(1) Add visual interest to open spaces and blank facades;
(2} Soften dominant building mass;
(3) Provide definition for public walkways and open space areas;
(4) Ensure significant tree canopy shading ta reduce glare and heat build-up;
(5) Improve the visual quality and continuity within and between developments;
(6) Provide screening and mitigation of potential conflicts between activity areas
and more passive areas,
(7) Protect and improve property values;
(8) Improve air quality and provide a buffer from air and noise pollution;
(9) Ensure safe and aesthetic treatment of ponding areas;
(10) Enhance the overall aesthetic conditions within the city;
(11) Limit sight line obstructions and drainage conflicts; and
(12) Prevent conflicts with utilities.
(b) Landscape plans.
(1) Except for single family, two family, and property zoned agricultural, airport, or
floodway district, a landscape plan must be submitted:
a. With any application for new development;
b. With any application for additions or modifications to existing deveiopment
that physically impacts existing landscaping or screening; or
c. When changes are made to an existing landscaping or screening p(an on
file with the city.
(2) Landscape plans must be reviewed and approved by the Community ;
Development Department. ;
(3) Landscape plans must include the following information: �
a. Name of project, owner and developer.
�
�
b. Street address of project.
c. Scale (not less than one inch = 30 feet) and north arrow.
d. All existing and proposed property lines.
e. Above and below ground utilities and easements.
f. Locations of existing and proposed buildings and all other structures.
g. Location, iden#ification and sizes of existing trees, shrubs and other
vegetation that are to be retained as part of the landscaping.
h. Location, identification and sizes of new trees, shrubs and other
vegetation to be part of the landscaping.
i. Location, width and height of all earth berms and retaining walls.
j. Soil mix and depth for parking lot islands.
k. Planting schedule.
(c) Landscaping standards.
(1) Soil surface stabilization. All disturbed areas outside of designated planting
beds must be permanently stabilized with an established plant or xeriscaping
soil cover.
(2) Minimum number of trees. Except for single, two family, and agricultural uses,
developments must at a minimum provide the following numbers of trees on
site:
a. One tree for the first 4,000 square feet of surFaced area.
b. One tree for each additional 3,000 square feet of surfaced area.
c. Existing healthy deciduous trees greater than four caliper inches or
existing healthy conifer trees greater than six feet in height and are not
identified on the city's prohibited plant species list (see § 62-161) may be
credited toward the minimum required trees on a site.
(3) Minimum tree size. Each tree shall be balled and burlapped, container grown
or planted by tree spade and shall meet the following minimum requirements
at the time of planting:
a. Deciduous trees must be at least one and one-half caliper inches at
planting;
b. Ornamental trees must be at least one and one-half caliper inches at
planting; and
c. Conifer trees must be at least six feet in height at planting.
(4) Interior parking lot landscaping. The purpose of interior parking lot
landscaping is to improve the appearance of parking lots, provide shade, and
improve stormwater infiltration. All parking lots with 20,000 square feet or
more of surfacing shall be landscaped in accordance with the following
interior parking lot standards.
a. Twenty percent of the trees required in section 94-399(c)(2) shall be
planted in parking lot islands. Parking lot islands are raised or depressed
non-traffic areas often containing landscape plantings in off-street parking
lots, the placement of which is intended to improve safety and an orderly
flow of traffic and to visually break up large expanses of surfacing.
b. A minimum of one deciduous tree must be provided per parking lot island,
with the following exceptions:
1. No trees are required in parking islands used for storm water
management purposes; and
2. No trees are required in parking islands within structured parking
facilities.
c. Parking lot island soils shall be over-excavated and backfilled with 1,000
cubic feet of soils suitable to support tree growth.
(5) Minimum landscape area. An area for landscaping, equivalent to the setback
requirements, kept free of parking, storage, merchandise, or accessory
structures, must be provided around the perimeter of a site with the following
exceptions:
a. Business and industrial uses shall provide a minimum ten foot wide
landscape area along any right-of-way and five feet along a side lot line.
b. Single family and two-family uses may have accessory structures, access
drives, and parking located within the required landscape area provided
not less than 50 percent of the rear yard is maintained in living ground
cover.
c. Walkways, trails, driveways, bus shelters and entrance drives leading to a
parking or loading area may be located within the landscape area.
Walkways abutting driveways shall be clearly delineated and reserved
strictly for pedestrian use.
d. Detention/retention ponds may be located within the minimum landscape
area.
e. Front yards of lots with residential uses shall be devoted entirely to
landscaped area except for the necessary surFacing of driveways and
walkways used to reach parking and loading areas. Walkways abutting
driveways shall be clearly delineated and reserved strictly for pedestrian
use.
(6) Foundation plantings. A minimum planting strip of three (3') feet shall be
installed along all building foundations. Foundation plantings shall consist =
{
primarily of shrubs, perennials, and native grasses.
Exceptions:
a. Building foundations directly abutting a public sidewalk, public plaza, or
other public hardscape feature shall be exempt from the foundation ;
x
plantings. �
�
€
b. Business and industrial uses shall install plantings along foundations
facing a public right-of-way. However, in business and industrial districts,
corner lots may incorporate the total required square footage of foundation
plantings in#o a landscape area adjacent to the building foundation along
the street right-of-way with the highest classification or at the primary
entrance to the building.
c. Single family, two-family, and agricultural uses are exempt from
foundation plantings.
(7) Streetscape. In areas where a district or street specific streetscape plan has
been adopted by the City Council, development must provide landscaping as
set forth in the district or street specific streetscape plan. Streetscape
plantings located within the property lines of the site may be credited toward
the required number of trees and shrubs. Streetscape plantings in the public
right-of-way shall not be credited toward the required number of trees and
shrubs. Landscaping placed or removed in the public right-of-way must
receive City approvals for right-of-way plantings and must conform with City
right-of-way planting policies.
(d) Maintenance.
(1) Material maintenance. The property owner must maintain al1 landscaping and
screening materials shown on the approved landscape plan in a manner
consistent with the intent and purpose of the plan. Approved landscaping and
screening materials that die, become diseased or are significantly damaged
must be replaced at the next appropriate planting period with new materials in
conformance with the approved landscape plan and applicable City Code
standards.
(2) Structure maintenance. Landscaping and screening structures such as fences
and walls must be maintained in good condition, free of graffiti, peeling paint,
decay or warping, must be repaired when needed and replaced periodically to
maintain a structurally sound condition.
(3) Removal. Unless a modified landscape plan is approved, landscaping and
screening materials and structures approved on a landscape plan must not be
removed except when replaced in accordance with this section.
(e) Redevelopment compliance.
(1) Redevelopment or large addition. When either full redevelopment of a site is
proposed or an addition that would increase total floor area on a site by 25
percent or more, a landscape plan for the entire site, demonstrating compliance
with the requirements of this section, must be submitted for approva(.
(2) Small addition. When an addition is proposed that would increase total floor
area on a site by less than 25 percent, but would physically impact existing
landscaping, a modified landscape plan for the portion of the site affected by
the addition, demonstrating compliance with the requirements of this section,
must be submitted for approval.
(3) Constrained sites. The City recognizes that highly constrained redevelopment
sites may have difficulty meeting the landscaping requirements. Given that the
City seeks to encourage rather than impede redevelopment, highly constrained
redevelopment sites may seek relief from the landscape standards through the
pfanned development process. In considering planned development flexibility
to landscape standards, the City shall:
a. Balance the public interest in promoting redevelopment with the public
interest in providing landscaping; and
b. Consider whether reduced landscaping levels are balanced by alternative
methods of providing visual interest to the site including but not limited to
sculpture, public art or higher quality landscaping materials.
Section 2.
Section 94-399, as set forth above, also amends the landscaping requirements
set forth in the density, area, yard and height regulations tables set forth in Sections 94-
126(fl, 94-127(fl, 94-128(fl and 94-130(fl. The foflowing provision, denoted by a single
asterisk (�`), shall replace the current provision and shall be included in each density,
area, yard and height regulation table for Sections 94-126(fl, 94-127(fl, 94-128(fl and
94-130(fl:
* Parking lots shall be screened from single-family and two-family residential uses
according to Section 94-401. '
Section 3. '
Any or all ordinance in conflict herewith are hereby repealed. '
First Reading: December 12, 2017
Second Reading and Adoption: January 9, 2018
Published: January 12, 2018
ClTY OF BROOKINGS
. G� ���
_�.�, ..�,�� . �
,6���aG Q."1p�o'hh Keith W. Corbett, Mayor
<
�. :�'�
��.�� •��
���e•J • ��� �� �,.
t#m�/`�• � K�•��/CN ✓ ' /V, .�i s
� �
�"''� City Cler
Shari Thornes,
�