§ 9.301. PARKING LOT LANDSCAPING

A.

Applicability. The provisions of this Section shall apply to parking lot areas providing unenclosed, off-street parking, and loading spaces for 10 or more vehicles for residential uses; two or more vehicles for nonresidential uses and mixed-use developments; and for all vehicle washes, fueling stations, and all drive-in or drive-through establishments.

1.

Excluded Areas. All parking or loading areas (not including Parking Lots, Commercial Surface Parking Areas) located within Light Industrial (LI) or Heavy Industrial (HI) Districts, which are not, in whole or in part, within 600 feet of the rights-of-way of Seawolf Parkway, Broadway Boulevard, Harborside Drive, or FM 3005 or within 300 feet of the property line of a residential use, a mixed-use development that includes residential use, or a residential zoning district boundary, measured as a radius from such a parking or loading area, shall not be required to install interior parking lot landscaping.

B.

Rights-of-Way Screening. Visual screening, adequate to screen parked vehicles, shall be provided between any parking or loading areas and any street rights-of-way abutting the site. Rights-of-way screening shall consist of:

1.

Minimum width. 4 feet.

2.

Required Elements. Shrubs, hedges and trees. See Table 9.302 for size and spacing requirements.

3.

Fence location. Any fencing shall be installed on the interior edge of the rights-of-way screening.

4.

Planter Boxes. The use of planter boxes shall constitute compliance with the Article only in cases of the provision of rights-of-way screening for existing parking lots.

C.

Interior Landscaping. The following interior landscaping is required for all parking lots with 10,000 square feet or more of surface area, and commercial surface parking lots not incidental to main use, irrespective of size:

1.

Landscape Islands. Interior parking lot landscaping shall be designed so that no parking space is located more than five spaces away from a landscape island that consists of:

a.

Minimum width: 8 feet.

b.

Minimum square footage: 200 square feet at a depth of 3 feet = 600 cubic feet.

c.

Required Elements: Permeable surface of ground cover or grasses and minimum of one tree in accordance with SEC 9.201.

2.

Parking "Rooms." Any parking lot with more than 50 spaces shall be designed to create parking "rooms" separated by a landscaped median that consists of:

a.

Minimum width: 8 feet

b.

Minimum spaces per room: 10 spaces

c.

Required Elements: Permeable surface of ground cover or grasses and trees. See Table 9.302 for size and spacing requirements.

D.

Visual Screening from Residential Uses or Districts. When any non-residential lot, tract, or parcel of land is located adjacent to an area used or zoned for residential purposes, visual screening shall be installed and maintained between the parking or loading areas and driveways, and the residential use or zoning district. The visual screening landscape strip shall consist of:

1.

Visual Screening Landscape Strip.

a.

Minimum width: 4 feet

b.

Required Elements: Solid fencing or hedges with a minimum fence height of 5 feet with hedges reaching the same height and providing a year-round visual obstruction within two years of planting.

E.

Protection of Landscaping Areas. All landscaping areas shall be protected from vehicular encroachment by the use of curbing or wheel stops.

1.

Alternative Design for Drainage. Curb lines may be interrupted to allow for storm water flows into biological treatment areas pursuant to an approved drainage plan, provided that the curb openings do not interfere with the curb's protective function.

( Ord. No. 18-037, § 2, 6-21-18 )