§ 63.314. Landscaping.

For any parking facility, other than structured parking, landscaping shall be provided to buffer the facility from adjacent properties and from the public right-of-way; reduce the visual glare and heat effects of large expanses of pavement; and provide areas for the retention and absorption of stormwater runoff. All required yards and any underdeveloped space shall be landscaped using materials such as trees, shrubs, sod, groundcover plants, or stormwater landscaping as required in section 63.319, stormwater runoff, and defined in section 60.213.

Any landscaped area shall be planted and maintained in accordance with section 63.115, Landscaping and plant materials. All parking and loading areas (including drive-through facilities, outdoor auto sales and rental, pump island service areas and stacking spaces) adjoining public streets or sidewalks shall provide:

(a)

Perimeter landscape. A landscaped yard at least four (4) feet wide along the public street or sidewalk. If vehicles overhang the yard, an additional three (3) feet of width shall be provided.

(b)

Screening landscape. In all districts except industrial districts, screening shall be provided consisting of a masonry wall or decorative fence (not including chain link) supplemented with landscape material, forming a screen a minimum of three (3) feet in height, a maximum of four and one-half (4½) feet in height not including trees, and not less than fifty (50) percent opaque.

(c)

Interior landscape. Parking facilities with more than twenty (20) parking spaces or six thousand (6,000) square feet of paving, whichever is less, shall provide fifteen (15) square feet of interior landscaped area for every one hundred (100) square feet of paving. Interior landscaping may not substitute for perimeter landscaping, but may join perimeter landscaping as long as it extends at least four (4) feet into the parking area from the perimeter landscape line.

(d)

Tree plantings. A minimum of at least one (1) shade tree shall be planted for every five (5) parking spaces in a surface parking lot. Trees shall be planted within the perimeter landscaping and any required interior landscaping. Each tree shall be planted in landscaped areas or in the center of unpaved tree wells of at least three (3) feet in soil depth and one hundred (100) square feet in area as measured from the interior edge of curbing or paving, with a minimum dimension of four (4) feet wide. A soil volume of greater than five hundred (500) cubic feet per tree with a minimum planting dimension of eight (8) feet is recommended for improved tree health and survival.

(e)

Internal walkways. Parking facilities with more than one hundred twenty-five thousand (125,000) square feet of paved area shall provide internal walkways that divide the parking lot into smaller areas no greater than fifty-five thousand (55,000) square feet. Internal walkways shall be a minimum width of four (4) feet and should connect primary buildings on the site with access to parking areas and the public sidewalk system on adjacent streets. With the exception of walkway/driveway crossings, walkways should be separated from vehicle parking or maneuvering areas by grade, different paving material, or landscaping. Internal sidewalks shall meet the requirements of applicable accessibility standards and other design and construction standards adopted by the city.

(C.F. No. 10-403, § 1, 6-16-10)