2647u ORDINANCE NO.2647
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 18.57 OF THE MOSES LAKE MUNICIPAL
CODE ENTITLED "LANDSCAPING"
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MOSES LAKE,WASHINGTON ORDAINS AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Chapter18.57ofthe Moses Lake Municipal Code entitled "Landscaping"isamended as follows:
18.57.020 Applicability
A. Otherthan the exceptions listed in 18.57.020.B,the requirementsof this chapter shall apply
to all of the following:
1.New development
2. Any change inthe use of a property requiring a land use permit
3. Any change inthe use of a property requiring a change of occupancy permit
4. Any addition,remodel,alteration,orrepair ofastructurethatincreasesthe gross floor area
by more than twenty percent (20%)orwhere the cost ofthe addition,remodel,alteration,
orrepairexceeds twenty-five percent(25%)ofthe existingassessedvalueofthe structure.
5. Any expansion of a parking lotby more than ten (10)parking spaces orany construction
withinorreconstruction of existing parking facilities in excess of five hundred (500)square
feet shall require compliance with the parking lot landscaping requirement forthe entire
I J parking lot.
B.Exceptions
1.This chapter does not apply to any use or development in the C-1 or Municipal Airport
Zones,other than new or expanded parking lots.
2. An individual one-or two-family dwelling unit on an individual lot that is not part of a
subdivision or planned developmentdistrictapplication is only required to comply with the
following sections of this chapter:
a.18.57.040.C.1,Residential Front Yard Setbacks
b.18.57.080,Preservation and Care of Significant Trees
c.18.57.090,Maintenance Requirements
d.18.57.100,Prohibited Plants
3.Partially Developed Lots:When only a portionof a lotis being developed,the Community
Development Directormay grantadeferralofthe landscaping requirementsofthis chapter
forthe undeveloped remainder oflot.The request forthe deferral shall be made inwriting
and submitted to the Community Development Department.
18.57.040 Specific Requirements
A. Buffers:When adjacent to the uses listed,the subject property shall provide the type and
I j width oflandscaping listed in the table below along the entire property line between the subject
^-^property and the adjacent use,except for vehicular and pedestrian access points.If abuilding
is located in the buffer area,the landscaping displaced by the building shall be located
elsewhere on the site.Types of landscaping are as described in Section 18.57.050.
SUBJECT PROPERTY USE
ADJACENT
USE
1 & 2 Family
Subdivision
Multi-family Manufactured
Home Park
Commercial/
Institutional
Industrial Public
Park
Freeway or
Highway
Type I
20 feet wide
Type I
20 feet wide
Type I
20 feet wide
Type II
10 feet wide
Type II
10 feet wide
Type II
10 feet
wide
Street
Frontage
Type IV
5 feet wide
12 pts/25'
Type IV
5 feet wide
12 pts/25'
Type IV
5 feet wide
18 pts/25'
Type IV
10 feet wide
18 pts/25'
Type IV
20 feet wide
18 pts/25'
Type IV
5 feet wide
12 pts/25'
1 &2 Family or
vacant land
zoned R-1 or
R-2
Type II
5 feet wide
Type II
10 feet wide
Type II
10 feet wide
Type I
15 feet wide
Multi-family or
vacant land
zoned R-3
Type II
10 feet wide
Type III
5 feet wide
Type II
10 feet wide
Type II
10 feet wide
Type I
15 feet wide
Manufactured
Home Park
Type II
10 feet wide
Type III
5 feet wide
Type II
10 feet wide
Type I
15 feet wide
Commercial/
Institutional or
vacant land
zoned C-1 or
C-2
Type II
10 feet wide
Type II
5 feet wide
Type II
10 feet wide
Type II
10 feet wide
Industrial or
vacant land
zoned l-L
Type II
10 feet wide
Type I
5 feet wide
Type II
10 feet wide
Type II
10 feet wide
Public Park
Parking Areas: Parkingareas shall be landscaped to provide shade and visual reliefwhile
maintaining clear lines of sight.
1.Landscapingshallbe provided within and/oraroundall surface parking lots containing ten
(10)ormore parking stalls,except thatno parking lotlandscaping shallbe required within
industrial zones.Landscaping shall be provided at a rate of twenty (20)square feet per
parking stall.Other required landscaping may not be counted toward this total.At a
minimum, landscaping shall consist of ground cover and shade trees with a minimum
mature canopy spread of fifteen feet (15').See Section 18.57.055 forrequiredlandscape
points for parking lots.
2. The minimum area per plantershallbe one hundred (100)square feet.
3. Landscaped areas shallbe distributedaroundand/orthroughoutthe parking lotso thatthe
maximum distance between the trunk of shade tree and any parking stall shall be no more
than fifty feet (50').Shade trees used to meetthisrequirement are notrequiredto be those
specifically included inthe parkinglot landscaping.
4.Parking lots:two (2) points per required parking space +one (1) pointforeach parking
space provided in addition to required spaces.
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II 5.Permanentcurbs orstructuralbarriersshallbe providedto protectthe landscape plantings
^—^from vehicle overhang.
6.Trees shallbe plantedat least fourfeet (4')fromthe outside edge of the planting area.
7.No plant material greater thantwelve inches(12")in height shall be located within twofeet
(2')of the edge of a landscaped area adjacent to a parking stall.
8.Required parking lotplanter areasshall beinaddition toanyrequired front,side,and rear
yard buffer requirements.
9. The requirements of this section shall not apply to parking garages or parking decks, or
displayareas for automotive and equipment sales and rentals.
C.Residential Landscaping
1.Front Yard:The required front yard and exterior side yard of all one (1)andtwo(2)family
residential uses shallbelandscaped within one (1)yearofoccupancy and maintained.For
the purposes of this section,landscaping shall be defined as the addition of decorative
rock,bark,groundcover,lawn,trees,plants,shrubs, and other natural and decorative
features.At least fifty percent (50%)of the front and exterior side yard area shall be
landscaped.Driveways and parking areas maybe locatedinthe remaining areathatisnot
required to be landscaped.
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2.Multi-family Structures:Multi-family residential uses shall also landscape the required
open space areas so that they are usable foroutdoor recreation.
3.Manufactured Home Parks:All areas within the boundaries of the manufactured home
park shall be landscaped. All lawns, trees, landscaping, occupied and unoccupied
manufactured home spaces,recreation areas, and open space areas shall be continually
maintained.A permanent irrigation system shall be installed and maintained for planted
common areas.
4.Planter strips:Street frontage planter strips between the curb and sidewalk shall be
landscaped with Type IV landscaping consisting of a minimum of twelve (12) points per
twenty-five feet (25')of frontage. Timing of landscape installation shall be as follows:
a. For newsubdivisions,planter strip landscaping shall be installed or bonded for before
a Certificate of Occupancy is issued forthe house on the lotabutting the planterstrip.
b. Fornew planterstripsbuiltinexisting developed areas, planterstriplandscapingshall
be installed withinone year of completion of the planterstrip.
c.For areas withexisting planterstrips,planterstriplandscapingshallbe installed within
one (1)year of the adoption of this ordinance.
D.Building Facade Landscaping:To ensure that wall facades are visually interesting when
viewed from surrounding streetsand buildings,blank building facades morethan twenty feet
(20')in height orfifty feet(50')in width orlength shall be landscaped with Type III landscaping
to provide visual relief and softentheeffectofthe new building onthe surrounding area.
1.Blank facades are defined asthosewhich donot add tothe character ofthe streetscape
anddo not contain transparent windows or sufficient ornamental features,decorations,
artwork,articulation,high quality building materials (such as brick),or other architectural
I)features.
2. Exceptions: Buildings inindustrialzones are not required to screen blank facades.In all
otherzones,blank facadesthatarewithin twentyfeet(20')ofanotherbuilding orwhich are
otherwise not visible to the general publicare not required to be screened.
18.57.055 Landscape PointValues:
A.Applicant mayuse any combination of planting materials tomeet the requirements ofthis
section. Points are assigned based on the following:
Type of Plant
Material
Mature Height Minimum Size (at time of planting)Point Value
Deciduous Trees
(in caliper inches)
Evergreen Trees (infeet
of height)
Large Tree >60ft 8-inch or greater 22 ft and over 115
>60ft 7-inch 19-21ft.100
>60ft 6-inch 16-18 ft.90
>60ft 5-inch 13-15 ft.80
>60ft 4-inch 11-12 ft.65
>60ft 3-inch 9-10 ft.55
>60ft 1.5-2-inch 7-8ft 35
Medium Tree 25 ft to 60 ft 3-inch 7-8 ft 40
Medium Tree 25 ft to 60 ft 2-inch 7-8ft 30
Medium Tree 25 ft to 60 ft 1.5 -inch 5-6 ft 20
Small Tree <25ft Single Trunk 1.5
inch caliper
5-6ft 15
Ornamental Tree varies Multiple trunk
(minimum 3 trunks):
smallest trunk 1.5
inch caliper
5-6ft 10
Large Shrub >6ft 24 -inch height at planting 9
Medium Shrub 3 ft to 6 ft 12-inch height at planting 6
Small Shrub Oft 8-inch height at planting 4
Ornamental
Grasses
varies 1 gallon same as
shrub of
same
mature
height
Groundcover < 1 ft,excluding
flowers on tall
stalks
1 gallon V*
Existing Trees varies Greater than 3"caliper See "Large
Tree"in this
table
Landscaped
Berm
30" height;10-foot length; 3:1 slope 1 per 5
lineal feet
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Type of Plant
Material
Mature Height Minimum Size (at time of planting)Point Value
Deciduous Trees
(in caliper inches)
Evergreen Trees (infeet
of height)
TurfGrass n/a n/a 1/4 per
square yard
Note: Points willbe based on the size of the mature tree or shrub. For example,a small species
ofshrubinathree(3)gallon potatthetimeof planting will notbegiven points as amedium shrub,
it remains a small shrub. The Community Development Department will maintain a list of
commonly-planted speciesandthe size per theabovechart.For species notincluded in the list,
matureheight shall beas shown in a standard published source. Where a range ofsizes is given
in the source,points for the larger size may be claimed,provided the correct minimum size is
planted for the points claimed.
B.An additional ten percent (10%)inthe number of points shall be required adjacentto the
following aesthetic corridors:
1.West Broadway from I-90to its intersection with DivisionStreet
2. East Broadwayfrom itsintersectionwithDivision Street towhere itjoinswithPioneerWay
3. Pioneer Way from where itjoins with East Broadwayto its intersection with Highway 17
C. Points for required buffers shall be in addition to the Site Points and Parking Lot Points
required in this section.
D. A maximum of twenty-five percent (25%) of required landscape points may be claimed within
street right-of-way.
E. A minimum of sixty percent (60%) of points shall be used for landscaping in the front and side
yards.
F. A maximum of twenty-five percent (25%) of required points may be used forturf grass. Turf
grass within street right-of-way does not earn any points.
G. DroughtTolerant Landscaping. Landscaping areas that meet the criteria listed below may
have the pointsrequired for that area reduced by thirty percent (40%). To qualifyas drought
tolerant,the following must be incorporated:
1.An approved drip irrigation system
2. Low volume - low pressure - low flow distribution
3. Drought tolerant plant selection
4.Use of mulches
18.57.070 Approval of Landscape Plan and Installation of Landscaping
A.After receipt ofacomplete landscape plan,all development applications shall bereviewed by
the Community Development Department for compliance with this chapter concurrently with
and asa part of the review process ofthe principal use or structure and prior to issuance of
anygrading,building,orland use permit orapproval except subdivisions.
B.
C.
For residential major plats and residential short plats,required landscaping shall be installed
at the time each lot is developed,and no Certificate of Occupancy for the building shall be
issued untilthe landscaping for that lotis installed or bonded for,as specified in 18.57.070.C.
No Certificate of Occupancy,or final inspection approval if no Certificate of Occupancy is
required,shall be issued until one of the following occur:
1.The required landscaping is installed.
2. A bond or some other form of cash surety acceptable to the city is submitted at a value of
one hundred twenty percent (120%) of the estimated cost to complete the landscaping
according to the approved landscape plan. Upon completion ofthe landscape installation,
the city shall promptly release the surety.If the required landscaping improvements are
not made within six (6)months of occupancy of the building,the city may use the surety
to install the landscaping.
D. For existing developed sites,ifthe width of a buffer is not met but the entire points for the
project are met,staff can approve the alteration.
Adopted by the CityCouncil and signed byits Deputy Mayoron April 10, 2012
'£&S**L
Dick Deane,Deputy Mayor
ATTEST:
W.Robert Tayl
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Ka(he}rine L.Kenison,Clty'Attorney
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