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O-87-2290 - 6/11/1987ORDINANCE NO. 2290 AN ORDINANCE REPEALING ORDINANCES NO. 2011 AND 2188 AND AMENDING CHAPTER 3, CODE OF ORDINANCES, CITY OF ROUND ROCK, TEXAS, BY ADDING SECTION 10. LANDSCAPING REQUIREMENTS DEFINING CERTAIN TERMS; PROVIDING THE PROPERTY TO WHICH THE REQUIREMENTS APPLY; PROVIDING FOR A SITE PLAN; ESTABLISHING REQUIREMENTS; PROVIDING FOR CREDITS; PROVIDING FOR INSPECTIONS; PROVIDING A SAVINGS CLAUSE AND REPEALING CONFLICTING ORDINANCES; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, in order to provide for the orderly, safe and healthful development of land located within the corporate limits of the City of Round Rock, Texas, and to promote the health, safety and general welfare of the community, it is deemed necessary to establish requirements for the installation and maintenance of landscaping elements and other means of site improvements in off-street parking areas and other developed properties; and, WHEREAS, the regulations contained herein are necessary to enhance the community's ecological, environmental and aesthetic qualities; and WHEREAS, paved surfaces, automobiles, buildings and other improvements all produce great increases in air temperatures, a problem especially noticeable in this southern region, but plants have the opposite effect through transpiration and the creation of shade; and, WHEREAS, the City Council declares the purposes and intent of this Ordinance to be as follows: (1) To ensure that local stock of native trees and vegetation is replenished; (2) To assist in providing adequate light and air and in preventing overcrowding of land; (3) To provide visual buffering and enhance the beautification of the City; (4) To safeguard and enhance property values and to protect public and private investment; (5) To preserve and protect the unique identity and environment of the City of Round Rock and preserve the economic base attracted to the City of Round Rock by such factors; and (6) To protect the public health, safety and general welfare; Now Therefore BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROUND ROCK, TEXAS, 1 That ordinances No. 2011 and 2188 are hereby repealed in their entirety. 11. That Chapter 3 of the Code of Ordinances, City of Round Rock, Texas is hereby amended by adding a section, to be numbered Section 10, which said section shall read as follows: SECTION 10. LANDSCAPING REQUIREMENTS A. DEFINITIONS (1) Buffering. The use of landscaping (other than mere grass on flat terrain), either alone or in conjunction with berms, walls or decorative fences that at least partially and periodically obstruct the view from the street, in a continuous manner, of vehicular use areas, parking lots and their parked cars, and detention ponds. 7477 (2) Caliper The diameter of a tree measured twelve inches (12") above ground when planted. (3) Dripline The periphery of the area underneath a tree which would be encompassed by perpendicular lines dropped from the farthest edges of the crown of the tree. (4) (5) (6) Landscaped Area. The area within the boundaries of a given lot or where applicable, the adjoining street right-of-way, which is devoted to and consists of plant material, including but not limited to grass, trees, shrubs, flowers, vines and other groundcover, native plant materials, planters, brick, stone, natural forms, water forms, aggregate and other landscape features, but not including the use of smooth concrete or asphalt; provided, however, that the use of brick, stone, aggregate or other inorganic materials shall not exceed 20% of the required landscaped area. Pervious The ability of a substance to allow the passage of water. Pervious pavers shall be considered as pervious cover. Street Yard. The area of a lot which lies between the street right-of-way and the actual front wall line of the building, as such building wall line extends from the outward corners of the building, parallel to the street, until such imaginary extensions of such front building wall line intersects the side property lines. In determining the actual building wall of the building for the purposes of this Section, steps and unenclosed porches shall be excluded, but such building wall line shall follow and include the irregular indentions of the building. A front building wall is a building wall fronting on a street. On corner lots, the street yard shall consist of all the area of such lot between all abutting street right-of-way lines and their corresponding actual front building wall lines, as such lines are imaginarily extended in the manner provided above. When there are multiple buildings on a lot, the street yard shall consist of all the area of the lot between the street right-of-way line(s) and an imaginary line beginning at one side of the property line, running parallel to the street, connecting to the frontmost corner of the building (7) (8) (9) (10) B. APPLICATION wall fronting the street and nearest such side property line, then following and connecting the frontmost walls of all buildings fronting on the street, and then extending to the other side property line, running parallel to the street. If a building has a rounded front, the front building wall corners shall be the points closest to the side boundaries. Provided, that isolated buildings (e.g. photo processing dropoffs, bank drive-throughs, etc) shall not be considered in delineating the street yard. Notwithstanding all of the foregoing, on land used only for parking purposes or only as a commercial or private parking lot, the street yard shall consist of the area between the street right-of- way line and the back property line. Tree. A woody plant having one well defined stem or trunk and a more or less definitely formed crown, and usually attaining a mature height of at lease eight feet (8'). Protected Tree: A protected tree is a tree having a circumference of twenty five (25") inches or greater measured four and one half (4 1/2') feet above natural grade level, and being included in the the following list: American Elm, Cedar Elm, Pecan, Cottonwood, Sycamore, and all varieties of Oak. Removal: Removal as applied to protected trees means uprooting, severing the main trunk of the tree or any act which causes, or may reasonably be expected to cause the tree to die, including but not limited to, damage inflicted upon the root system by machinery, storage of materials, or soil compaction; substantially changing the natural grade above the root system or around the trunk; excessive pruning; or paving with concrete or asphalt within the dripline, or other impervious materials in a manner which may reasonably be expected to kill the tree. Owner: legal agent, behalf to do so Owner shall mean the person who has title to the property or a leasee, employee or other person acting on of the titleholder with authorization (1) Except as otherwise provided, the of this section shall apply to all of Round Rock. Such landscaping applicable as to each individual lot at the time application for a building permit on such lot is landscaping requirements land located in the City requirements shall become any made. (2) A common development which includes more than one lot shall be treated as one lot for the purposes of satisfying the landscaping requirements of this Section. Split ownership, planning in phases, construction in stages, and/or multiple building permits for a project shall not prevent it from being a common development as referred to above. Each phase of a phased project shall comply with the requirements of this Section. (3) The requirements of this Section shall not apply to the following: (a) Building permits for single-family residences where only one such structure is constructed per lot. (b) Building permits for the substantial restoration of a building constructed prior to the adoption of this ordinance, issued within a period of 12 months after the building has been damaged by fire, explosion, flood, tornado, riot, act of the public enemy, or accident of any kind. (c) Building permits for land in the Central Business District. For the purposes of this Section, the Central Business District shall be described as Lots 11-19 of Blocks 21 and 22 Original Town Plat. (d) Building permits issued prior to the effective date of this Ordinance. (4) The provisions of this Section shall be subordinate to the provisions of this Code pertaining to traffic and pedestrian safety. C. SITE PLAN (1) When an application is made for a building permit on any land where the landscaping requirements of this Section are applicable, such building permit application shall be accompanied by a site plan containing the information listed in subsections (a) through (i) below. Incomplete applications will not be accepted. (a) The date, scale, north point, title and name of owner. (b) The location of existing boundary lines and dimensions of the tract. (c) The approximate center line of existing water courses; the approximate location of significant drainage features; and the location and size of existing and proposed streets and alleys, existing and proposed easements on or adjacent to the lot, and existing and proposed sidewalks adjacent to the street. (d) The location, size, and type (tree or shrub, groundcover, or grass) of proposed landscaping in proposed landscaped areas; and the location and size of proposed landscaped areas. (e) The location and species of existing trees having trunks eight inches (8") caliper or larger and the approximate size of their crowns. (f) Information necessay for verifying whether the required minimum percent of landscaped area has been met under Section D. REQUIREMENTS as applicable and whether a particular area qualifies for 200% credit under Section E. CREDITS hereof. (g) An indication of how the applicant plans to protect the existing trees, which are proposed to be retained, from damage during construction. (h) The proposed irrigatopm system as required by Section D. REQUIREMENTS. (i) The certification of an architect, landscape architect, engineer, or the certification of a licensed nurseryman that the plans satisfy the requirements of this ordinance. Provided, however, that for a common development or project as referred to in subsection C.2 above, which is greater than two (2) acres in size, such plans and certification shall be made by an architect or landscape architect only. D. REQUIREMENTS (1) On all land to which this section applies, at least 20% of the street yard shall be landscaped. On all lots having a street yard of 10,000 square feet or less, up to one half of this requirement may be placed in the non -paved street right-of-way abutting the lot. On all lots having a street yard in excess of 10,000 square feet, up to one-fourth of this requirement may be placed in the non -paved street right-of-way abutting the lot. However, no existing or newly planted trees in the right-of-way shall be counted toward the satisfaction of the requirements set forth in paragraph D. (3) below. (2) In order to utilize the right-of-way as provided in D.(1) above, said right-of-way must be landscaped. Provided however, all landscaping in the right-of-way shall be subject to the following requirements: (a) The City may at any time require such landscaping to be removed and the City shall not be held responsible or liable for any damages due to such removal. (b) A11 such landscaping shall be in compliance with all provisions of this Code pertaining to traffic and pedestrian safety. (c) No planters or other permanent structures may be placed within the right-of-way. (d) The owner of the lot shall be responsible for maintaining the landscaping located within the right-of-way. (e) In the event that any other governmental entity is trustee of the public right-of-way at the particular location in question, permission for installation of the landscaping must be obtained from the entity involved. (3) All newly planted trees shall be planted in a pervious area no less than 3 feet wide in any direction. In the street yard, at least one tree of at least 1 1/2 inch caliper (either existing or planted) shall be included and replaced as necessary to maintain the following minimum ratios: (a) In street yards up to 10,000 square feet, 1 tree per 1,000 square feet, or fraction thereof, of street yard. (b) In street yards between 10,000 and 110,000 square feet, 1 tree per 2,500 square feet, or fraction thereof, of street yard area over 10,000 square feet is added to the requirement of 10 trees. (c) In street yards over 110,000 square feet, 1 tree per 5,000 square feet, or fraction thereof, of street yard area over 110,000 square feet, is added to the requirement of 50 trees. (4) (a) Vehicular use areas, parking areas, parking lots and their parked vehicles shall have effective buffering from the street view. If these areas are buffered by plant material in lieu of a berm or wall, the plant material must be no more than 36 inches on center when installed and plant size shall be a minimum of 2 gallon. (b) In all vehicular use areas and parking areas of a street yard, a minimum of 90 square feet for each 12 parking spaces shall be devoted to landscaped islands, peninsulas, or medians. There shall be no requirement for such landscaped areas in a non - street yard. (c) The number, size, and shape of required islands, peninsulas, and medians in both street yards shall be at the discretion of the owner. However, no parking space shall be located further than 50 feet from a tree in a pervious landscaped island, peninsulas and medians required in the areas stated above,shall be more or less evenly distributed throughout such parking areas, respectively; however, the distribution and location of landscaped islands, peninsulas, and medians may be adjusted to accomodate existing trees or other natural features so long as the total area requirement for landscaped islands, peninsulas, and medians for the respective parking areas above is satisfied. (d) Only landscaped islands, peninsulas, and medians in the street yard shall count toward fulfilling the requirements of this section. (e) Except for landscaping in right-of-ways all landscaping which is in required landscaped areas and which is adjacent to pavements shall be protected with concrete curbs or equivalent barriers such as car bumpers or railroad ties. (5) The existing natural landscape character (especially native oaks, elms, and pecan trees) shall be preserved to the extent reasonable and feasible. For example, in an area of the street yard containing a stand of trees,. the developer shall use best good faith efforts to preserve such trees. Indiscriminate clearing or stripping of the natural vegetation on a lot is prohibited. (6) Landscaping shall not obstruct the view between the street and access drives and parking aisles near the street yard entries and exits, nor shall any landscaping which creates an obstruction of view be located in the radius of any curb return. (7) All required landscaping shall be irrigated by one of the following methods: (a) A sprinkling system. (b) A srip irrigation system, or (c) A hose attachment within 100 feet of all landscaping, provided however, a hose attachment within 200 feet of all landscaping in non -street yards shall be sufficient. (8) Required landscaped areas shall be maintained free of debris and litter. Landscaping that has died shall be replaced at the minimum standards required herein. E. CREDITS (a) Each square foot of pervious landscaped area within the dripline of a tree at least 4 inches caliper, shall count as 2.0 square feet of landscaped area for the purposes of satisfying Section D REQUIREMENTS. (b) In order to encourage growth of trees between 4 and 8 inches caliper, such trees may receive special credit for twice the area of the dripline, provided that the increased credit area contiguous to the dripline is pervious. (c) Any existing tree which is at least 8 inches caliper or at least 6 inches caliper and at least 15 feet tall, shall be considered as two trees for the purposes of satisfying Section D. REQUIREMENTS. Celtis Occidentalis (Hackberry), Juniperus Virginiana and Juniperus Ashei (Common Cedar) are excluded from this credit. (d) The following conditions shall not be eligible for the 200% credit: (i) Overlapping dripline areas, (ii) Dripline areas with less than 50% pervious cover, and (iii) Dripline areas that have had damaging changes in the original grade. Changes in grade required by City ordinances such as sidewalks, curbing, driveway approaches, etc. shall note be considered as damaging changes. (e) In no case shall the actual landscaped area in the street yard be less than 50% of the required minimum percentages, as applicable under Section D. REQUIREMENTS. F. INSPECTION (1) An inspection fee of $.05 per square foot for the required landscaped area shall be colelcted by the Building Inspection Department at the time of application for a building permit. In no case shall] the fee exceed $300.00 or be less than $25.00. This fee shall be calculated without regard to any credits to which the applicant may be entitled. (2) The Building Inspection Department shall inspect each site prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy. If the required landscaping is not yet in place, the developer/owner shall make fiscal arrangements (by bond, certificate of deposit, orletter of credit) satisfactory to the City in the amount of two dollars per square foot of required landscaping not in place to ensure that such required landscaping shall be installed. Any developer/owner wishing to make such fiscal arrangements must also grant license to the City of enter upon the land for the purposes of installing the required landscaping in the event that such landscapinnng is not in place at the time of the inspection required by the preceding subsection. Such fiscal arrangements shall be released if the required landscaping is in place at the time of such inspection. Compliance with this ordinance must be met within nine months of the issuance of the certificate of occupancy. G. Protected Trees: 1.) No person or corporation shall remove or cause removal of any protected tree without first securing the permission of the Director of Planning and Community Development or his duly appointed representative. 2.) When an application is made for a building permit on any land where the landscaping requirements of this section are applicable, a site plan depicting the actual or schematic locations of such existing trees as would be protected by this section shall be shown. Planning Department approval of the site plan identifying all protected trees to be removed shall constitute permission to remove any protected tree indicated on the site plan as being removed by the approved development. 3.) The application for the removal of a protected tree as described by this section shall be made by the owner of property on which such tree is located, and shall be accompanied by the following: a.) The approximate location of the tree. b.) The circumference of the tree, as measured four and one half feet 4 1/2' above the natural grade. c.) The approximate crown size of the tree. d.) The species and/or common name of the tree. e.) The approximate size of the lot, tract or parcel on which the tree is located. f.) The reason for the proposed removal. g.) Such other information as may be reasonably required by the Planning Department. 4. Upon receipt of an application for permission to remove a protected tree, the Planning Department shall promptly inspect the subject tree and issue or deny the application in accordance with the provisions of this section. As application is automatically granted ten (10) working days after application therefore, it not denied during such interval. 5. If a protected tree removal application is denied, the applicant therefore may repeal such action to the Development Review Board by filing written notice of such appeal with the Director of Planning and Community Development within ten (10) days of notice to such applicant of the denial of the application by the Planning Department. The board shall have forty-five (45) days from the date of appeal to review said denial. The board may affirm or reverse the determination of Planning Department. If the board fails to act within forty-five days the appeal shall be automatically granted and permission shall be issued per the original application. 6. Protected trees removed shall be replaced by trees from the list contained herein with at least the same circumference inches of the tree(s) removed. The replacement of removed tree (s) shall not count toward the number of trees to be planted as a requirement of other provisions of this section. Replacement trees shall have a minimum caliper size of six inches (6") at the time of planting except where smaller caliper size is approved in writing by the Director of planning. 7. Protected trees retained on the site shall be protected by providing a pervious surface treatment under such trees equal to the area covered by the trees canope and aeriation if grade changes affect survival of the tree. H. VIOLATION OF ANY PROVISIONS OF CHAPTER Violation of any provision or provisions of this Chapter by any owner shall constitute a misdemeanor and upon conviction of such violation in Court of the City of Round Rock, shall be punishable as per Chapter 1, Section 5 of this Code of Ordinances. I. OTHER LEGAL REMEDIES No conviction or convictions under the penal provision of this Chapter, or Article 427B, Texas Penal Code, shall ever be considered as any bar to any injunctive or other legal remedy, relief, right or power existing in the City of Round Rock, Texas, to enforce the application and provisions of this Chapter by virtue of the Constitution and laws of the State of Texas. A. The invalidity of any section or provision of this ordinance shall not invalidate other sections or provisions thereof. B. All ordinances, parts of ordinances, or resolutions in conflict herewith are expressly repealed. READ and APPROVED on first reading this the day of 19 17AD, APPWVED and ADOPTED on second reading this the 1Liti , 19r/ . EST: 10 ei/MYLU 1;F -rine Land, City Secretary MIKE ROBINSON, Mayor City of Round Rock, Texas y of 8 " / NURSERS PROTECTED $'s'oc K DATE: June 9, 1987 SUBJECT: Council Agenda, June 11, 1987 ITEM: 11B - Consider an ordinance revising the Landscape Ordinance. (Second Reading) The attached Ordinance combines Ordinances 2011 and 2188. A summary of the changes is as follows: 1.) The measurement of caliper size for nursery stock has been changed from 6" to 12" to reflect industry standards. Section 10.A.(2). 2.) The protected tree circumference has been reduced from 50" (16" diameter) to 25" (8" diameter). Section 10.A.(8). 3.) The caliper measurement of a protected tree has been changed from 6" to 41/2 feet above grade to reflect industry standards. Section 10.A.(8). 4.) The landscaping requirements have been changed to include duplexes. Section 10.B.(3)(a). 5.) Plant material used for screening parking areas shall use a minimum two gallon plant at installation. No minimum was previously specified. Section 10.D.(4)(a). 6.) Replacement of protected trees shall have a minimum caliper of 6" unless otherwise approved by the Director of Planning. No minimum was previously specified. Section 10.G.6.