§ 10.501. General landscape improvement regulations.

A.

Decomposed granite or similar material around the mature form of a specimen plant, tree canopy, or groups of plants, shall not exceed seven (7) feet in any direction.

B.

Unless otherwise specified herein, all trees shall have a 15-gallon minimum container size; and at least fifty (50) percent must be mature trees. The Development Review Board may require larger trees. In developments where buildings have more than one (1) story, fifty (50) percent of the trees shall meet the following standards:

1.

Palm trees: trunk twelve (12) feet tall;

2.

Single trunk trees: three (3) inch caliper; and

3.

Multiple trunk trees: one and one-half (1½) inch caliper average trunk.

C.

A saguaro or tree meeting the definition of a protected native plant in Chapter 46 of the Scottsdale Revised Code, and subject to relocation under a native plant permit, may be substituted for a tree meeting the standard of subsection B. above.

D.

All plant material utilized for screening of parking, refuse, service and utility areas shall have a minimum five-gallon container size and shall be installed in a pattern with spacing that will provide a continuous screen upon mature size of the plant material.

E.

All shrubs utilized on site shall have a minimum five-gallon container size.

F.

All groundcovers utilized on site shall have a minimum one-gallon container size.

G.

Landscape areas shall be designed and maintained in accordance with the approved landscape plan and the height, location, and sight visibility requirements as set forth in Design Standards & Policies Manual.

H.

Parking lot landscape area and landscape islands.

1.

A landscape area at least five (5) feet deep shall be provided between any parking lot area and any street line.

2.

At least fifteen (15) percent of any parking lot shall be landscape areas. This is in addition to any open space requirement. Taxilane safety areas are exempt from providing landscape area.

a.

If a parking lot contains more than twenty (20) parking spaces, then a minimum of one-third ( 1/3 ) of the required parking lot landscape area shall be in landscape islands distributed within the parking lot area, rather than on the perimeter of the parking lot. These landscape areas shall have a minimum width of seven (7) feet and a minimum area of one hundred twenty (120) square feet. All landscape areas shall be planted, irrigated, and maintained as prescribed herein.

i.

In the Downtown Area, a landscape island shall be required between every ten (10) parking spaces.

ii.

In all other areas of the city, a landscape island shall be required between every fifteen (15) parking spaces.

b.

A landscape area, up to a width of ten (10) feet, which is abutting a parking lot, may be counted toward the required landscape area for a parking lot.

c.

Parking space overhangs, that are permitted in Section 9.106 and subsections therein, shall not be included in the provided landscape area that is calculated for required landscape area of a parking lot.

(Ord. No. 2818, § 1, 10-17-95; Ord. No. 3879, § 1(Exh. § 29), 3-2-10; Ord. No. 3896, § 1(Exh. § 7), 6-8-10; Ord. No. 3920, § 1(Exh. § 121), 11-9-10; Ord. No. 4005, § 1(Res. No. 8947, Exh. A, § 206), 4-3-12; Ord. No. 4099, § 1(Res. No. 9439, Exh. A, § 42), 6-18-13)