Parking lot landscaping

A. Applicability and general requirements.
- (1) Parking lot landscaping required by this section is intended to promote the public health, safety and general welfare by providing minimum requirements for the installation and maintenance of landscaped areas in connection with parking lots and other vehicular use areas; to protect the character and stability of residential, business, institutional and industrial areas; to provide visual relief from expanses of unbroken blacktop and vehicles; and to conserve the value of land and buildings on surrounding properties and neighborhoods.
- (2) Those parking lots as determined applicable under § 260-19B of this article shall comply with the following provisions set forth below in Subsection B. Single-family residential lots are exempted. For the relevant parking lots, a landscaping plan must be submitted which shows the following: a plant list specifying materials and numbers and sizes of plants; location and spacing of plants and ground covers. Additionally, the plan must show property and setback lines, existing and proposed structures, vehicle and pedestrian use areas and the location of proposed land alterations. The plan must also show the name of the person or agency who prepared the plan, and it must be approved by the Planning Director or his/her designee. Landscape installations must be completed within one year of plan approval.
B. Amount of landscaping.
- (1) For parking lots of greater than 10 parking spaces but less than 50, a minimum of 10% of the area designated for parking shall be landscaped per this section.
- (2) For parking lots of 50 or more parking spaces but not exceeding 100 parking spaces, a minimum of 15% of the area designated for parking shall be landscaped per this section.
- (3) For parking lots of greater than 100 parking spaces but less than or equal to 500 parking spaces, a minimum of 20% of the area designated for parking shall be landscaped per this section.
- (4) For parking lots of greater than 500 parking spaces, a minimum of 25% of the area designated for parking shall be landscaped per this section.
- (5) For parking lots of any size located within an RHF Zone, a minimum of 20% of the area designated for parking shall be landscaped per this section.
  [Added 10-26-2004 by Ord. No. 750]
C. Islands.
- (1) Rows of parking spaces shall be provided a terminal island to protect parked vehicles, confine moving traffic to aisles and driveways, and provide space for landscaping.
- (2) There shall be at least one tree planted for each 15 parking stalls. Such islands containing trees shall be at least six feet in width in parking facilities of 100 or fewer parking spaces. In facilities of greater than 100 parking spaces, tree-planted islands shall be at least 12 feet in width and shall also be planted with a minimum of 10 shrubs that will grown between two and four feet in height.
D. Required setbacks/buffers.
- (1) No unenclosed parking area shall be allowed within five feet of a front lot line for lots of less than or equal to 50 parking spaces, within 10 feet of a front lot line for lots greater than 50 but less than 100 parking spaces, and within 25 feet of a front lot line for parking lots with 100 parking spaces or greater; except, however, in the Rocky Hill Fairgrounds (RHF) Zone, no unenclosed parking area shall be allowed within 20 feet of a front lot line that abuts a state or Town roadway.
  [Amended 10-26-2004 by Ord. No. 750; 5-9-2011 by Ord. No. 814]
- (2) Parking lot side and rear setbacks shall meet the minimum setback requirements of Table 2. Setback areas shall serve as buffers between the parking lot and abutting properties and shall consist entirely of planting materials. Opaque fencing may be required to screen abutting properties from the effects of light and noise.
  Editor's Note: Table 2 is attached to this chapter.
E. Tree standards.
- (1) Trees shall be provided within or around all parking facilities at the rate of one tree for each 2,000 square feet of gross paved lot area. Such trees may already exist on the site or may be cultivated and counted toward this requirement.
- (2) At least half of the trees required shall be of a species characterized by moderate growth and expected to reach a mature height of greater than 30 feet.
- (3) When planted, trees shall be a minimum of six feet in height in parking lots containing fewer than 50 parking spaces. In parking lots containing 50 or greater parking spaces, cultivated trees shall be a minimum of 10 feet in height when planted and shall have a trunk diameter of at least two inches at a height of four feet above grade.
- (4) No one species may account for greater than half of all the trees planted within a parking lot.
- (5) The planting standards in Appendix A of Chapter A263, Land Development and Subdivision Review Regulations, including the recommended varieties, shall apply to all projects regulated by this section.
F. Maintenance. All parking plans as required by this article must include a maintenance plan or provisions that ensure compliance with the following:
- (1) All plant growth in landscaped areas shall be controlled by pruning, trimming or other suitable methods so that plant materials do not interfere with public utilities, restrict pedestrian or vehicular access or otherwise constitute a traffic or safety hazard.
- (2) All plantings shall be maintained in a manner so as to promote optimum growth of plant materials.
- (3) All trees, shrubs, ground covers and other plant materials must be replaced if they die or become unhealthy because of accidents, drainage problems, disease or other causes. All such replacements shall conform to all standards that governed the original installation of plantings. Where no such standards exist, new plantings shall match the replaced materials in type, species and quantity.
- (4) All plantings, surfacing, lighting, barriers, markings and other materials shall be repaired or replaced with new materials to ensure continued compliance with the provisions of this article. Failure to maintain these features shall be considered a violation of this chapter and shall be handled in conformance with Article XIII, Procedures for General Administration.
- (5) All planting and maintenance plans as required by this article shall be recorded as a deed restriction on the subject property to ensure the long-term care of plantings.