[Ord. No. 10702, 2-18-2021]
(a) 
Purpose. The landscaping and buffering requirements as set forth in this section have been established to encourage quality development within the City, to provide a smooth transition between adjoining properties; to screen loading zones, dumpster enclosures, parking lots and other areas; to facilitate the buffering of one land use from other land uses; and to encourage harmonious relationships between buildings.
(b) 
Applicability. The following landscaping requirements apply to all new planting materials within the City of Kirkwood unless specifically listed in § 25-59(a). If existing site landscaping is altered, it shall be replaced with materials in conformance with § 25-58(d).
(c) 
Landscaping plan. All applications submitted to the Planning and Zoning Commission that are subject to § 25-58(b), shall submit a landscaping plan and tree preservation plan (per Chapter 24, Article II) in conjunction with the submittal application. All other applications that are not subject to Planning and Zoning Commission review, yet are subject to § 25-58(b), shall submit a landscape plan and tree preservation plan in conjunction with the administrative site plan review and building permit application.
(d) 
Planting requirements. A list of desirable and undesirable tree species can be found in the document titled "Street Tree Selections for Kirkwood," a copy of which can be obtained from the Department of Public Services. The use and maintenance of native plant materials is encouraged. All new and preserved landscaping materials that are proposed to meet the requirements of this article shall meet the following criteria:
(1) 
Canopy trees: two-inch minimum caliper.
(2) 
Understory trees: one-and-one-half-inch minimum caliper.
(3) 
Evergreen trees: eight feet minimum height.
(4) 
Deciduous and/or evergreen shrubs:
(i) 
Type A: less than 18 inches in height.
(ii) 
Type B: 18 inches to 24 inches in height.
(iii) 
Type C: greater than 18 inches in height.
(5) 
Ground cover. Suitable ground cover shall be provided throughout the site. Ground cover shall be construed to include any combination of low plants that cover the ground: grass, wood chips, bark mulch, crushed stone and similar substances.
(e) 
Irrigation. Automated irrigation systems are required for landscaping in new construction projects. These systems are not required for renovations, additions, or change of use.
(f) 
Continued maintenance. It is the responsibility of the property owner or his/her agent to ensure all trees, plants, ground cover or any other material required by this section or included on the landscape plan, whether on private property or in an abutting right-of-way, shall remain in a healthy and growing condition. Any trees, plants, ground cover or other material or equipment required in this section that does not survive, function properly or is in need of repair shall be replaced within 30 days of its demise or damage, or as otherwise approved by the Director of Public Services due to weather or other conditions that prevent planting.
[Ord. No. 10702, 2-18-2021]
(a) 
Exceptions. The following shall be exempt from the regulations of § 25-59:
(1) 
Infill single-family residential uses and their accessory structures; however, said projects are subject to Chapter 24 of the Municipal Code.
(2) 
Single-family residential uses and their accessory structures that are part of an approved subdivision plat with a landscaping plan.
(b) 
New parking lots and parking lot additions. Landscaping shall be required in new parking lots with seven or more spaces and additions to existing parking lots that add seven or more spaces. This shall include paved areas and access aisles for vehicular movement as follows:
(1) 
Perimeter landscaping.
(i) 
The outside perimeter shall include a landscaped area a minimum 10 feet in width along front lot lines and seven feet in width when adjacent to side or rear property lines that must contain:
a. 
At least one canopy tree per every 40 feet, which may be substituted with one understory tree per every 25 feet where conflicts with overhead utilities exist; and
b. 
At least one Type A or Type B deciduous and/or evergreen shrub per every 10 feet and shall be provided in groupings.
(ii) 
The use of earthen berms is encouraged in addition to live planting material.
(iii) 
Portions of parking lots, paved areas, or access aisles adjacent to a landscaped buffer as required per § 25-60, are not subject to perimeter landscaping as required § 25-59(b)(1), above.
(2) 
Interior landscaping.
(i) 
Curbed islands with a minimum width of seven feet shall be located at the ends of all parking aisles.
a. 
At the ends of a single row of parking, each island shall have a minimum area of 120 square feet and shall contain a minimum of one canopy tree, which may be substituted with one understory tree if conflicts with overhead utilities exist.
b. 
At the ends of a double row of parking, each island shall have a minimum area of 240 square feet and shall contain a minimum of two canopy trees planted at nineteen-foot centers, including appropriate ground cover. Understory trees may be substituted if conflicts with overhead utilities exist.
(ii) 
Parking rows shall be interrupted by an intermediary landscaped island every 20 contiguous side-by-side spaces, with the island meeting the minimum landscape width, area, and tree count as per § 25-59(b)(2).
(iii) 
Open space for the interior of parking lot areas shall be determined by the number of proposed parking spaces as shown in Table 59-1. Said open space requirement shall include all required landscape islands and any nonvehicular area not fulfilling a separate buffer requirement per § 25-60.
Table 59-1
Parking Lot Interior Open Space
Number of Parking Spaces
Required Open Space
(square feet)
Less than 10
200
11 to 20
400
21 to 30
600
31 to 40
800
41 to 50
1,200
51 or more
1,200 plus an additional 100 for each 10 spaces over 50
(c) 
Landscaping for new development. Any portion of a new development site that is not subject to § 25-59(b) or § 25-60 shall be landscaped in conformance with the following:
(1) 
Along all street frontages, there shall be a landscaped area a minimum of seven feet in width that contains at least one canopy tree per every 40 feet of frontage, excluding driveway openings and required sight-distance triangle areas. If conflicts with overhead utilities exist, understory trees may be substituted at one tree per every 25 feet. In the Downtown Master Plan Study Area, trees planted in the right-of-way will count towards this requirement, if approved by the Director of Public Services.
(2) 
Along all required side and rear yards, there shall be a landscaped area a minimum of seven feet in width that contains a minimum of one canopy tree or understory tree every 40 linear feet or a minimum of one canopy tree and one evergreen tree for each 50 feet with evergreen trees clustered in groups of two or more.
(d) 
Building additions. When a building addition is being constructed on a site where the landscaping requirements set forth in § 25-59 are not already met, additional landscaping shall be required for every 100 linear feet of exterior building addition, footprint, or portion thereof. A minimum of two canopy trees, one understory tree, and five Type C shrubs shall be incorporated in the general area of the building addition.
(e) 
Accessory structures and trash enclosures. The following landscaping requirements apply in addition to any requirements set forth in § 25-59 or 25-60:
(1) 
All accessory structures and/or mechanical equipment visible from the right-of-way or a public access aisle shall be required to be landscaped around their respective footprints with a continuous screen of Type C evergreen shrubs.
(2) 
All exterior trash areas shall be enclosed in accordance with § 25-53 and, if visible from the right-of-way or a public access aisle, shall be required to be surrounded by landscaping on three sides consisting of a continuous combination of Type A, B, and C deciduous and/or evergreen shrubs.
[Ord. No. 10702, 2-18-2021; Ord. No. 10936, 2-5-2026]
(a) 
Table 60-1 establishes the buffering standards that apply to all new construction as subject to the applicability standards of this article. Buffering standards are not required for renovations, additions, or change of use.
(b) 
Where buffering is required in accordance with Table 60-1, the buffering shall be required to be installed by the applicant on the property that is subject to the proposed development.
Table 60-1
Buffering Standards
Zoning of Adjacent Development
Zoning of Proposed Development1
R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4, R-MM2
R-5, R-6, R-72
B-1, B-2, B-3, B-4, B-5 or Downtown Master Plan Study Area
R-5, R-6
Type D
R-7
See § 25-34(h)(3)
See § 25-34(h)(3)
See § 25-34(h)(3)
B-1, B-2
Type C
Type C
B-3, B-4, B-5
Type A
Type A
I-1
Type B
Type B
Type C
NOTES:
1
Buffer requirements for the B-4 and B-5 Districts may be modified by City Council as part of the development plan review process in § 25-18.
2
Buffers for B Districts only apply where the rear or side yard of a proposed development abuts a residential zoning district.
(1) 
Type A buffer. A Type A buffer shall include:
(i) 
Sound-mitigating and sightproof wall or fence not less than eight feet in height. The fence shall terminate 10 feet from the street right-of-way line; and
(ii) 
Landscaped buffer 20 feet in width consisting of no less than one deciduous tree every 50 feet, one evergreen tree every 25 feet, and one shrub every 10 feet provided in groupings.
(2) 
Type B buffer. A Type B buffer shall include:
(i) 
Sound-mitigating and sightproof wall or fence not less than six feet in height. The fence shall terminate 10 feet from the street right-of-way line; and
(ii) 
Landscaped buffer 20 feet in width consisting of no less than one deciduous tree every 50 feet, one evergreen tree every 25 feet, and one shrub every 10 feet provided in groupings.
(3) 
Type C buffer. A Type C buffer shall include:
(i) 
Sound-mitigating and sightproof wall or fence not less than six feet in height. The fence shall terminate 10 feet from the street right-of-way line; and
(ii) 
Landscaped buffer 10 feet in width consisting of no less than one deciduous tree every 50 feet, one evergreen tree every 25 feet, and one shrub every 10 feet provided in groupings.
(4) 
Type D buffer. A Type D buffer shall include:
(i) 
Sound-mitigating and sightproof wall or fence not less than six feet in height. The fence shall terminate 10 feet from the street right-of-way line; and
(ii) 
Landscaped buffer seven feet in width consisting of no less than one evergreen tree every 25 feet and one shrub every 10 feet provided in groupings.
[Ord. No. 10702, 2-18-2021]
(a) 
Frontage tree plantings. The subdivider shall plant trees in front of the building line but not within the public right-of-way approximately five to 10 feet from the public right-of-way along all streets in new residential subdivisions that are not located in wooded areas or where existing trees cannot be preserved in the development of the subdivision. The trees shall be provided in a ratio of not less than one tree for each 50 feet of frontage. At street corners, the nearest tree shall be located a minimum of 25 feet from the intersection of the street right-of-way lines. Preserved existing trees that meet the minimum requirements of § 25-58(d) shall be included in the above requirement.
(b) 
Planting screens. Within areas designated on the improvement plan for screen planting, a continuous planting of evergreens and deciduous trees shall be provided consisting of a minimum of one two-inch diameter deciduous tree, two one-and-one-half-inch diameter understory trees, and six feet to eight feet tall evergreens for each 100 feet of such screen.
(c) 
Total tree density requirement for residential subdivisions.
(1) 
The subdivider shall provide new and/or existing trees throughout the subdivision to the average minimum of one tree per 2,000 square feet of site area less street rights-of-way. This excludes frontage trees and screening trees.
(2) 
Trees shall be spaced so that each lot has a minimum tree canopy coverage area of 350 square feet per 1,000 square feet of lot area (35% coverage). The developer shall provide a landscaping plan that locates and identifies by species new and existing trees to be counted as fulfilling the tree requirements. The tree canopy area shall be shown on the final landscaping plans. The canopy for each tree shall be drawn in accordance with the canopy sizes for mature trees shown on the acceptable plant material list available from the City of Kirkwood.
(3) 
Significant existing trees shall be live, healthy trees of a species suitable for the urban environment having a diameter of eight inches or greater, as approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
(4) 
The final improvement plans shall show significant trees designated by the Planning and Zoning Commission to be saved by the subdivider. If a significant tree or trees designated in the final improvement plans to be saved is lost for any reason by the time of the final inspection of the subdivision, the lost tree(s) shall be replaced by trees equal to the number of trees lost and shall meet the requirements of § 25-58(d).
(5) 
The City may require the value of trees to be preserved to be included in the subdivision's performance guarantee. Should these designated saved trees be lost due to willful actions or neglect of the developer, the developer shall provide landscaping and trees in the subdivision to replace those trees that have been removed or forfeit the amount to the general revenue of the City of Kirkwood.
(6) 
If the trees designated to be saved are lost due to the willful actions or neglect of the developer, he shall be in violation of and be subject to the penalties under § 1-8 of the City of Kirkwood Municipal Code. If any significant tree as identified in the tree study to be saved dies, is destroyed, or removed and the developer failed to conform to any special provisions of the subdivision approval ordinance regarding the protection of the trees, his actions shall be considered prima facie evidence of neglect and willful.
(7) 
Where it is determined that removal of significant trees has occurred within two years prior to the filing of the preliminary plat, the Planning and Zoning Commission and/or City Council may require plantings in excess of the above requirements up to 1 1/2 times the number of trees that would otherwise be required.
(8) 
In the center island of a cul-de-sac, ground cover shall be restricted to a maximum height of 30 inches above grade. Trees shall be only of a deciduous type trimmed to provide a minimum clearance to all limbs of six feet above grade.