The following criteria are used to evaluate any proposed Landscape Plan:
(A) 
Landscaping must:
(1) 
Enhance community appearance, identity, and unique natural beauty;
(2) 
Reduce the reliance on irrigation, thus conserving the public water supply;
(3) 
Shade seating, walking, and outdoor activity areas;
(4) 
Provide a barrier between vehicles and pedestrians;
(5) 
Protect and enhance property values;
(6) 
Delineate safe walking paths while avoiding barriers;
(7) 
Diminish the intrusion of headlights and other glare;
(8) 
Provide a natural habitat for birds and other wildlife;
(9) 
Aid in the abatement of noise, glare, heat and dust; shield buildings from winter wind and summer sun thereby conserving energy;
(10) 
Reduce land use conflicts and visual impact by screening certain site features of activity and storage; and
(11) 
Accommodate water quality goals and impede stormwater runoff.
(B) 
The landscape design must have a variety of species, and a variety of color throughout the seasons.
(1) 
Landscape design must preserve and incorporate existing trees whenever possible.
(2) 
Landscape design must define spaces including entrance areas, pedestrian paths, vehicular avenues, parking areas, and sitting areas.
(3) 
Landscape design must avoid the creation of pedestrian and visual barriers that hinder accessibility and social interaction, and that compromise safety.
(4) 
Indigenous landscape materials must be selected whenever feasible.
(5) 
When appropriate, drought resistant plants must be selected to conserve water.
(Ordinance 6773 adopted 5/19/15)
(A) 
Full Compliance.
A site must comply with the provisions of this Article 3 if any one or more of the following is proposed:
(1) 
The construction of a building or structure on an undeveloped site.
(2) 
The demolition and reconstruction of fifty percent or more of a single building or structure’s existing square footage prior to demolition.
(3) 
The conversion of an existing residential structure to a nonresidential structure.
(4) 
The expansion of the size of a single structure or building footprint, or the aggregate footprint of multiple new buildings, by thirty percent or greater. If the size of a single structure or building footprint, or the aggregate footprint of multiple buildings, on a single site equals or exceeds one hundred thousand square feet of floor area, an expansion of twenty percent or greater requires full compliance with requirements of this Article 3.
(5) 
The expansion of a parking lot that increases the aggregate parking area by more than fifty percent of the original size of the parking area, in which case the entire parking area must meet the screening and landscaping standards set forth in Article 3, Division 4 of Chapter 4 of this GDC unless otherwise approved using the alternative compliance process outlined in Article 1, Division 2 of this Chapter 4.
(B) 
Partial Compliance.
A site must comply with the screening and landscaping provisions if the following features are added to, altered, or expanded on a site which:
(1) 
increases the size or scale of a loading area and its related maneuvering area(s) unless fully hidden from public view (such as in an interior service court or behind a building);
(2) 
expands a parking lot in a manner which increases the aggregate parking area by fifty percent or less of the existing size of the parking area, in which case only the new portion shall meet the screening and landscaping standards set forth in Sections 4.44 and 4.34(B), respectively, unless otherwise approved using the alternative compliance process outlined in Article 1, Division 2 of this Chapter 4;
(3) 
increases the size or alters the layout of any outside storage area;
(4) 
provides additional refuse storage containers or alters the locations of existing containers;
(5) 
adds any ground- or wall-mounted equipment; or
(6) 
constructs a new parking area when the parking area has frontage along a public street or public access easement.
(C) 
Exemptions.
The following uses and properties are exempt from the requirements of this Article 3, or from certain provisions of this Article 3, as specified:
(1) 
Temporary structures, such as job trailers associated with construction activities;
(2) 
Public schools and church sites are exempt from all provisions of Section 4.39 (Perimeter Screening between Nonresidential, Multifamily, Single-Family Attached Developments & Residential Development) except standards for parking areas, landscaping, and related screening apply.
(3) 
Freestanding cell towers are exempt from Subsection 4.34(B) (Landscape Buffers);
(4) 
Cemeteries;
(5) 
Property subject to the Downtown Form-Based Code District development standards (see Chapter 7 of this GDC);
(6) 
Property included in a master plan for a public park;
(7) 
Property governed by screening and landscaping requirements approved as part of a Planned Development (PD) district;
(8) 
Restoration of a building, within three hundred and sixty-five calendar days after it has been damaged or destroyed by fire, explosion, flood, tornado, riot, act of public enemy, or accident of any kind, provided the structure does not increase in size to the extent that compliance of these standards is required by Section 4.29(A) above;
(9) 
Restoration of a building that has a City, county, state or national historic designation if it can be demonstrated and determined that compliance with these landscape and screening standards will detract from the historic or architectural significance of the structure, site or existing landscaping. The Planning Director has the authority to determine whether or not such demonstration has been made.
(10) 
Resurfacing an existing parking lot in its original configuration does not constitute a reconstruction or development of a parking lot and therefore would not be subject to screening and landscaping standards as set forth in this Article 3. However, if an asphalt or otherwise substandard surface parking lot is voluntarily or involuntarily reconstructed to meet current standards, the newly constructed parking lot is subject to the requirements, as applicable, of this Article 3.
(Ordinance 6773 adopted 5/19/15; Ordinance 7107, sec. 61, adopted 12/3/19)
The following terms and phrases, as used in this Chapter 4, Article 3, have the following meanings (other related definitions are contained within Article 4 of this Chapter 4, and also within Chapter 6, of this GDC):
(A) 
“Caliper”
means a standard for the trunk measurement. It is the diameter of the trunk measured twelve inches above ground level for new or replacement trees. If a tree is a multi-trunk variety, the caliper of the tree is the sum of the largest trunk plus one-half the total of all other trunks, measured at twelve inches above the root ball. Existing tree caliper must be measured 4-1/2' above the noted grade.
(B) 
“Drip Line”
means a circular area beneath the canopy of a tree, the radius of which is equal to the distance from the trunk to a vertical line extending from the outermost portion of the canopy to the ground.
(C) 
“Existing Tree”
means any living, self-supporting woody plant with a caliper of two inches in diameter or greater.
(D) 
“Groundcover & Turf Grasses”
means any vegetative groundcover of a variety that is listed as a grass in Table 4-5 within Division 7 of this Article 3. Generally, it includes plants or grasses of species which normally reach a height of less than three feet upon maturity, installed in a manner intended to form a continuous cover over the ground.
(E) 
“Irrigator”
means a person who holds a license to practice irrigation in the state of Texas.
(F) 
“Landscape Architect”
means a person licensed to practice landscape architecture in the state of Texas.
(G) 
“Non-Disturb Zone”
means an area on a development site that is physically staked to protect the entire drip lines of existing trees that will be preserved, that is not disturbed in any way during construction, and that remains in its original state (including grades) after construction is completed.
(H) 
“Perennials & Ornamental Grasses”
means vegetation of a variety listed as such in Table 4-7 within Division 7 of this Article 3.
(I) 
“Screening & Landscaping Plan”
means a plan that describes and depicts how a proposed development complies with the landscape regulations of this Article 3, including depiction of screening device(s) and the location, size, and species of landscaping materials. The plan includes any related plans for irrigation that can be shown on a separate drawing.
(J) 
“Shrubs - Low Level Screening”
means a shrub or grass of a variety listed as such in Table 4-4 within Division 7 of this Article 3.
(K) 
“Tree - Large Canopy Tree”
means a tree of a variety listed as such in Table 4-1 within Division 7 of this Article 3.
(L) 
“Tree - Small Ornamental Tree”
means a tree of a variety listed as such in Table 4-2 within Division 7 of this Article 3.
(M) 
“Trees & Shrubs - High Level Screening”
means vegetation of a variety listed as such in Table 4-3 within Division 7 of this Article 3.
(N) 
“Vines for Screening Walls”
means a variety of vegetation listed as such in Table 4-6 within Division 7 of this Article 3. Generally, it is a weak-stemmed plant that derives its support from climbing, twining, or creeping along a surface.
(Ordinance 6773 adopted 5/19/15; Ordinance 7107, sec. 62, adopted 12/3/19; Ordinance 7404 adopted 2/21/2023)