A.
Landscaping standards. Landscaping standards apply to new and existing development that must provide a minimum amount of landscape area as required by the applicable development standards chapter.
B.
Screening standards. Screening standards apply to new and existing development with uses or site improvements that must be screened from other uses or the street as required by the applicable development standards chapter.
C.
Tree canopy standards. Site and parking lot tree canopy standards apply to the following types of new and existing development, except that parking lot tree canopy standards do not apply to subdivisions or partitions:
(Ord. 18-28 §1)
A.
All required trees must meet the city's Urban Forestry Manual (UFM) standards as follows:
1.
Street trees must meet the street tree planting and maintenance standards in UFM Section 2 and street tree soil volume standards in UFM Section 12;
2.
Parking lot trees must meet the parking lot tree canopy standards in UFM Section 13; and
3.
All other trees must meet the tree canopy site plan requirements in UFM Section 10, Part 2.
B.
Trees proposed to be preserved must be protected in a manner that meets the tree protection standards in UFM Section 10, Part 3.
C.
Plants that are less than 18 inches in height at maturity, except lawn, are considered groundcover. Minimum container size at planting is either 4 inches or 1 gallon, and maximum plant spacing is either 1 foot or 2 feet on center, respectively.
D.
Plants that are more than 18 inches in height but less than six feet in height at maturity are considered small or medium shrubs. Minimum container size at planting is 1 gallon, and maximum plant spacing is 3 feet on center.
E.
Plants, excluding trees, that are more than six feet in height at maturity are considered large shrubs. Minimum container size at planting is 2 gallons, and maximum plant spacing is 7 feet on center.
F.
Plants listed as invasive or noxious on the Portland Plant List are prohibited. Trees listed on the UFM Nuisance Tree List are prohibited.
G.
All landscaping required by this chapter, including landscaping used to meet screening or tree canopy standards, must be maintained to applicable industry standards in perpetuity as provided in the most current version of the American National Standards Institute A300 Standards for Tree Care Operations.
(Ord. 18-28 §1)
A.
Landscaping standards are provided in Table 18.420.1.
B.
Landscaping or other areas used to meet the minimum landscape area standard must be provided on the development site and may be met by any combination of the following:
1.
Landscaping, including parking lot landscaping, that meets the L-1 or L-2 landscaping standard;
2.
Landscaping that meets the S-2, S-3, or S-4 screening standard as provided in Table 18.420.2 where required by the applicable development standards chapter;
3.
Any required above-ground vegetated stormwater facility; or
4.
Other areas as specified by the applicable development standards chapter.
C.
Landscaping in excess of the minimum landscape area standard does not have to meet the L-1 or L-2 landscaping standard.
Table 18.420.1 Landscaping Standards | |
|---|---|
Standard | Requirements |
L-1 | Any combination of trees, plants, or lawn with or without other natural or artificial landscaping elements such as ponds, fountains, lighting, benches, bridges, rocks, paths, sculptures, trellises, or screens. |
L-2 | • A minimum of 50% of the total required landscape area must include small, medium, or large shrubs; • A maximum of 50% of the total required landscape area may include any combination of mulch, groundcover, lawn, or hardscape, except that hardscape areas may not cover more than 25% of the total required landscape area; and • If tree canopy standards do not apply as provided in Subsection 18.420.020.C, then 1 tree must be provided for every 600 square feet of total required landscape area. |
(Ord. 18-28 §1; Ord. 19-09 §1)
A.
Screening standards are provided in Table 18.420.2 and illustrated in Figures 18.420.1 and 2. These standards must be met as required by the applicable development standards chapter in 18.200 Residential Development Standards or 18.300 Nonresidential Development Standards.
C.
The following additional requirements apply to the S-1 screening standard:
1.
Screening is required on all sides, except where access is taken. If access is provided by an opening without a gate or door, the opening must be oriented so that it is not visible from a public sidewalk;
2.
Screening must be of an appropriate height and width so that the item to be screened is not visible from a public sidewalk.
3.
Chain link fencing with slats and unfinished concrete blocks are prohibited where visible from a public sidewalk.
Table 18.420.2 Screening Standards | ||
|---|---|---|
Standard | Minimum Depth | Requirements |
S-1 | N/A | • Service areas: • Sight-obscuring fence or wall Roof-mounted equipment or utilities: • Parapet wall or sight-obscuring structure Wall-mounted equipment or utilities: • Architecturally incorporated into building or sight-obscuring fence, wall, or structure |
S-2 | 5 feet | Groundcover and small or medium evergreen shrubs. |
S-3 | 5 feet | • Sight-obscuring fence or wall a minimum of 6 feet in height; and • Approved trees from UFM Appendix 2 – 5 spaced appropriately based on tree stature. |
S-4 | 8 feet | • Sight-obscuring fence, wall, or berm that is a minimum of 3 feet in height or evergreen hedge that will be a minimum of 3 feet in height at time of maturity; • Approved trees from UFM Appendix 2 – 5 spaced appropriately based on tree stature; and • If a hedge is provided, then groundcover evenly distributed along the entire length of the screen; or • If a hedge is not provided, then small and medium shrubs and groundcover evenly distributed along the entire length of the screen. |
Figure 18.420.1 S-3 Screening Standard  |
Figure 18.420.2 S-4 Screening Standard  |
(Ord. 18-28 §1)
A.
Site tree canopy standards, which are stated as a percentage of effective tree canopy cover for an entire site, are provided in UFM Section 10, Part 3, Subparts N and O. Parking lot tree canopy standards are provided below.
B.
An urban forestry plan is required to demonstrate compliance with site and parking lot tree canopy standards and must meet the requirements of UFM Sections 10 through 13. An urban forestry plan must:
1.
Be coordinated and approved by a project landscape architect or project arborist, i.e. a person that is both a certified arborist and tree risk assessor, except that land partitions may demonstrate compliance with effective tree canopy cover and soil volume requirements by planting street trees in open soil volumes only;
2.
Demonstrate compliance with UFM tree preservation and removal site plan standards;
3.
Demonstrate compliance with UFM tree canopy and supplemental report standards and provide the minimum effective tree canopy cover;
4.
Demonstrate compliance with parking lot tree canopy standards of Section 18.410.030.M; and
5.
Include street trees where right-of-way improvements are required by Chapter 18.910, Improvement Standards.
a.
The minimum number of required street trees is determined by dividing the length in feet of the site's street frontage by 40 feet. When the result is a fraction, the minimum number of street trees is the nearest whole number. More than the minimum number of street trees may be required along the site's frontage depending upon the stature of trees chosen and the specific spacing standards for the chosen trees.
b.
Street trees must be planted within the right-of-way wherever practicable. Street trees may be planted a maximum of six feet from the right-of-way when planting within the right-of-way is not practicable as determined by the City Engineer.
c.
An existing tree may be used to meet the street tree standards provided that:
i.
The largest percentage of the tree trunk immediately above the trunk flare or root buttresses is either within the subject site or within the right-of-way immediately adjacent to the subject site; and
ii.
The tree would be permitted as a street tree in compliance with UFM street tree planting and soil volume standards if it were newly planted.
C.
Fee in lieu of planting.
1.
The applicant may choose to provide a fee-in-lieu when the tree canopy requirement is not met in compliance with UFM Section 10, Part 4.
2.
If it is not practicable to provide the minimum number of required street trees then the applicant must pay a fee to the city for tree planting and early establishment in an amount equivalent to the city's cost to plant and maintain a street tree for three years for each tree below the minimum required.
3.
Tree canopy fees provided to the city will be deposited into the urban forestry fund and used as approved by City Council through a resolution.
D.
Urban forestry plan discretionary review. In lieu of providing payment of a tree canopy fee when less than the standard effective tree canopy cover will be provided, an applicant may apply for a discretionary urban forestry plan review. The discretionary urban forestry plan review cannot be used to modify an already approved urban forestry plan, any tree preservation or tree planting requirements established as part of another land use approval, or any tree preservation or tree planting requirements required by another chapter in this title.
1.
Approval process. Discretionary urban forestry plan reviews will be processed through a Type III procedure, as provided in Section 18.710.080, using approval criteria in Paragraph 18.420.060.D.2. When a discretionary urban forestry plan review is submitted for concurrent review with a land use application that requires a Type III review, the approval authority will be the one designated for the land use application. If the discretionary urban forestry plan review is not concurrent with a land use application that requires a Type III review, then the approval authority will be the Hearings Officer.
2.
Approval criteria. A discretionary urban forestry plan review application will be approved when the approval authority finds that the applicable approval criteria are met. The applicant must demonstrate that the proposed plan will equally or better replace the environmental functions and values that would otherwise be provided through payment of a tree canopy fee in lieu of tree planting or preservation. Preference will be given to projects that will receive certifications by third parties for various combinations of proposed alternatives such as:
a.
Techniques that minimize hydrological impacts beyond regulatory requirements such as those detailed in Clean Water Services Low Impact Development Approaches (LIDA) Handbook, including, but not limited to, porous pavement, green roofs, infiltration planters/rain gardens, flow through planters, LIDA swales, vegetated filter strips, vegetated swales, extended dry basins, and constructed water quality wetlands;
b.
Techniques that minimize reliance on fossil fuels and production of greenhouse gases beyond regulatory requirements through the use of energy efficient building technologies and on-site energy production technologies; and
c.
Techniques that preserve and enhance wildlife habitat beyond regulatory requirements, including, but not limited to, the use of native plant species in landscape design, removal of invasive plant species, and restoration of native habitat and preservation of habitat through the use of conservation easements or other protective instruments.
3.
Decision. The discretionary urban forestry plan review decision will be incorporated into the decision of the land use application. The discretionary urban forestry plan approved in this section will supersede and replace any conflicting requirements in this chapter; however, all of the non-conflicting requirements in this chapter continue to apply.
E.
Urban forestry plan implementation.
1.
Implementation of the urban forestry plan must be inspected, documented, and reported by the project arborist or landscape architect in compliance with the inspection requirements in UFM Section 11, Part 1, wherever an urban forestry plan is in effect. In addition, no person may refuse entry or access to the Director for the purpose.
2.
The establishment of all trees shown to be planted in the tree canopy site plan and supplemental report of a previously approved urban forestry plan must be guaranteed and required in compliance with the tree establishment requirements in UFM Section 11, Part 2.
3.
Spatial and species-specific data must be collected in compliance with the urban forestry inventory requirements in UFM Section 11, Part 3 for each open grown tree and area of stand grown trees in the tree canopy site plan and supplemental report of a previously approved urban forestry plan.
4.
An urban forestry plan will be in effect from the point of land use approval until the Director determines all applicable urban forestry plan conditions of approval and code requirements have been met.
F.
Urban forestry plan modification. Except as exempted in Paragraph 18.420.060.F.1, an application to modify the urban forestry plan component of a land use approval is processed through a Type I procedure, as provided in Section 18.710.050, using the approval criteria in Paragraph 18.420.060.F.2.
1.
Exemptions. The following are exempt from a Type I modification application to the urban forestry plan component of a land use approval:
a.
Removal of any tree shown as preserved in the tree canopy site plan and supplemental report of a previously approved urban forestry plan provided that:
i.
The project arborist or landscape architect provides a written report prior to removal attesting that either the condition rating or suitability of preservation rating, as provided in the city's Urban Forestry Manual, of the tree has changed to a rating of less than 2; and
ii.
A revised tree canopy site plan and supplemental report are submitted for review and approval prior to removal that reflect the proposed changes to the previously approved urban forestry plan. The revised tree canopy site plan and supplemental report must demonstrate how the effective tree canopy cover requirements will be provided by tree planting, preservation, or payment of a tree canopy fee in lieu of planting or preservation.
b.
Modification of the quantity, location, or species of trees to be planted in the tree canopy site plan and supplemental report of a previously approved urban forestry plan provided that:
i.
The modification results in the same or greater amount of future tree canopy through tree planting as the previously approved urban forestry plan for the lot or tract where the modification is proposed;
ii.
Payment of a tree canopy fee in lieu of planting is not proposed as part of the modification; and
iii.
A revised tree canopy site plan and supplemental report are submitted for review and approval prior to planting that reflect the proposed changes to the previously approved urban forestry plan.
c.
Modification of the tree protection fencing location in the tree preservation and removal site plan, tree canopy site plan, and supplemental report of a previously approved urban forestry plan provided that:
i.
The project arborist or landscape architect provides a written report prior to modification of the tree protection fencing describing how the proposed modification will continue to protect the viability of the trees shown as preserved in the previously approved urban forestry plan; and
ii.
A revised tree preservation and removal site plan, tree canopy site plan, and supplemental report are submitted for review and approval prior to modification of the tree protection fencing that reflect the proposed modifications to the previously approved urban forestry plan.
2.
Approval criteria. The approval authority will approve or approve with conditions the modification to the urban forestry plan component of a land use approval when all of the following are met:
a.
The project arborist or landscape architect has provided a report and statement certifying that the previously approved urban forestry plan did not account for the circumstances that led to the proposed modification;
b.
The project arborist or landscape architect has provided a report and statement certifying that there is no practicable alternative to the proposed modification; and
c.
The project arborist or landscape architect demonstrates compliance with Subsection 18.420.060.B through a modified urban forestry plan.
(Ord. 18-28 §1; Ord. 22-06 §2; Ord. 23-08, 12/5/2023)