(a) It shall be an objective of landscape design to relate to the building and site design, the proposed use, and to site conditions.
(1) Site Landscaping.
(i) The required yard (setback) adjoining a street shall incorporate appropriate landscape and/or hardscape. Appropriate landscape elements may include trees, shrubs, and groundcover. Appropriate hardscape materials may include brick or other modular pavers; stamped or textured concrete; or colored concrete and shall create useable exterior space appropriate to the site and buildings.
(ii) Where a commercial or industrial use is located adjacent to a residential district, the following landscaped buffers shall be applied at the property line:
(A) Commercial and industrial buildings under 5,000 square feet shall provide a minimum 5-foot net landscape strip and a six-foot high solid wood fence or masonry wall.
(B) Commercial and industrial buildings between 5,000 square feet and 10,000 square feet shall provide a minimum 5-foot net landscape strip with a 6-foot high masonry sound wall.
(C) Commercial and industrial buildings between 10,000 and 20,000 square feet shall provide a landscape strip of 5 feet wide plus an additional 1-foot width for each additional 1,000 square feet of building over 10,000 square feet, up to 20,000 square feet, and a 6-foot high masonry sound wall. The landscaping which is required in excess of the minimum 5-foot wide strip may be modulated to provide additional buffer, where appropriate. The balance may not be less than the required total square footage of landscaping.
(iii) Landscaping shall be planted in the ground. If this is not feasible, planter boxes of an appropriate size are acceptable.
(2) Existing Trees.
(i) Mature trees over 6 inches in diameter at 5 feet above ground level shall be incorporated into the site and landscape design unless other provisions of this subsection allow removal.
(ii) Circumstances where tree removal may be appropriate include: the obstruction of the prime building site to provide an appreciably better project design not possible without the tree removal; retention of solar access to adjacent properties; dead, dying or diseased trees; nuisance trees; and trees which threaten adjacent development due to instability.
(iii) An evaluation and recommendation by a landscape architect or a licensed arborist shall be required in order to substantiate the removal of any mature tree based on a claim that the tree is unhealthy or poses a nuisance or threat to adjacent development.
(iv) The applicant may be required to replace any mature trees which are permitted to be removed, as determined through the design review process.
(v) The decision-making body may waive the requirement of removal of invasive species in order to protect visual amenities.
(3) Street Trees.
(i) Street trees (or private yard trees providing similar effect) shall match any existing street tree species and spacing; shall implement any proposed street tree program; and complement any existing trees in the area, if a street tree program does not exist for the street. Street trees installed within County rights-of-way shall be chosen from the Santa Cruz Urban Forestry Master Plan or the County Street tree list. Street tree species selected for the north side of east/west streets shall be chosen from those included on the “Street Tree List for the North side of East/West streets.”
(4) Screening, Fences and Walls.
(i) When landscaping is required to screen views of a site or site uses, the plant material shall be appropriately sized and spaced so that a dense screen grows in a short period of time and views of objects on the opposite side are effectively screened.
(ii) All shrubs used for screening purposes shall be a minimum five-gallon size when planted.
(iii) A fence or wall, when required as a screening device, shall be of solid wood or masonry, or other material, modulated and landscaped where appropriate to provide visual relief from continuous wall or fence surfaces.
(b) It shall be a landscape design objective to select plant material appropriate to the design and site conditions. Site conditions which affect the selection of appropriate plant material include, soil conditions, microclimate, maintenance, and solar access. Factors which affect the landscape design include the growth pattern, color, and texture of the plant material.
(1) Plant Material Type, Size And Growth.
(i) Invasive species such as acacia, pampas grass, broom, etc., should not be used and should be eliminated if already present.
(ii) Landscaping shall be provided in sufficient size and quantity to adequately screen and soften the effect of new building planes and asphalt within the first year of growth.
(iii) All trees planted shall be a minimum of 15-gallon size. Larger specimens may be required, e.g., 24” box or field specimens, depending upon the scale of the proposed project. The trees shall have been grown to the minimum nursery standards for tree height, caliper and canopy for the container size and tree species specified.
(iv) Where a specific height of planting is required, such landscaping shall be within two feet of the prescribed height at the time of planting if the prescribed height is five feet or more, and shall be within one foot of the prescribed height at the time of planting if the prescribed height is less than five feet. All heights are measured above the ground level at the point the landscaping will be planted.
(v) All plants shall be planted with spacings and locations, given the plant types and characteristics, type of soil, availability and likelihood of watering regularity and similar considerations, so that the plantings will achieve their purpose within a reasonable time.
(2) Landscape Maintenance.
(i) All required vegetation shall be maintained free of physical damage or injury from lack of water, excess chemical fertilizer or other toxic chemical, blight or disease. Any vegetation which shows signs of such damage or injury at any time shall be replaced by the same, similar, or substitute vegetation of a size, form, and character, which will be comparable at full growth.
(ii) Required landscaping shall be kept free from weeds and undesirable grasses. One means of preventing weed growth is to plant dense ground-covers, another is by mulching. This subsection does not apply to private yard areas of single-family dwellings other than large dwellings as defined in this Chapter.
(iii) The Planning Commission or Zoning Administrator shall, as a condition of approval of any landscaping or landscaped area, require the execution of a landscape maintenance agreement and bond as defined in Section 13.11.030, or other acceptable surety, for the maintenance of any or all landscaping on a building site. A landscape maintenance security shall not be required for commercial, industrial or residential projects where a property owners’ association is established to assure that landscape maintenance of common areas is satisfactorily accomplished. Proof of the formation of the property owners’ association shall be supplied to, and approved by, the Planning Department before the landscape maintenance bond requirement is waived.
(c) It shall be an objective of the landscape design to conserve water and to maximize water use efficiency through plant selection, soil conditioning and irrigation management (the following requirements apply only to those projects listed in Section 13.11.040(k)).
(1) Turf Limitation and Plant Selection.
(i) The turf area shall be limited to no more than 25 percent of the total landscaped area. This limitation shall not apply to projects such as public parks, cemeteries and recreation areas where water use efficiency is evaluated on a regular basis through a landscape irrigation audit or to any project that uses reclaimed or recycled water for irrigation purposes.
(ii) Turf shall be of low to moderate water-using varieties, such as tall fescue. Turf shall be used in a practical manner for high use or aesthetically desirable areas. Turf should not be used in median strips, on slopes greater than 33 percent or in areas less than eight feet wide.
(iii) At least 80 percent of the plant materials selected in non-turf areas (equivalent to 60 percent of the total landscaped area) shall be well-suited to the climate of the region and require minimal water once established. Up to 20 percent of the plant materials in non-turf areas (equivalent to 15 percent of the total landscaped area) need not be drought tolerant, provided that they are grouped together and can be irrigated separately. The use of trees and native plants is encouraged in appropriate locations.
(2) Soil Conditioning.
(i) In new planting areas, soil shall be tilled to a depth of six inches and amended with six cubic yards of organic material per 1,000 square feet to promote infiltration and water retention.
(ii) After planting, a minimum of two inches of mulch shall be applied to all non-turf areas to retain moisture, reduce evaporation and inhibit weed growth.
(3) Irrigation Management.
(i) All required landscaping shall be provided with an adequate, permanent and nearby source of water which shall be applied by an installed irrigation or, where feasible, a drip irrigation system.
(ii) Irrigation systems shall be designed to avoid runoff, overspray, low head drainage, or other similar conditions where water flows onto adjacent property, non-irrigated areas, walks, roadways or structures.
(iii) Appropriate irrigation equipment, including the use of a separate landscape water meter, pressure regulators, automated controllers, low volume sprinkler heads, drip or bubbler irrigation systems, rain shutoff devices, and other equipment shall be utilized to maximize the efficiency of water applied to the landscape.
(iv) Plants materials having similar water requirements shall be grouped together in distinct hydrozones and shall be irrigated separately.
(v) An irrigation plan and an irrigation schedule for the established landscape shall be submitted with the building permit application. The irrigation plan shall show the location, size and type of components of the irrigation system, the point of connection to the public water supply and designation of hydrozones. The irrigation schedule shall designate the timing and frequency of irrigation for each station and list the amount of water, in gallons or hundred cubic feet, recommended on a monthly and annual basis.
(vi) Whenever possible, landscape irrigation should be scheduled between 6:00 p.m. and 11:00 a.m. to reduce evaporative loss.
(d) It shall be a design objective that site furniture relate to the building and landscape design.
Site Furniture and Fixtures. Required outdoor furniture and fixtures such as lighting, free-standing signs, trellises, raised planters, benches, trash receptacles, newspaper racks, bus stops, phone booths and fencing, shall be compatible with project architecture; shall be integral elements of the building and landscape design; and shall be included in, and shown on, all site and landscape plans.