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Ordinance 1971-014 Landscape OrdinanceORDINANCE N0. 14-71 AN ORDINANCE OF THE VILLAGE OF NORTH PALr1 BEACH, FLORIDA, AMENDING C}iAPTER 41 OF THE VILLAGE OF NORTH PALM BEACH CODE BY SETTING FORT}} REGULATIONS TO IMPROVE THE APPEARANCE OF CERTAIN SETBACK AND YARD AREAS, INCLUDING OFF-STREET VEHICLE PARKING AND OPEN LOT SALES AND ' SERVICE AREAS AND TO PROTECT AND PRESERVE THE APPEARANCE, CHARACTER AND VALUE OF SURROUNDING NEIGHBORHOODS; BY PROVIDING FOR THE INSTALLATION AND MAINTENANCE OF LANDSCAPING FOR SCREENING AND AESTHETIC QUALITIES; BY PROVIDING DETAILS TO ACCOMPLISH THE PURPOSE OF THIS ORDINANCE; AND PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION THEREOF. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE VILLAGE COUNCIL OF NORTH PAIM BEACH, FLORIDA: Section 1. That the Village of North Palm Beach Code is here- by amended by adding new sections to be numbered Sections 41-16 through 41-23, both inclusive, which said sections shall read as follows: "Art. III. LANDSCAPING "Sec. 41-16, OBJECTIVE---The objective of this Article is to improve the appearance of certain setback and yard areas and including off-street vehicular parking and open lot sales and service areas in the village, and to protect and preserve -ihe appearance, character and value of the surround- ing neighborhoods and thereby promote the general welfare by providing for installation and maintenance of landscaping for screening and aesthetic qualities, since the village council finds that the peculiar characteristics and qualities of the village justify regulations to perpetuate its aesthetic appeal on a village wide basis. "Sec 41-17 APPLICATION OF ORDINANCE; ENFORCE- MENT---This Article shall be a minimum standard and shall apply to all areas in the village limits. "Sec. 41-18. DEFINITIONS---In construing the pro- visions of this Article, and each and every word, term, phrase or part thereof, where the context will permit, the definitions; provided in Section 1.01, Florida Statutes, and the following defini- tions shall apply: ' (1) Encroachment. "Encroachment" is defined as any protrusion of a vehicle outside of a parking space, display area or accessway into a landscaped area. (2) Landscaping. "Landscaping" shall consist of any of the following or combination thereof: material, such as, but not limited to, grass, ground covers, shrubs, vines, hedges, trees or palms; and nonliving durable material commonly used in landscaping, such as, but not limited to, rocks, pebbles, sand, walls or fences, but excluding paving. 1 (3) Shrubs. "Shrubs" required by this article shall be self-supporting, woody, evergreen species, as normally grown in this area or this county. feet in this area or this county. (4) Trees. *'Trees" shall be defined as self- supporting woody plants of species which normally grow to an overall height of a minimum of fifteen (5) Vines. "Vines" are plants which normally require support to reach mature form. 41-19 1 t --~1~ N11 areas u asplay or parking of any and all types of vehicles, boats or heavy construction equipment, whether such vehicles, boats or equipment are self-propelled or not, and all land upon which vehicles traverse the property as a function of the primary use, hereinafter referred to as "other vehicular uses" including but not limited to activities of a drive-in nature such as, but not limited to, filling stations, grocery and dairy stores, banks, restaurants, and the like, shall conform to the minimum landscaping requirements hereinafter provided, save and except areas used for parking or other vehicular uses under, on or within buildings, and parking areas serving single and two-family uses as normally such residential areas are voluntarily landscaped. (2) Installation. All landscaping shall be installed in a sound workmanship like manner and according to accepted good planting procedures with the quality of plant materials as hereinafter described. All elements of landscaping exclusive of plant material except hedges shall be installed so as to meet all other applicable code require- ments. Landscaped areas shall require protection from vehicular encroachment as herein provided in Section 41-19(6)(7). A qualified representative of the agency charged with the issuance of a building permit shall inspect all landscaping and no certificate of occupancy or similar authorization shall be issued unless the landscaping meets the requirements herein provided. (3) Maintenance. The owner, tenant and their agent, if any, shall be jointly and severally respon- sible for the maintenance of all landscaping which shall be maintained in good condition so as to present a healthy, neat and orderly appearance and shall be kept free from refuse and debris. The responsibility for maintenance as set forth herein shall include the swale areas between the sidewalk and road pavement directly in front of the site. All landscaped areas shall be provided with a readily available water supply with at least one outlet located within fifty feet of all plant material to be maintained. - 2 - (4) Plant Material. (a) ialit Plant materials used in conformance with provisions of this article shall conform to the Standards for Florida No. 1 or better as given in "Grades and Standards for Nursery Plants", Part I, 1963, and Part II, State of Florida, Department of Agriculture, Tallahassee, or equal thereto. Grass sod shall be clean and reasonably free of weeds and noxious pests or diseases. Grass seed shall be delivered to the jobsite in bags with Florida Department of Agriculture tags attached indicating the seed grower's ' compliance with the department's quality control program. (b) Trees shall be species having an average mature spread of crown of greater than fifteen feet in this area or this county and having trunk(s) which can be maintained in a clean condition over five feet of clear wood. Trees having an average mature spread of crown less than fifteen feet may be substituted by grouping same so as to create the equivalent of a fifteen foot crown spread. Palms shall be considered trees in accord with standards promulgated by the village council. Tree species shall be a minimum of fifteen feet overall height immediately after planting. Trees of species whose roots are known to cause damage to public roadways or other public works shall not be planted closer than twelve feet to such public works unless the tree root system is completely contained within a barrier for which the minimum interior con- taining dimensions shall be five feet square and five feet deep, and for which the construction requirements shall be four inch thick concrete reinforced with #6 road mesh (6x6x6) or equivalent. A list of such tree species shall be maintained by the village for the guidance of the public. ' (c) Shrubs and Hedges. Shrubs shall be a mini- mum of two feet in height when measured immediately after planting. Hedges, where required, shall be planted and maintained so as to form a continuous, unbroken, solid, visual screen within a maximum of one (1) year after time of planting. (d) Vines. Vines shall be a minimum of thirty inches in height, immediately after planting, and may be used in conjunction with fences, screens, or walls to meet physical requirements as specified. (e) Ground Covers. Ground covers used in lieu of grass in whole or in part shall be planted in such a manner as to present a finished appearance and reasonably complete coverage within three months after planting. (f) Lawn Grass. Grass areas shall be planted in species grown as permanent lawns in this county. Grass areas may be sodded, plugged, sprigged or seeded except that solid sod shall be used in swales or other areas subject to erosion, and providing that in areas ' where other than solid sod or grass seed is used, nursegrass seed shall be sown for immediate effect and protection until coverage is achieved. (5) Required landscaping adjacent to public rights- of_way. Qn the site of a building or structure or open lot use providing an off-street parking area or other vehicular use area, where such area will not be entirely screened visually by an intervening building or structure from any abutting right-of-way, excluding - 3 - dedicated alleys, there shall be provided landscaping between such area and right-of-way, as follows: (a) A strip of land at least five (5) feet in depth located between the abutting right-of-way and the off-street parking area or other vehicular use area which is exposed to an abutting right-of-way shall be landscaped, such landscaping to include one tree for each fifty lineal feet or fraction thereof. Such trees shall be located between the abutting right-of- way and off-street parking area or other vehicular use area and shall be planted in a planting area of at least twenty-five square feet with a minimum dimension of at least five feet. In addition, a hedge or other durable landscape barrier of at least two feet in height shall be placed along only the perimeter of such land- scaped strip. If such durable barrier is of nonliving material, for each five feet thereof, one shrub or vine shall be planted abutting such barrier but need not be spaced five feet apart. Such shrubs or vines shall be planted along the street side of such barrier unless they are of sufficient height at the time of planting to be readily visible over the top of such barrier. The remainder of the required landscaped areas shall be landscaped with grass, ground cover or other landscape treatment ex- cluding paving; provided, however, that a nonliving durable wall may be erected on the perimeter of the required landscaped area opposite the sidewalk or at any point at least three feet from the sidewalk within this landscaped area. No such landscape barrier wherever located under this subsection shall exceed three feet in height or be less than two feet in height. (b) All property other than the required landscaped strip lying between the right-of-way and off-street parking area or other vehicular use area shall be landscaped with at least grass or other ground cover. (c) Necessary accessways from the public right-of-way through all such landscaping shall be permitted to service the parking or other vehicular use areas and such accessways may be subtracted from the lineal dimensions used to determine the number of trees required. (6) Perimeter landscaping relating to abutting properties. On the site of a building or structure or open lot use providing an off-street parking area or other vehicular use area, where such areas will not be entirely screened visually by an intervening building or structure from abutting property, that portion of such area not so screened which lies between the front edge of the property and the front building line shall be provided with a hedge or other durable landscape barrier not greater than three feet in height nor less than two feet in height to form a continuous screen between the off-street parking area or other vehicular ' use area and such abutting property; provided, however, that that portion of such area not so screened which lies between the front building line and the rear line of the property shall be provided with a hedge or other durable landscape barrier not greater than six feet in height or less than two feet in height to form a continuous screen between the off-street parking area or other vehicular use area and such abutting property. - 4 - Such landscape barrier shall be located between the common lot line and the off-street parking area or other vehicular use area exposed to the abutting property provided the purpose of screening off-street parking area and other vehicular use areas is accomplished. If such barrier consists all or in part of plant materials, such plant materials shall be planted in a planting strip of not less than two and one-half feet in width. In addition, one tree shall be provided for each seventy-five lineal feet of such landscape ' barrier or fractional part thereof. Stiach trees shall be located between the common lot line and the off- street parking area or other vehicular use area. Each such tree shall be planted in at least twenty-five square feet of planting area with a minimum dimension of at least five feet. Each such planting area shall be landscaped with grass, ground cover or other landscape material excluding paving in addition to the required tree. The provisions of this subsection shall not be applicable in the following situations: (a) When a property line abuts a dedicated alley, or to those portions of the property that are opposite a building or other structure located on the abutting property. (b) Where a proposed parking area or other vehicular use area abuts an existing hedge or other durable landscape barrier on an abutting property, said existing barrier may be used to satisfy the landscape barrier requirements of this subsection provided that said existing barrier meets all appli- cable standards of this article and protection against vehicular encroachment is provided for hedges. ' (c) Where the abutting property is zoned or used for nonresidential uses, only the tree provision with its planting area as prescribed in this subsection shall be required; however, the, number of trees may be reduced to one tree for every one hundred twenty- five lineal feet or fraction thereof but all perimeter requirements shall apply within the front setback area. (d) Where abutting property owners desire to share their parking lots, the requirements of a peri- meter hedge between the two owners may be eliminated provided that the gross area of landscaping which has been eliminated is placed elsewhere in the parking area, so that the total amount of landscaped area will not be lessened by eliminating the perimeter hedge. (7) Parking area interior landscaping. Off-street parking areas shall have at least ten square feet of interior landscaping for each parking space excluding those spaces abutting a perimeter for which landscap- ing is required by other sections hereof and excluding all parking spaces which are directly served by an aisle abutting and running parallel to such a perimeter. ' In addition, other vehicular use areas shall have one square foot of landscaped area for each one hundred square feet or fraction thereof of paved area for the first fifty thousand square feet excluding the first five thousand square feet of paved area plus one square foot of landscape area for each two hundred square feet or fraction thereof of paved area for all paved area over fifty thousand square feet; provided, however, in areas zoned for industrial use these requirements shall be reduced by fifty percent. Where the property contains both parking areas and other vehicular use areas, the two types of areas may be separated for the purposes of determining the other vehicular use area by first multiplying the total number of parking spaces - 5 - by four hundred and subtracting the resulting figure from the total square footage of the paved area. Each separate landscaped area shall contain a minimum of fifty square feet and shall have a minimum dimension of at least five feet and shall include at least one tree having a clear trunk of at least five feet, with the remaining area adequately landscaped with shrubs, ground cover or other authorized landscaping material not to exceed three feet in height. The total number of trees shall be not less than one for each one hundred square feet or fraction thereof of required interior landscaped area. Such landscaped areas shall be located in such a manner as to divide and break up the expanse of paving. In other vehicular use areas where the strict application of this subsection will seriously limit the function of said area, the required landscaping may be located near the perimeter of the paved area including such perimeters which may be adjacent to a building on the site. Such required interior land- scaping which is relocated as herein provided shall be in addition to the perimeter landscaping require- ments. The front of a vehicle may encroach upon any interior landscaped area when said area is at least three and one-half feet in depth per abutting parking space and protected by wheel stops or curbing. Two feet of said landscaped area may be part of the required depth of each abutting parking space. (8) Sight distance for landscaping adjacent to public rights-of way and points of access. When an ' accessway intersects a public right-of-way or when `the subject property abuts the intersection of two or more public rights-of-way, all landscaping within the triangular areas described below shall provide unobstructed cross-visibility at a level between three feet and six feet, provided, however, trees or palms having limbs and foliage trimmed in such a manner that no limbs or foliage extend into the cross-visibility area shall be allowed, provided they are so located so as not to create a traffic hazard. Landscaping except required grass or ground cover shall not be located closer than three feet from the edge of any accessway pavement. The triangular areas above referred to are: (a) The areas of property on both sides of an accessway formed by the intersection of each side of the accessway and the public right-of-way line with two sides of each triangle being ten feet in length from the point of intersection and the third side being a line connecting the ends of the two other sides. (b) The area of property located at a corner formed by the intersection of two or more public rights-of-way with two sides of the triangular area being thirty feet in length along the abutting public right-of-way lines, measured from their point of intersection, and the third side being a line connect- ing the ends of the other two lines. (9) Existing plant material. In instances where healthy plant material exists on a site prior to its development in part or in whole, for the purpose of - 6 - off-street parking or other vehicular use areas, the agency charged with the issuance of building permits may adjust the application of the above mentioned standards to allow credit for such plant material if, in its opinion, such an adjustment is in keeping with and will preserve the intent of this article. ' ••----••-• ~~ Y~.,.y,~., .+VV1Yl.1L---11f wnunitree or Ad.iustment. There is hereby created a committee of adjustment to consist of the village manager, the chairman of the beautification committee, the building inspector and the chairman of the village appearance board. (2) Procedure for adjustment of standards. The committee of adjustment, upon receipt of an applica- tion for adjustment of landscaping requirements provided herein which is filed on forms prescribed by the village and executed and sworn to by the owner or tenant of the property concerned or by authorized agents as evidenced by written power of attorney, and accompanied by a fee of twenty-five dollars shall have the authority and duty to consider and act upon such application. The applicant shall, in the application, clearly and in detail state what adjustment of requirements are being requested, and the reasons such adjustments are warranted, and shall accompany the application with such supple- mentary data, such as sketches, surveys and statistical information as is deemed necessary to substantiate the adjustment. The committee may approve, modify or deny the requested adjustment, but shall approve or modify only if it determines that approval of any adjustment would not be contrary to the public interest and would be in keeping with and would preserve the intent of this article and that literal enforcement of the above standards would be impracticable and would result in unreasonable and unnecessary hard- ship. The committee of adjustment shall act as expeditiously as possible on the application, and shall post their decision in the form of a short, concise statement of the action taken on a conspicuous bulletin board in the village hall. (3) Appeal to Vi11aQe Council. Within ten days after posting of decision, but not thereafter, any decision of the committee of adjustment may be appealed by the applicant upon the payment of a fee of twenty-five dollars, to the Village Council; other- wise, it shall become final. The appeal shall be on a form prescribed by the village and filed with the building inspector and the petitioner shall be notified of the time and place the appeal will be heard by the village council, The appeal shall state in brief, concise language the grounds and reasons for reversal of the ruling made by the committee of adjustment; and the village council may affirm, modify, or reverse the ' ruling of the committee of adjustment subject to the guides and standards governing the corrunittee. Neither the committee nor the village council shall entertain requests for adjustments from higher standards required by this article. "Sec. 41-21. OTHER APPLICABLE REGULATIONS---(1) The provisions of this article shall apply only to new off-street parking uses or other vehicular uses. - ~ - (2) The provisions of this article shall be subject to other applicable regulations where such regulations are more restrictive and are not otherwise inconsistent with the provisions of this article. (3) The building inspector shall have the authority to issue a certificate of completion to the owner or to the contractor or subcontractors which shall indicate ' the portions of the construction and development which have been completed according to plan and building code requirements. Certificate of completion shall not authorize occupancy or partial occupancy of the building or premises. (4) Accessways. The maximum width of a residential accessway through the perimeter landscaped strip .to an off-street parking or other vehicular use area shall be twenty feet for the two-way vehicular movement and ten feet for one-way vehicular movement. For commercial and industrial uses, the maximum width for accessways shall be two times that for residential uses. No more than one two-way accessway shall be permitted for any street frontage up to one hundred lineal feet or no more than two one-way accessways shall be permitted for any street frontage up to one hundred lineal feet, such standards to be applicable to any property under one ownership. where such ownership involves over one hundred feet of street frontage, one additional two-way or two additional one-way drives may be per- mitted for each additional one hundred feet of frontage or major fraction thereof. The balance of such street frontage not involved with accessways shall be land- scaped in accordance with the provisions of this article. ' (5) The provisions of this article shall not apply to properties upon which single family or two-family dwellings are or are to be erected. "Sec. 41- u~~ureN~s---except ror single Tamily and two-family dwellings, prior to the issuance of any permit for paving which is included under the provisions of this article, a plot use plan shall be submitted to and approved by the agency charged with the issuance of building permits, subject to review and approval of such other agencies as may be deemed advisable by the building permit agency. The plot plan shall be drawn to scale, including dimensions and distances, and clearly delineate the existing and proposed parking spaces, or other vehicular use areas, access aisles, driveways, sprinklers or water outlet locations, and the location, size and description of all other land- scape materials, the location and size of buildings if any to be served, and shall designate by name and location the plant material to be installed, or, if existing, to be used in accordance with the requirements ' hereof. No permit shall be issued for such building or paving unless such plot plan complies with the pro- visions hereof, and no certificate of use and occupancy shall be issued until the landscaping is complete, and it shall be unlawful to occupy the premises unless the landscaping is installed in accordance with the approved plot plans and the requirements hereof. - 8 - "Sec. 41-23. OFF-STREET PARKING LANDSCAPE MANUAL--- The building inspector's office shall prepare and from time to time revise an off-street parking land- scape manual and make the same available to the public, which manual shall provide an illustrative interpretation of the above standards and suggested guides for land- scaping in accordance with the above standards." ' Section 2. (a) If any sentence, phrase, clause or other part of this ordinance shall be declared unconstitutional or un- enforceable or invalid, it shall not be construed to affect the re- mainder of the ordinance and the remainder of the ordinance shall be enforceable. (b) If any requirement of this ordinance shall conflict with the location or height of walls as set forth in Section 45-36 of the Village of North Palm Beach Code, then the provisions of Section 45-36 of the Village of North Palm Beach Code shall prevail. Section 3. Any person, association, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this ordinance or failing to do anything required by this ordinance shall, upon conviction, be fined not to exceed five hundred dollars or imprisoned not to exceed sixty days, and each day's violation shall be a separate offense. The village shall also have the right to injunction or other process as provided by law for the enforcement. PhACED ON FIRST READING THIS 9 DAY OF SEPTEMBER, 1971. PLACED ON SECOND, FINAL READING AND PASSED THIS 23 DAY OF SEPTEMBER, 1971. /s/ H. Mallory Privett, Jr. MAYOR 1 /s/ Dolores R. Walker Village Clerk ATTEST: - 9 -