17-7-11.8 Landscaping | Midvale Municipal Code

1. Intent. The landscape standards outlined in this section are designed to meet the following set of goals:

a. To provide for healthy, long-lived street trees within all public ways to improve the appearance of streets and to create a buffer between pedestrian and vehicular travel lanes.

b. To increase the compatibility of adjacent uses and minimize the adverse impacts created by adjoining or neighboring uses.

c. To promote the prudent use of water and energy resources by achieving and maintaining sustainable, functional landscapes.

d. To shade large expanses of pavement and reduce the urban heat island effect.

2. Applicability. Landscaping, trees, and buffers shall be installed as detailed in this section.

a. General Compliance. Application of this section to existing uses shall occur with the following developments:

i. Any development of new or significant improvements to existing parking lots, loading facilities, and driveways. Significant improvements include new driveways, new spaces, new medians, new loading facilities, or complete reorganization of the parking and aisles.

ii. Alteration to an existing principal or accessory structure that results in a change of fifteen percent or more in the structure’s gross floor area.

iii. When compliance is triggered for existing parking lots, landscape improvements shall take precedence over parking requirements.

b. Landscape buffers are required according to the provisions in this section with the following exceptions:

i. Shared Driveways. Buffers shall not be required along a property line where a curb cut or aisle is shared between two adjoining lots.

ii. Points of Access. Buffering is not required at driveways or other points of access to a lot.

c. These provisions do not apply to temporary uses, unless determined otherwise by the community development director.

1. Intent. The following provisions aid in ensuring that all required landscaping is installed and maintained properly.

2. Applicability. These provisions apply to landscape installation as required by this section.

3. General Installation Requirements. The installation of landscaping shall adhere to the following standards:

a. National Standards. Best management practices and procedures according to the nationally accepted standards shall be practiced.

i. Installation. All landscaping and trees shall be installed in conformance with the practices and procedures established by the most recent edition of the American Standard for Nursery Stock (ANSI Z60.1) as published by the American Association of Nurserymen.

ii. Maintenance and Protection. All landscaping and trees shall be maintained according to the most recent edition of the American National Standards Institute, including its provisions on pruning, fertilizing, support systems, lighting protection, and safety.

b. Installation. Landscaping shall be fully installed prior to the issuance of a certificate of completeness.

i. If seasonal conditions preclude the complete installation, a cash escrow or irrevocable letter of credit, equal to the installation costs as estimated by a qualified professional.

ii. Complete installation is required within nine months of the issuance of the temporary certificate of completeness or occupancy permit or the cash escrow or letter of credit may be forfeited.

c. Condition of Landscape Materials. The landscaping materials used shall be:

i. Healthy and hardy with a good root system.

ii. Chosen for their form, texture, color, fruit, pattern of growth, and suitability to local conditions.

iii. Tolerant of the natural and manmade environment, including tolerant of drought, wind, salt, and pollution.

iv. Appropriate for the conditions of the site, including slope, water table, and soil type.

v. Protected from damage by grates, pavers, or other measures.

vi. Plants that will not cause a nuisance or have negative impacts on an adjacent property.

vii. Species native or naturalized to the Wasatch Front, whenever possible.

d. Compost, mulch, and organic matter may be utilized within the soil mix to reduce the need for fertilizers and increase water retention.

e. Establishment. All installed plant material shall be fully maintained until established, including watering, fertilization, and replacement as necessary.

4. Ground Plane Vegetation. All unpaved areas shall be covered by one of the following:

i. Planting beds may include shrubs, ornamental grasses, ground cover, vines, annuals, or perennials.

ii. Planting beds shall be planted such that a minimum of fifty percent their area is covered by live plant material at plant maturity. Tree canopies are not included in coverage calculations.

iii. Nonliving materials, such as colored gravel or organic mulch, are permitted to be visible in no more than fifty percent of a bed area. Mulch depth should be a minimum of three inches.

iv. Annual beds must be maintained seasonally and replanted as necessary.

b. Turf grass is not permitted in any of the three landscape zones described in this section.

c. Planting beds shall be designed and maintained to provide adequate visibility in the sight distance triangle.

i. Planting plans around known signage locations shall select low-growing plants to provide long-term sign visibility with minimal maintenance.

ii. Planting beds near pedestrian and vehicular intersections shall be designed to maintain safe sight lines for pedestrians and drivers.

a. Tree Measurement. New trees shall be measured at six inches above the mean grade of the tree’s trunk when four-inch caliper or less and twelve inches for tree trunks above four inches and noted as caliper inches throughout this section.

b. Tree Maintenance. Tree trimming, fertilization, and other similar work shall be performed by or under the management of an ISA certified arborist.

c. Tree Size. All trees to be installed to meet the requirements of this section shall be a minimum of two-inch caliper at the time of installation.

d. Structural Soil and Soil Cells. When a tree is to be planted within a park strip or paved area such as a plaza (and the pavement is not yet installed), structural soil is required underneath the adjacent pavement. Structural soil is a medium that can be compacted to pavement design and installation requirements while still permitting root growth. It is a mixture of gap-graded gravels (made of crushed stone), clay loam, and a hydrogel stabilizing agent to keep the mixture from separating. It provides an integrated, root penetrable, high strength pavement system that shifts design away from individual tree pits.

e. Energy conservation can be enhanced by plant placement. Plantings shall be designed to reduce the energy consumption needs of the development.

i. Deciduous trees should be placed on the south and west sides of buildings to provide shade from the summer sun and allow heat from the winter sun to reach the buildings.

ii. Evergreen plants and other plant materials should be concentrated on the north side of buildings to dissipate the effect of winter winds.

6. Irrigation Systems. Permanent irrigation, beyond establishment, is required and shall adhere to the following standards:

a. All irrigation systems shall be designed to minimize the use of water.

b. Nonresidential landscape irrigation shall have an automatic clock-activated permanent controller and shall be smart and weather-based instead of clock-based. A WaterSense label or industry equivalent is required.

c. The irrigation system shall provide sufficient coverage to all landscaped areas.

d. The irrigation system shall not spray or irrigate impervious surfaces, including sidewalks, driveways, streets, and parking and loading areas.

e. All systems shall be equipped with a backflow prevention device.

f. All mechanical systems including controllers and backflow prevention devices shall be properly screened from public view.

7. Maintenance of Landscape. All landscaping shall be maintained in good condition at all times to ensure a healthy and orderly appearance.

a. All required landscaping shall be maintained to adhere to all requirements of this chapter.

b. Unhealthy plants shall be replaced with healthy, live plants by the end of the next applicable growing season. This includes all plant material that shows dead branches over a minimum of twenty-five percent of the normal branching pattern.

c. The owner is responsible for the maintenance, repair, and replacement of all landscaping, screening, and curbing required herein.

d. Maintenance shall preserve at least the same quantity, quality, and screening effectiveness as initially installed.

e. Fences, walls, and other barriers shall be maintained in good repair and free of rust, flaking paint, graffiti, and broken or damaged parts.

f. Tree topping is not permitted. When necessary, crown reduction thinning or pruning is permitted.

g. All landscaped areas regulated by this section may be inspected by the city.

3. Minimum Street Tree Requirements. The following standards apply to the installation of street trees:

a. The minimum clear branch height in the MS and TCC districts is eight feet.

b. Street tree species shall be selected according to the conditions of the park strip and in compliance with Tables 8.01 through 8.05. A certified arborist may recommend species to be approved by the city on a per-project basis.

c. Street tree spacing requirements are defined by street type.

d. Street trees may be planted in tree wells with grates or in planting beds, as defined by street type.

4. Streetscape Design. Street trees are located in the public right-of-way and are included in the streetscape design for each street.

Table 8.01. Small Street Trees
for use under power lines
1.	Crabapples (fruitless only)	2.	Whitebeam Mountain Ash
3.	Golden Rain Tree	4.	Eastern Redbud
5.	Japanese Tree Lilac	6.	Hedge Maple
7.	Amur Maple	8.	Rocky Mountain Maple
9.	Tatarian Maple	10.	Green Mountain Ash
11.	Dwarf Littleleaf Linden	12.	Zelkova

Table 8.02. Small Street Trees
for landscape zones less than five feet wide
1.	Any of the trees in Table 8.01
2.	Amur Chokecherry	3.	Turkish Filbert
4.	Thornless Hawthorn	5	Netleaf Hackberry
6.	European Mountain Ash	7.	Paperbark Maple
8.	Red Horsechestnut	9.	Hardy Rubber Tree
10.	Kwanzan Cherry

Table 8.03. Medium Street Trees
for landscape zones between five and eight feet wide
1.	Hedge Maple	2.	Velvet Ash
3.	Littleleaf Linden	4.	Yellowwood
5.	Lacebark Elm	6.	Fairview Maple
7.	Pyramidal Hornbeam	8.	Chinese Fringe Tree
9.	Thornless Honeylocust	10.	Frontier Elm
11.	Briotii Horsechestnut	12.	Sensation Boxelder
13.	Manchurian Ash	14.	Purple Robe Locust

Table 8.04. Large Street Trees
for landscape zones wider than eight feet
1.	American Linden	2.	Patmore Seedless Ash
3.	Common Hackberry	4.	Red Oak
5.	English Oak	6.	Silver Linden
7.	European Beech	8.	Sycamore Maple
9.	Ginkgo (male variety only)	10.	Accolade Elm
11.	Japanese Zelkova	12.	Cimmaron Ash
13.	Marshall Seedless Green Ash	14.	Thornless Honeylocust
15.	Japanese Pagoda Tree	16.	Kentucky Coffeetree
17.	London Planetree	18.	Sterling Silver Linden

Table 8.05. Prohibited Street Trees
1.	Aspen	2.	Fruit-bearing trees
3.	Balm of Gilead	4.	Nut-bearing trees
5.	Gambel Oak	6.	Birch (all species)
7.	Mayday Tree	8.	Black Locust
9.	Mulberry (all species)	10.	Common Box Elder
11.	Russian Olive	12.	Catalpa
13.	Saskatoon Serviceberry	14.	Chinese Date
15.	Cottonwood (all species)	16.	Silk Tree
17.	Flowering Plum	18.	Conifers (all species)
19.	Willow (all species)	20.	Flowering Pear (all varieties)

1. Intent. To increase the compatibility of adjacent uses and minimize the adverse impacts created by adjoining or neighboring uses. This is accomplished by defining three different types of landscape areas. These areas help to screen, separate, and define the edges of a lot and the interior of surface parking lots. Landscaping is only permitted to be installed in the areas defined in this section or as part of an open space area described in Section 17-7-11.7.

2. The three landscape areas are:

a. Parking lot frontage buffers;

b. Parking lot interior landscape; and

c. Side and rear landscape buffers.

1. Intent. Landscaped buffers around parking lots are designed to reduce the visual impact of vehicular areas on public streets and adjacent properties.

2. Applicability. Applies to properties in all form districts where a parking lot abuts a street frontage. Regulations for the parking lot frontage buffer landscape area type are defined in Table 8.06 and Figure 8.01.

Table 8.06. Parking Lot Frontage Buffer Requirements
Buffer Requirements
1.	Depth	5'0" min.
2.	Location	Required where a parking lot abuts a street frontage
Planting Requirements
3.	Trees	Required every 30'0" on center where there is space for a buffer tree to be planted at the halfway point between street trees, on street side of fence when a fence is present.
4.	Ground Plane Vegetation	Buffers are required to be planted with live plants with at least 50% coverage at maturity, excluding trees.
Fencing (Optional)
5.	Height	3'0" min. / 4'0" max.
6.	Location	2'0" offset from parking lot outer curb
7.	Opening	1 pedestrian opening allowed per street frontage, 4'0" minimum width.

Figure 8.01. Parking Lot Frontage Buffer Diagram

1. Intent. Landscaped areas within parking lots are designed to provide shade, minimize stormwater runoff, and improve the appearance of parking lots.

2. Applicability. All surface parking lots with fourteen or more parking spaces shall provide landscaping in accordance with the provisions of this section, with the exception of those areas within the surface parking lot that have a building or roof overhang that renders landscaping impracticable. Regulations for the parking lot interior landscape area type are defined in Table 8.07 and Figure 8.02.

Table 8.07. Parking Lot Interior Landscape Requirements
Landscape Island Requirements
1.	Locations	1 island at the ends of each row/parking bay, including parking lot corner plus 1 island every 10 stalls in each row/bay.
2.	Width	5'0" min. width plus structural soil or soil cell area, 10'0" radius from tree center, required for trees planted in any island narrower than 15'0" wide.
Planting Requirements
3.	Trees	1 large shade tree per island, min.
4.	Ground Plane Vegetation	Islands are required to be planted with live plants with at least 50% coverage at maturity, excluding trees.

Figure 8.02. Parking Lot Interior Landscaping Diagram

1. Intent. Landscaping along the rear and sides of a lot are designed to minimize negative impacts between adjacent developments and provide softening and screening between properties.

2. Applicability. These landscape buffers are required in all developments with ground floor nonresidential uses within the district and must include a fence or hedge, as described in Table 8.08. Approved shared parking lots are exempt from side and rear landscape buffer requirements when the parking lot straddles a side or rear lot line. Regulations for the side and rear landscape buffer landscape area type are defined in Table 8.08 and Figure 8.03.

Table 8.08. Side and Rear Landscape Buffer Requirements
Depth & Location
1.	Locations	Required along side and rear lot lines (not along street frontages or across driveways)
2.	Depth	5'0" min.
Landscape Requirements
3.	Trees	1 tree per 30'0" of side and rear lot lines where the provided landscape buffer is 10'0" wide or greater
4.	Hedge Option	A continuous double row of shrubs planted in the space between trees. Individual shrubs to have a minimum mature width of 3'0" and minimum mature height of 4'0" planted at no greater than 3'0" on center.
5.	Fence Option	An opaque fence with a minimum height of 6'0" to be installed adjacent to the lot line. The buffer on the interior side of the fence must include a sidewalk and/or be planted with live plants with at least 50% coverage at maturity, excluding trees.

Figure 8.03. Side and Rear Landscape Buffer Diagram