CITY OF HOMER        

HOMER, ALASKA

 

ORDINANCE 05-01

City Manager/Planning

 

AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HOMER, ALASKA AMENDING HOMER CITY CODE CHAPTER 21.48 CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT 21.48.060(h) LANDSCAPING REQUIREMENTS, SECTION 21.49 GENERAL COMMERCIAL 1 21.49.060(h) AND SECTION 21.61 CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT 21.61.105(l)(7) LANDSCAPING.

 

 

WHEREAS,  Landscaping requirements were developed for the Central Business District and for Large Retail and Wholesale developments; and

 

WHEREAS,  Those requirements included specifications for dividers and islands within  parking lots; and


            WHEREAS,  New information has shown that parking lot dividers and islands in northern climates may not always be practical or facilitate good plant survival; and

 

WHEREAS, The Homer Advisory Planning Commission held a public hearing on the matter on October 20, 2004.   

 

NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY OF HOMER HEREBY ORDAINS:

 

Section 1.  Homer City Code 21.48.060(h) Landscaping Requirements for the Central Business district is hereby amended to read as follows:

 

h. Landscaping Requirements.  All development on lands in this zoning district shall conform to the following:

1. Landscaping shall include the retention of native vegetation to the maximum extent possible and shall consist of the following:

a. Buffers:

i. 3 feet minimum width along all lot lines where setbacks permit;

ii. 10 feet minimum width adjacent to right‑of‑ways, except alleys, and in parking lots with 12 spaces or more;

ii.iii. 15 feet minimum from the top of the bank of the any defined drainage channel or stream.

b. Dividers and islands Parking Lots:

i. 10 percent of the lot area of parking areas with 24 spaces or more; A minimum of 10 percent of the parking area of parking lots with 24 spaces or more shall be landscaped in islands, dividers, or a combination of the two;

ii. Installed after 12 contiguous spaces in parking lots with 24 spaces or more. 

ii.  Parking lots with 24 spaces or more will have a minimum 10-foot landscaped buffer adjacent to road rights-of-way.

iii. Parking lots with only one single loaded or one double loaded aisle that have a 15-foot minimum landscaped buffer adjacent to road rights-of-way are excluded from the requirement of subparagraph (i) above.

2. Topsoil addition, final grading, seeding, and all plantings of flora must be completed within nine months of occupancy, or within the first growing season after occupancy, whichever comes first.  Required landscaping will be maintained thereafter, with all shrubs, trees, and groundcover being replaced as needed.

 

Section 2.  Homer City Code 21.49.060(h) Landscaping Requirements in the General Commercial 1 District is hereby amended to read as follows:

 

h. Landscaping Requirements.  All development on lands in this zoning district shall conform to the following:

1. Landscaping shall include the retention of native vegetation to the maximum extent possible and shall consist of the following:

a. Buffers:

i.                     3 feet minimum width along all lot lines where setbacks permit;

ii. 10 feet minimum width adjacent to right‑of‑ways, except alleys, and in parking lots with 12 spaces or more;

ii.iii. 15 feet minimum from the top of the bank of the any defined drainage channel or stream.

b. Dividers and islands Parking Lots:

i. 10 percent of the lot area of parking areas with 24 spaces or more; A minimum of 10 percent of the parking area of parking lots with 24 spaces or more shall be landscaped in islands, dividers, or a combination of the two;

ii. Installed after 12 contiguous spaces in parking lots with 24 spaces or more. 

ii.  Parking lots with 24 spaces or more will have a minimum 10-foot landscaped buffer adjacent to road rights-of-way.

iii. Parking lots with only one single loaded or one double loaded aisle having a 15-foot minimum landscaped buffer adjacent to road rights-of-way are excluded from the requirement of subparagraph (i) above.

 

2. Topsoil addition, final grading, seeding, and all plantings of flora must be completed within nine months of occupancy, or within the first growing season after occupancy, whichever comes first.  Required landscaping will be maintained thereafter, with all shrubs, trees, and groundcover being replaced as needed.

 

Section 3.                        Homer City Code 21.61.105(l)(7)  Landscaping, Conditional Use Permit is hereby amended to read as follows:

 

7.  Landscaping.

a.  Landscaping shall not be less than 15 percent of the total lot area and shall include the retention of existing native vegetation to the maximum extent possible.  The coverage of shrubs, trees and hedges shall be measured from their drip lines.

i.  Buffers:

1. 3 feet minimum width along all lot lines where setbacks permit;

2. 10 feet minimum width adjacent to rights‑of‑way, except alleys, and in parking lots of more than 30 spaces;

ii.  Dividers and Islands Parking Lots:

1.  10 percent of the lot area of parking lots with more than 24 spaces; A minimum of 10 percent of the parking area of parking lots with 24 spaces or more shall be landscaped in islands, dividers, or a combination of the two.

2.  Installed after 12 contiguous spaces in parking lots with more than 24 spaces.

2.  Parking lots with 24 spaces or more will have a minimum 10-foot landscaped buffer adjacent to road rights-of-way.

3. Parking lots with only one single loaded or one double loaded aisle that have a 15-foot minimum landscaped buffer adjacent to road rights-of-way are excluded from the requirement of subparagraph (1) above.

 

b.  General landscaping shall be additionally provided as needed to achieve the minimum required landscape coverage.

c.  Required landscaping shall be limited to the following materials:

i.   Living ground cover;

ii. Permeable, continuous non –living ground cover;

iii. Living plant life other than ground cover;

iv.  Retained native vegetation;

v.   Natural or man‑made features, including but not limited to, boulders and planters;

vi.  Pedestrian ways;

vii. Public spaces.

d.  Separate sections of landscaping shall be composed of the required materials in any combination as follows:

i.  Living plant life other than ground cover or natural vegetation shall have  minimum coverage of 5 percent;

ii.  Living ground cover shall have a maximum coverage of 80 percent;

iii.  Permeable non‑living ground cover shall have a maximum coverage of 10 percent;

iv.  Natural or man‑made features shall have a maximum coverage of 10 percent;

v.  Pedestrian ways or public spaces shall have a maximum coverage of 50 percent.

e.  Topsoil addition, final grading, seeding, and all planting of flora must be complete within nine months of occupancy, or within the first growing season after occupancy, whichever comes first.  Required landscaping will be maintained thereafter, with all shrubs, trees, and groundcover being replaced as needed.

 

Section 4.  This ordinance is of a permanent and general character and shall be included in the City Code. 

 

 

            ENACTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HOMER, ALASKA, this __________ day of ______________________, 2004.

 

CITY OF HOMER

 

_______________________________

JAMES C. HORNADAY, MAYOR

 

ATTEST:

                                                                       

MARY L. CALHOUN, CMC, CITY CLERK

 

 

 

Reviewed and approved as to form:

 

_____________________________                ___________________________

Walt E. Wrede, City Manager                                 Gordon J. Tans, City Attorney

 

Date:                                                                           Date:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

 

 

 

Fiscal Note: NA