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