§ 18.46.090. Required plants.

A.

The following plant materials shall be installed within the required landscapable area as follows:

1.

For every one thousand square feet, or portion thereof, of landscapable area, one unit of plant material shall be required. One unit of plant material consists of the following:

a.

One project deciduous or evergreen trees having a minimum caliper size of two inches and a minimum height of ten feet to twelve feet;

b.

A minimum of forty-five plants of five-gallon size, which are a minimum of eighteen inches in height.

c.

For project trees, two one-inch caliper trees at a height of eight feet to twelve feet may be substituted for one two-inch caliper project tree.

d.

Substitution of plant materials may be allowed for the preservation or relocation of existing healthy trees and shrubs based on equivalent size and type of plant material and shall be subject to review by the landscape plan reviewer on a case by case basis.

e.

Other allowable substitutions are as follows;

i.

Ten one-gallon shrubs may be substituted for one five-gallon shrub for up to fifty percent of the required five gallon shrubs.

ii.

Five five-gallon shrubs may be substituted for one project tree for up to fifty percent of the required project trees.

iii.

One project tree may be substituted for five five-gallon plants.

iv.

Two one-inch caliper trees eight feet tall may be substituted for one two-inch caliper tree ten to twelve feet tall for up to fifty percent of the required project trees.

v.

There are No substitutions for street, buffer, or canopy trees.

f.

Palms may be installed on the property but will only count as three five-gallon plants and may only be substituted for up to fifty percent of the required five gallon plants.

2.

Parking lots and vehicular use areas.

a.

Shading shall be required for parking lots and vehicular use areas that are located within the project, with ten parking spaces or more shall be provided with at least one parking lot tree for every ten parking spaces.

b.

Truck courts and truck-trailer parking lots shall be required to have parking lot trees placed around the perimeter of the parking lot.

c.

Parking lot trees may be placed within the parking area or vehicular use area with due consideration for vehicle movement and maneuvering or directly adjacent to the vehicular use area.

d.

Parking lot trees shall be located with respect to the location of parking lot light fixtures in such a manner as to not impede the distribution of light throughout the parking lot, unless the lighting is placed in the canopy of the trees.

e.

Parking lot trees may be placed in planting areas of thirty-six square feet with no dimension less than four feet.

f.

If an approved surface is installed for parking or storage of vehicles but is not striped, a tree shall be planted for every one thousand eight hundred square feet of approved surface. Automobile dealerships maintaining an area to rotate stock will be excluded from this calculation.

3.

Street-oriented buildings.

a.

In cases where a building is oriented toward the street, the required landscapable area shall be reduced by sixty percent if the building meets the following standards:

i.

The building span is seventy percent of the width of the lot at the street; and

ii.

The principal entrance is from the sidewalk facing the street; and

iii.

No parking is located between the street and the building along any portion of the seventy percent span; and

iv.

At least Thirty percent of the building facade is glass.

b.

Any side off-street parking abutting the property line shall have the required frontage landscape buffer area and required buffer trees.

4.

Designated landscape infill development area.

a.

The designated landscape infill development area is shown as Appendix A attached to Ordinance Number 17656. [A copy of Ordinance 17656, Exh. A can be found in the city offices.]

b.

For a property within the designated landscape infill development area, the required landscapable area may be reduced up to thirty percent.

c.

The property shall comply with all other provisions of this chapter.

5.

Plant coverage option. The following plant coverage option may be utilized in lieu of the requirements specified under Section 18.46.090 A.1.

a.

Plant material shall be provided on all required landscapable area and will cover at least seventy-five percent of area.

b.

Plant material used in the coverage calculation shall be shrubs or ground cover from the required the approved tree and plant list of the City of El Paso. The required coverage shall be fifty percent achieved within two years of the date of planting and seventy percent at maturity. In no instance shall the number of plants provided fall below forty percent of the total required under Section 18.46.090 A.1.

c.

In addition to the required plant material, two project deciduous or evergreen trees having a caliper size of two inches and a minimum height of ten feet to twelve feet shall be required for every one thousand square feet, or portion thereof. For project trees, two one inch caliper trees at a height of eight feet to twelve feet may be substituted for a two inch caliper project tree. Project trees shall not be used in the calculation of the coverage area.

d.

A required weather-based smart controller shall be required in order to utilize the plant coverage option.

6.

Storage facilities.

a.

Landscapable area shall be calculated for all storage unit development by the square footage of the entire lot(s) on which the project is located minus the square footage of the building(s) footprint, multiplied by ten percent. The required landscaping shall be placed around the outer perimeter of the parcel. The required landscaping shall not be placed in any area less than thirty-six square feet and with any dimension less than four feet. If the parcel that is being developed abuts a street, the street trees are still required to be placed every thirty feet and they may be counted towards the required tree count for the project. If onsite parking is required then canopy trees shall be required per the requirements of this chapter.

7.

Groups—High hazard group (H), storage group (S), and utility (U) occupancy classifications, as defined in the International Building Code, in manufacturing and industrial zoning districts.

a.

Landscapable area shall be calculated based on the square footage of the entire lot(s) on which the project is located, minus the square footage of the building(s) footprint multiplied by five percent.

b.

The required landscaping shall be placed around the outer perimeter of the primary public building on the site. If the property being developed abuts residential uses a landscape buffer is required along those property lines.

c.

The required landscaping shall not be placed in any area less than thirty-six square feet and with any dimension less than four feet.

d.

All other provisions pertaining to the parking areas, frontage landscape buffer, and street trees shall comply with the applicable provisions of this Code.

(Ord. No. 18026, § 1, 6-4-2013; Ord. No. 18676 , §§ 2, 3, 5-2-2017)