Planning 2016-11-10 ITEM 4 - TMC CHAPTER 18.52 LANDSCAPING CODE UPDATE: STAFF REPORT

Browse Search

Members of the Planning Commission L16 -0012, Revisions to TMC 18.52, Landscaping Code Staff Report November 2, 2016 DISCUSSION OF PROPOSED CHANGES The Tukwila Tree and Environment Advisory Committee draft landscaping chapter (Attachment A) contains proposed changes to the City's the Zoning Code. Below is a summary of each subsection of the draft landscaping chapter. The proposal is to repeal the current 18.52 and replace it with the proposed new text. The items in the current 18.52 that do not apply directly to landscaping (TMC 18.52. 060, Recreation Space Requirements through 18.52.090, Design of Collection Points for Garbage and Recycling Containers) will be moved to TMC 18.50, Supplemental Development Standards. Much of the proposed new landscaping code has been modeled on TMC 18.28, the Tukwila Urban Center chapter, which has its own landscaping requirements and is the most recent Council approved landscaping standards for the City. The proposed draft has been annotated to provide sources of the material and to note when the Advisory Committee made changes to the initial staff draft. There are additional notations throughout the proposed draft landscaping code that indicate revisions that were made to incorporate comments received from Puget Sound Energy (PSE). TMC 18.52.010. Purpose: The purpose section of the chapter has been expanded to add references to the new Comprehensive Plan goals and policies related to urban forestry, and low impact development and to recognize the benefits that trees provide to the built environment. TMC 18.52.020: Perimeter and Parking Landscaping Requirements by Zone District: This subsection is comprised of a table that identifies the amount of landscaping required for the front, side and rear of properties in each zoning district. Where revisions are proposed, the proposed change is highlighted in yellow and strikeout/underline used to indicate where the amount required has been increased. One addition to the table is the inclusion of required landscaping in parking lots. The proposed landscaping is identified along with the currently required landscaping for ease of comparison (the final landscape code will only show the adopted landscaping required for parking lots). A major change in the draft landscaping code is to require landscaping in parking lots in the Light Industrial, Heavy Industrial and Manufacturing Industrial Centers, Light and Heavy. The code allows flexibility in where this landscaping is located — it can be located in the parking lot or clustered to accommodate uses on- site. The proposed draft code also requires landscaping in parking lots regardless of the number of stalls needed — the current code does not require parking lot landscaping for projects that require 20 parking stalls or less. Finally, the table includes a number of footnotes —notes 1 -10 are carry -overs from the current 18.52. TMC 18.52.030. Landscaping Types: This subsection is a mix of standards found in TMC 18.28 and new text. It includes standards for trees, shrubs and groundcover and then describes Types I, II, and III landscaping, as well as the landscaping required in parking lots. This subsection also establishes standards for street trees in the public frontage; this language is a mix of language from 18.28 and new text, drawn primarily from the landscaping and tree code of the City of Tigard, Oregon. CL Page 4 of 5 11/3/2016 10:00 AM W: \\Long Range Projects\2016 Landscaping and Tree Code Update\Planning Commission \Staff Rpt. A