HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning 2016-11-10 ITEM 4 - TMC CHAPTER 18.52 LANDSCAPING CODE UPDATE: STAFF REPORTCity of Tukwfla Allan Ekberg, •
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STAFF REPORT
TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION
Prepared October 31, 2016
FILE NUMBERS: L16 -0012 Revisions to TMC 18.52, Landscaping Code
E16 -0003 SEPA Checklist
REQUEST: Public Hearing to consider repealing the current TMC 18.52, Landscaping,
Recreation, Recycling/Solid Waste Space Requirements and adoption of new
landscaping requirements. Based on direction from the Planning Commission
staff will revise the draft regulations. The Planning Commission's
recommendations then will be forwarded to the City Council for review.
PUBLIC HEARING: November 10, 2016
LOCATION: City wide
STAFF: Carol Lumb, Senior Planner
Andrea Cummins, Urban Environmentalist
ATTACHMENTS:
A. Tukwila Tree and Environment Advisory Committee Draft TMC 18.52
B. Current TMC 18.52
C. TMC 18.28, Tukwila Urban Center District
D. Urban Forestry Goals and Policies
E. SEPA Application and Checklist
F. Email from Daryl Tapio with attachments
G. Puget Sound Energy Comments on Draft 18.52
INTRODUCTION
The current landscaping regulations were adopted 17 years ago in 1999, four years after the 1995
Comprehensive Plan was adopted. Only minor revisions to the chapter have been made in recent years.
The update of the landscaping regulations is the final phase of a three phase process:
Phase l: Establishment of the Tukwila Tree and Environment Advisory Committee: a team of
Tukwila residents, business and professional experts, and Planning Commission and City Council
representatives appointed to guide development of goals and policies on the natural environment and
urban forestry. The Committee met from September, 2012 to May, 2013 and provided
recommendations to the Planning Commission on the goals and policies.
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Members of the Planning Commission
L16 -0012, Revisions to TMC 18.52, Landscaping Code Staff Report
November 2, 2016
Phase 2: Update of the Natural Environment Element of the Comprehensive Plan incorporating the
policy direction from the Advisory Committee: Planning Commission and City Council review and
adoption of the revised Natural Environment Element, June to December, 2013.
Phase 3: Revise landscape and tree regulations in the Zoning Code to implement the new
Comprehensive Plan goals and policies on urban forestry. The Tukwila Tree and Environment
Advisory Committee met again in September and October 2016, to review and revise a staff draft of
landscaping regulations to forward to the Planning Commission.
BACKGROUND
The Tukwila Planning Commission advises the Mayor and City Council on matters relating to land use,
comprehensive planning, and zoning (TMC2.36.030.) Additionally, all code cities are required to adopt
development regulations that are consistent with and implement the City's Comprehensive Plan. (RCW
35A.63.105)
The Tukwila Comprehensive Plan has the following policies regarding urban forestry. Any proposed
regulations must implement and be consistent with these policies.
Goal 4.12
Trees are recognized by Tukwila citizens, business, City staff and decision - makers for their
benefits to the environment, urban infrastructure and their aesthetic value.
4.12.3: Ensure that regulations recognize that larger trees provide more benefits than
small trees.
Goal 4.13
Overall city -wide tree canopy increased to a total of 29% by 2034. Canopy cover in individual
zoning categories increased by 2034 as listed below:
Light Industrial zones: 3% increase from 20% to achieve 23% cover
Heavy Industrial zones: 1% increase from 9% to achieve 10% cover
Tukwila Urban Center and Tukwila South: 5% increase from 13 %to achieve 18% cover
Office and Commercial: 3% increase from 29 %to achieve 32% cover
Parks: 5% increase from 38% to achieve 43% cover
Public Rights -of -Wad increase canopy coverage through street tree planting. Specific
canopy goal to be established based on future assessment.
4.13.1 Promote tree retention throughout the City by:
a. implementing educational programs for property owners and managers regarding tree
selection and care, applicable regulations, selecting a qualified arborist, and other
issues;
b. except for hazard trees or trees that interfere with underground or overhead utilities,
prohibiting removal of any tree four inches or larger in diameter at breast height (dbh)
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L16 -0012, Revisions to TMC 18.52, Landscaping Code Staff Report
November 2, 2016
on all undeveloped property without an approved development or other land use permit,
to provide the opportunity to preserve healthy trees during development;
c. promoting the mutual goals of tree protection and urban development through the
implementation of incentive programs and flexible site development regulations,
especially to retain tree groves; and
d. requiring financial assurances for required tree replanting and maintenance.
4.13.4 Ensure that required replacement trees at maturity will have equivalent or larger
canopies than the removed tree(s), except where existing or future infrastructure and /or public
or private utilities impede the planting of large trees.
4.13.6 Establish criteria for requiring professional assessment and corrective actions by
property owners who damage code - required landscaping, street trees, or other required
trees by topping, poor pruning practices, or root disturbance.
4.13.7 Where trees are regulated and required replacement trees cannot be accommodated
on a site, establish procedures for off -site planting of replacement trees or payment into a
dedicated tree replacement fund.
4.13. 10 Provide flexibility in the landscape code to promote increased tree planting and /or
planting of large canopy trees, and reward the preservation of existing healthy trees to
assist in meeting the City's canopy goals.
4.13. 11 Evaluate current parking lot landscape requirements to identify opportunities to
increase tree canopy.
Goal 4.14
Tukwila's streetscapes and landscaped areas are sustainable and attractive, and its urban
forest is healthy, diverse, and safe.
4.14.3 Modify landscape code and educate property owners, property managers, landscape
maintenance companies and tree companies to promote best practices for soil preparation,
planting techniques, pruning, trenching, and general tree care.
4.14.4 Ensure that landscaping and replacement trees in new development or re-
development are properly cared for and thrive in perpetuity, through such means as
maintenance agreements, monitoring and enforcement.
4.14.6 Modify landscape code to require diversity of tree species in landscape plantings
and consideration of species already present in the vicinity.
4.14.7 Establish minimum standards and landscape specifications to ensure long -term tree
health for street trees, required landscape trees and required replacement trees, including
minimum soil volume, soil quality, plant quality, planting techniques, irrigation,
mulching, tree pruning, and prohibition of topping.
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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.
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Members of the Planning Commission
L16 -0012, Revisions to TMC 18.52, Landscaping Code Staff Report
November 2, 2016
TMC 18.52.040. Screening and Visibility: Most of this subsection is from either existing landscaping
code or from TMC 18.28. The Visibility section is from the Crime Prevention Through Environmental
Design standards found in 18.28.
TMC 18.52.050. Si2nilicant Tree Retention: This subsection is a mix taken from current code found
in TMC 18.28 and language taken from the City of Tigard, Oregon landscaping code. The subsection
includes an incentive to retain significant trees on a development site by allowing retained significant
trees to be counted towards required landscaping trees. For each two percent of effective canopy cover
provided by retained trees that is incorporated into the required landscaping, the applicant would receive
a two percent reduction in the minimum landscape requirements. No more than 20% of the minimum
landscape requirement may be reduced using this provision.
TMC 18.52.060. Plant Material Requirements and Tree Standards: Most of this subsection is
drawn from TMC 18.28. The proposed code requires diversity of tree and shrub genus and species, with
the guidance drawn from the City of Portland's landscaping code. Item 49 in this subsection includes
language added by the Planning Commission at its October 27, 2016 meeting when it reviewed
amendments to the Zoning Code to address low impact development.
New to the proposed landscaping code is providing standards based on the stature of the tree being
planted. The code states a preference for large stature trees, but recognizes that not all sites can
accommodate or are appropriate for large stature trees, such as street trees in the right -of -way.
TMC 18.52.070. Soil Preparation, Planting, and Irritation: The current landscaping code does not
provide guidance on soil preparation, which is key for plant survival and the health of trees. Most of
this subsection is taken from TMC 18.28, which incorporated soil preparation standards for landscaping
in the Urban Center in 2014.
TMC 18.52.080. Maintenance and Pruning: The current landscape code does not address
maintenance of plant material. The language of this new subsection is taken primarily from TMC 18.28
with some revisions by the Advisory Committee and PSE.
TMC 18.52.090. Landscape Plan Requirements: The language in this subsection is a mix of current
landscape code, TMC 18.52 and language from TMC 18.28.
TMC 18.52.100. Procedures: A new subsection has been added to the landscaping chapter that
identifies criteria for the consideration of landscape modifications and establishes penalties for
violations to the landscaping code.
REQUESTED ACTION
Hold the public hearing on the proposed changes, deliberate and make a recommendation to the City
Council.
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