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A. All parking areas of over 20,000 square feet shall have a minimum of 10 percent of the parking area, maneuvering area and loading space landscaped as a means to reduce the barren appearance of the lot and to reduce the amount of storm water runoff. Fifty percent of the perimeter landscaping, required adjacent to property lines, may be calculated as part of the 10 percent figure.

B. All ingress or egress easements, which provide corridors to the subject lot, not adjacent to a public right-of-way, shall be considered the same as a public right-of-way. Landscape requirements for easement corridors shall be the same as those required adjacent to public rights-of-way.

C. Outside storage areas shall be fenced and landscaped a minimum of five feet in depth unless it is determined by development plan review that such screening is not necessary because stored materials are not visually obtrusive. The five-foot-deep landscaped area can occur within the street right-of-way abutting the property line.

D. All portions of a lot not devoted to building, future building, parking, storage or accessory uses shall be landscaped in a manner appropriate to the stated purpose of this chapter.

E. All required landscaping areas should extend to the curb line or the street edge. A crushed rock path in lieu of landscaping may be required where appropriate as determined by the town planner.

F. Required landscape areas which are inappropriate to landscape due to the existence of rail lines or other features shall be relocated, first, to another lot line, or second, to an equal-sized area in another portion of the lot, to be determined by the town planner upon review with the owner or developer.

G. Bark mulch, gravel or other nonvegetative material shall only be used in conjunction with landscaping to assist vegetative growth and maintenance or to visually complement plant material. Nonvegetative material is not a substitute for plant material.

H. Required landscape areas shall be provided with adequate drainage.

I. Slopes shall not exceed a three-to-one ratio (width to height), in order to decrease erosion potential and assist in ease of maintenance.

J. The perimeter of all parking areas, which abut residential zones or uses, shall be landscaped to a minimum depth of three feet with Type II landscaping unless otherwise provided by this chapter. A six-foot-high solid wood or equivalent fence is also required. Substitute fencing, including but not limited to chain link fence with slats, may be approved by the town council upon application of the developer and adjacent residential property owners when such fencing shall provide buffering consistent with the purpose and intent of this chapter. The term “adjacent residential property,” for purposes of this section, shall mean abutting property, and lots immediately adjacent to abutting property, and shall not mean property across a public road.

K. Landscaping shall not conflict with the safety of those using adjacent sidewalks or with traffic safety. Safety features of landscaping shall be discussed at the time of development plan review, if necessary.

L. Quantity, arrangement and types of plants installed shall be appropriate to the size of the required landscape area and purpose of planting area as noted in SPMC 17.07.050, pertaining to types of landscaping.

M. All trash containers shall be screened from abutting properties and streets by a 100 percent sight-obscuring fence or wall and appropriate landscaping.

N. Landscaping shall be placed outside of sight-obscuring or 100 percent sight-obscuring fences unless it is determined by the town planner that such arrangement would be detrimental to the stated purpose of this chapter. [Ord. 378 § 2 (Exh. 1), 1999.]