Ordinance 1364ORDINANCE NO, J
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF EDMONDSjWASHINGTON
AMENDING THE OFFICIAL ZONING ORDINANCE,, SECTION
12.14.020 H:,; ESTABLISHING LANDSCAPING REQUIRE-
MENTS FOR PARKING LOTS,( PURSUANT TO PLANNING
COMMISSION RESOLUTION NO. 264.
WHEREAS, the city council of the City of Edmonds,
Washington pursuant to Planning Commission Resolution
No. 264 called a public hearing and thereat found it to
be in the best interest and the public health, safety and
welfare to amend the Edmonds Zoning Ordinance as set forth
below, now, therefore,
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EDMONDS, WASHINGTON
DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The Edmonds City Code, Section 12.14.020 H,
is hereby amended to read as follows:
"Section 12.14.020 H
PLANS: Three copies of the plot plan of the proposed
parking area shall be submitted to the Building Official at
the time of the application for the building for which
the parking area is required. Proposed parking areas
containing five or more spaces shall be reviewed by the
Planning Department for compliance with the parking and
landscaping requirements, and occupance permits shall be
withheld until the actual improvements conform to the
approved plot plan. Said plan shall be drawn to a scale
of about 1" = 20' and shall include the following:
a. North point and scale;
b. All adjacent streets, alleys, sidewalks, and
curbs;
C. Existing trees over one foot in diameter;
d. Entire ownership of lot or parcel being developed;
e. The outline of all existing and proposed structures;
f. Dimensions and height of building in number of
stories or feet and total floor area, existing
and proposed;
g. Completely dimensioned parking layouts, clearly
showing all spaces;
h. Elevations of the lot corners.
1. Required Control Devices and Pavin : All traffic
control devices such as parking stripes designating
car stalls, directional arrows or signs, bull rails,
curbs, and other developments, shall be installed
and completed as shown on the approved plans. Hard -
surfaced parking areas shall use paint or similar
devices to delineate car stalls and directional arrows.
Gravel parking areas shall use wood or concrete bull
rails or wheelstops and posted signs to delineate car
stalls and direction of traffic. Where pedestrian
walks are used in parking lots for the use of foot
traffic only, they shall be curbed, or raised six
inches above the lot surface. All driveways, off-
street areas immediately adjacent to a service
driveway which leads to a hard -surface public street
shall be hard -surfaced with a minimum of two inches
of asphaltic concrete, and for a driving distance of
at least 50 feet from said service driveways.
2. Dimensions: Minimum dimensions of off-street parking
areas shall be not less than as shown on Figure 1,
Minimum Parking Lot Requirements.
3. Landsca in Re uirements in Parkin Lots:
a. Purpose of landscaping provisions:
(1) To break up the visual blight created by
large expanses of barren asphalt which makes
up the typical parking lot;
(2) To encourage the preservation of mature ever-
greens and other large trees which presently
grow throughout the city;
(3) To develop a safe, healthy, and open environ-
ment in the apartment and commercial areas
of the city for apartment residents, shoppers,
and the motoring public.
b. Parking areas fronting on a street right-of-way
shall provide a five (5) foot planting area along
the entire street frontage except for driveways,
provided that the plantings shall not obstruct
the sight distance at street intersections. As
an alternative, the developer may install a decor-
ative screening device or a combination of planting
area and screening device. Where the boundary of
such parking area sets back from the street, a
planting bed width in excess of 8 feet cannot be
used to satisfy the area requirements of Section 3.d.
C. In addition, planting may be placed on street
right-of-way with the approval of the City Engineer
if the property owner provides the City with a
written release of liability for damages which
may be incurred to said planting area from future
street expansion or utility installation.
d. Eight percent (8j) of parking area to be in land-
scaping, PROVIDED THAT:
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(1) No landscaping area shall be less than 20
square feet in area or less than 4 feet in
width. Planting boxes and tubs of smaller
dimensions are acceptable and their areas
shall be used to satisfy the 8% area require-
ment.
(2) Landscaping areas shall be proportionately
distributed throughout the parking area in
a manner which best fulfills the objectives
set forth in the stated purposes of this
section.
(3) Parking lots containing less than 20 parking
spaces need provide only perimeter screening
to satisfy the 81% area requirement. Parking
lots with 20 or more parking spaces may be
required to have some landscaping between
parking stalls in order to satisfy the eight
percent (8/) required area. In parking lots
with 20 or more spaces, the landscaping which
occurs between parking stalls and building
or between parking stalls and apartment recre-
ation areas shall not be considered in the
satisfaction of the 8% required area.
(4) These requirements shall apply to gas stations
and shall be waived for the viewer parking
areas of drive-in movie theaters.
e. The screening devices and planting design shall
be as follows:
(1) Perimeter areas: Plant material installed
in the perimeter planting beds shall be placed
close enough together to form a solid, sight -
obscuring screen. Such plant materials shall
attain a minimum mature height of three feet.
Where a parking area abuts a side or rear
property line, a four (4) to five (5) foot
high decorative screening device shall be
installed within a foot bf_the property line
and planted with some variety of plant mater-
ial. A protective curb may be installed two
(2) feet away from the fence or wall. where
an upward slope on the adjoining property
exceeds forty-five percent (45) for a dis-
tance of three (3) feet from the property
line, this sight screening requirement may be
waived. This sight --screening requirement
may also be waived if the property adjoining
the proposed parking lot contains an approved
sight screening device located on the common
border line.
(2) Interior areas: The planting design for in-
terior areas of parking lots shall specify
trees with ground cover and shrubs. Ever-
green plant materials are preferred. Specific
plant names are not required.
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f. Street trees will be required within the front
planting strip where a parking lot adjoins a
public street for a distance greater than 60
feet. Tree varieties approved by the Planning
Department will be planted 40 feet apart, and their
common names shall be listed on the plot plan.
4. Parking Area Grades: In order to discourage the con-
struction of unuseable, inconvenient, and hazardous
parking areas, a maximum pavement slope of six percent
(6%) and a minimum slope of one percent (1%) will be
permitted. The maximum slope of fourteen percent
(14%) will be permitted for driveways or aisles between
separated parking areas. The long dimension of a
parking stall preferably should be perpendicular to
ground contours. If existing ground slopes in a
proposed parking lot exceed ten percent (10%), the
Planning Department may require the submission of a
topographic survey showing existing and proposed
contours. Parking lots depressed two or three feet
below the level of the street will be encouraged wher-
ever possible. Plans for adequate drainage will be
approved by the Engineering Department.
5- Lighting of areas provided for off-street parking
shall be so arranged to not constitute a nuisance
or hazard to passing traffic and where said lots
share a common boundary with any 'R' classified
property, the illuminating devices shall be so
shaded and directed to play their light away from
'R' classified property.
6. Maintenance of all areas provided for off-street
parking shall include removal and replacement of
dead and dying trees, grass and shrubs, removal of
trash and weeds, and repair of traffic control
devices, signs, light standards, fences, walls,
surfacing material, curbs and railings."
APPROVED:
MAYOR
ATTEST:
7
CITY CLERK
PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL: April 16, 1968
FILED WITH THE CITY CLERK: April 16, 1968
PUBLISHED: April 24, 1968
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