16.33.060 Types of landscaping | Wasilla Municipal Code

16.33.060 Types of landscaping.

1. Purpose. Create an aesthetically appealing visual appearance from the road right-of-way.

2. Applicability. Landscaping is required along the perimeter of all lot lines adjacent to the right-of-way.

a. Landscaped Planting Bed Width. The planting bed width shall be an average of 10 feet with a minimum width not less than six feet. Driveways and sidewalks may cross such strips to provide approved site access.

i. Multifamily Residential or Commercial Zoning Districts. Landscaped planting beds within these zoning districts must contain the following:

(A) Minimum of nine perennial flowers and/or ornamental grasses per 100 square feet of planting bed. Flowers may be grouped but may not be planted at intervals greater than 15 feet on center;

(B) Two shrubs per 100 square feet of planting bed. Shrubs must be a mix of evergreen, flowering deciduous, and deciduous, with a maximum of 40 percent of any one species. Shrubs may be grouped but may not be planted at intervals greater than 15 feet on center;

(D) Mulch/ground cover, boulders, and decorative fencing panels.

ii. Industrial Zoned Lots With Frontage on Streets Classified as Local Streets by the City. Landscaped planting beds must contain the following:

(A) Minimum of two shrubs per 100 square feet of planting bed. Required shrubs must be a mix of evergreen, flowering deciduous, and deciduous, with a maximum percentage of any one species of 40 percent. Shrubs may be grouped around required trees but may not be planted at intervals greater than 15 feet on center;

(B) One street tree; and

iii. Industrially Zoned Lots With Frontage on Streets Classified by the City as Commercial, Collector, Arterial, or Interstate. Landscaped planting beds must contain the following:

(A) Minimum of nine perennial flowers and/or ornamental grasses;

(B) Two shrubs per 100 square feet of planting bed. Required shrubs must be a mix of evergreen, flowering deciduous, and deciduous, with a maximum percentage of any one species of 40 percent. Shrubs may be grouped around required trees but may not be planted at intervals greater than 15 feet on center;

(D) Ground cover/mulch.

(E) Alternatively, the landscaped planting bed may be five feet wide, contain the required street trees, and two shrubs per 100 square feet of planting bed with grass instead of ground cover/mulch and be supplemented with a six-foot-tall opaque fence (minimum 95 percent opacity). The fence must be set back a minimum of five feet from the lot line with the five-foot-wide planting bed on the street side of the fence.

1. Purpose. All parking lots and vehicular use areas must be screened from view from the right-of-way and/or adjacent residential areas to soften the appearance of these areas.

2. Applicability. Landscaping is required for all parking lots and vehicular use areas except as provided in this section.

3. Exemptions. The following are exempt from the requirements in this subsection:

a. Vehicular Display Areas for Automobile Sales or Rentals. However, all other standards in this chapter must be met.

b. Industrially zoned lots with frontage only on streets classified as local streets by the city.

4. Parking Lot Perimeter. All parking lots visible from a public right-of-way must be screened with the following:

a. Plantings required in a perimeter planting bed (see subsection (A)(3) of this section).

b. A vegetative hedge (or other similar vegetative screening) along street lot lines must be planted between the required perimeter planting bed and abutting the parking lot. Plantings must be a minimum of two and one-half feet in height at time of planting and have a combination of one-third evergreen plant material and two-thirds deciduous plant material that will attain a mature height of at least three feet and be maintained at that height. Shrubs must be spaced to provide continuous coverage within three years. For parking lots where the parking spaces are less than 10 feet from the edge of the perimeter planted bed, the hedge may be planted adjacent to the perimeter planting bed. When the separation is 10 feet or greater, the hedge must be planted adjacent to the parking spaces.

a. All rows of parking stalls shall be terminated at each end with a landscape area that meets the following requirements:

i. Minimum area of 160 square feet;

ii. Extends the full length of the adjoining parking stall;

iii. Contains a minimum of one planted or preserved tree. Tree must be a minimum of eight feet in height at time of planting and be a variety that provides shade upon maturity. Columnar Swedish Aspen (Populus tremula ‘Erecta’) and other similar narrow-shaped trees, may not be used to meet this requirement;

iv. Contains a minimum of nine perennial flowers and two shrubs per 100 square feet of landscape area and be covered with ground cover and/or mulch. Up to 30 percent of the required ground cover may consist of grassed areas/lawn;

v. Terminating landscape areas for a double row of interior parking stalls must be combined as one continuous area. Pedestrian and/or handicap accessibility route through the landscape area may be approved by the city planner; and

vi. Protected by permanent curbs or structural barriers.

a. Each row of parking must contain 15 or less continuous stalls without interruption by a landscape area. Each landscape area must be consistent with the dimensions required for parking row terminations above.

b. If any of the following conditions exist, no more than 12 continuous stalls may be provided:

i. The total number of on-site parking spaces exceeds 50;

ii. The total number of on-site parking spaces exceeds the number required by the minimum parking requirements in this title by more than 10 percent; or

iii. The dimensions of drive aisles and/or parking stalls exceed the standards in this title.

7. Parking Lot Interior. The calculation of the total area of a parking lot includes the area for all parking spaces, drive aisles between parking rows, and parking termination landscape areas. Entrance drive aisles and drive aisles around the perimeter of parking spaces are not included in this calculation. All interior landscaping must comply with the following minimum standards:

Landscaping requirements for surface parking areas
Number of parking spaces	Required interior landscaped area
0 to 4	5% of the total area of the parking lot
5 to 20	10% of the total area of the parking lot
21 or more	15% of the total area of the parking lot

a. Each landscaped area shall be no smaller than 160 square feet and must be protected by permanent curbs or structural barriers;

b. No part of a landscaped area shall be less than four feet in width or length except those parts of landscaped areas created by turning radii or angles of parking spaces;

c. No parking space shall be more than 60 feet from a required landscaped area;

d. The landscaped area may include bioretention facilities;

e. Trees in surface parking areas; and

i. One tree is required for every 10 parking spaces;

ii. Trees shall be selected in consultation with the city planner; and

iii. Columnar Swedish Aspen (Populus tremula ‘Erecta’) and other similar narrow-shaped trees, may not be used to meet this requirement

f. Landscaped planting beds must contain a minimum of nine perennial flowers and two shrubs per 100 square feet of planting bed.

1. A minimum of one street tree must be planted within the required perimeter landscape bed at average intervals no greater than 30 feet on center for any new industrial, commercial, or multifamily residential development. Deciduous trees must be a minimum of 10 feet in height or two-inch caliper, whichever is taller at time of planting. Evergreen trees must be a minimum of eight feet in height at time of planting. Trees required in perimeter landscape beds may be counted toward meeting this requirement.

2. Existing street trees in the right-of-way shall be retained unless the city public works director approves their removal. The public works director, in consultation with the city planner, shall determine the number, type, and placement of additional street trees to be provided in order to:

a. Improve public safety;

b. Promote compatibility with existing street trees;

c. Match trees to the available space in the planting strip;

d. Maintain and expand the urban forest canopy;

e. Encourage healthy growth through appropriate spacing;

f. Protect utilities; and

g. Allow access to the street, buildings, and lot.

3. Exemptions. The following are exempt from the street tree requirements in this section:

a. Lot lines abutting an unopened right-of-way;

b. Temporary/intermittent uses;

c. Additions of 500 square feet or less to an existing structure; or

d. Expansion of surface area parking by less than 10 percent in area and less than 10 percent in number of required parking spaces.

1. Purpose. The purpose of the buffer is to minimize or eliminate adverse impacts between adjoining uses and is intended to protect the lower intensity use from the higher intensity use and provide an aesthetically attractive barrier between the uses. It shall function to reduce or eliminate incompatibility between uses such that the long-term continuation of either use is not threatened by impacts from the other. For purposes of this section, “adjoining” means lots that share a common lot line. It does not include lots separated by a public right-of-way.

2. Exemptions. The following are exempt from the requirements in this subsection:

a. Development of a less intensive use;

b. Between uses located on the same lot;

c. Between uses on adjoining lots, if under the same ownership; or

d. Breaks in required screening to provide pedestrian and vehicular access that do not exceed the maximum permitted width of driveways/curb cuts.

3. Required Screening/Buffering. Buffers shall be provided according to the following standards, which are based on the character of the adjoining land uses:

a. Residential. All residential uses shall be buffered from all nonresidential uses, other than passive recreation, conservation, or agricultural uses, according to the buffer types established in this section and the following nonresidential categories:

i. Multifamily Residential. All permitted multifamily uses, regardless of zoning district, shall provide a Type A buffer supplemented with an opaque fence, wall, or berm for all adjoining single-family and duplex residential uses.

ii. Commercial. Commercial uses permitted in the rural residential and commercial zoning districts shall provide a Type B buffer supplemented with an opaque fence, wall, or berm for all adjoining single-family, duplex, and multifamily uses.

iii. Industrial. Industrial uses permitted in the industrial zoning districts shall provide a Type C buffer supplemented with an opaque fence, wall, or berm for all adjoining single-family, duplex, and multifamily uses.

b. Nonresidential. Industrial uses shall provide a Type B buffer for all adjoining general commercial, neighborhood commercial, and other nonresidential uses less intensive than industrial.

c. No Existing Use. For the purposes of buffering, where no use exists on an adjoining lot and none is proposed by a valid permit application, the use of the adjoining lot will be assumed to be the most intensive use allowed by the existing zoning.

d. Other Uses or Circumstances. In addition to the screening and buffering requirements in this section, the following uses must also provide the additional landscaping to provide an adequate buffer:

Table A.
Use or Circumstance	Minimum Requirement
Drive-in businesses abutting or across an alley from a lot in a residential zoning district.	Six-foot-high screening along the abutting or alley lot lines and a five-foot-deep landscaped area inside the screening, when a drive-in lane or queuing lane abuts a lot in a residential zoning district.
Drive-in businesses, other than gas stations, in which the drive-in lane or queuing lanes are across the street from a lot in a residential zoning district.	Three-foot-high screening.
Gas stations in RR zones or, in C zones, across the street from a lot in a residential zoning district.	Three-foot-high screening along street lot lines.
Outdoor sales and outdoor display of rental equipment, abutting or across an alley from a lot in a residential zoning district.	Six-foot-high screening along the abutting or alley lot lines.
Outdoor sales and outdoor display of rental equipment across the street from a lot in a residential zoning district.	Three-foot-high screening along the street lot line.
Outdoor storage in an industrial zoning district abutting a lot in the commercial zoning district.	Screened from all lot lines by the facade of the structure or by six-foot-high screening; and five-foot-deep landscaped area between all street lot lines and the six-foot-high screening (Exh. B).
Outdoor storage in an industrial zoning district abutting a lot in a residential zoning district.	50-foot setback from the lot lines of the abutting lot in a residential zone and screened from those lot lines by the facade of the structure or by six-foot-high screening (Exh. C).
Outdoor storage in an industrial zoning district across the street from a lot in a residential zoning district.	Screened from the street by the facade of a structure, or by six-foot-high screening.
Parking garage occupying any portion of the street-level and/or street-facing facade between five and eight feet above sidewalk grade.	Five-foot-deep landscaped area along street lot line; or screening by the exterior wall of the structure; or six-foot-high screening between the structure and the landscaped area (Exh. A).
Unenclosed parking garage on lots abutting a lot in a residential zoning district.	A five-foot-deep landscaped area and six-foot-high screening along each shared lot line.
Parking garage that is eight feet or more above grade.	Three-and-one-half-foot screening along the perimeter of each floor of parking.
Outdoor areas associated with pet or child daycare centers.	Screened from all lot lines by the facade of the structure or by six-foot-high screening between the outdoor area and all lot lines.

Exhibit A. Screening of parking within or under a structure.

Exhibit B. Screening of open storage areas in industrial zoning districts.

Exhibit C. Screening of open storage areas in industrial zoning districts.

a. Location. Where a use is required to provide buffering for adjoining uses, the buffering must be along all side and rear lot lines where the use abuts the other use. No buffers are required along front lot lines unless buffering is included in screening requirements for outdoor storage or other conditions described in this chapter.

i. Types. Where buffering is required, the following buffer types define the minimum width and plants required per 100 linear feet of buffer:

Buffer Type	Buffer Width	Deciduous Trees	Evergreen Trees	Shrubs
A	12 feet	2	1	10
B	16 feet	2.5	2	20
C	20 feet	3	3	30

ii. Plants. The prescribed buffer plants may be existing native vegetation, existing vegetation supplemented with additional plantings, or entirely new plantings. The suitability of existing vegetation to provide adequate buffering will be evaluated based on the minimum plants required. For effective buffering year-round, at least 50 percent of buffer trees and shrubs shall be evergreen species. The selection and installation of buffer plants and buffer maintenance shall be according to the provisions in this chapter. Newly planted trees and shrubs must meet the size requirements in WMC 16.33.050(D)(1). Where existing native vegetation is proposed to be retained to provide the required screening/buffering, the following must occur:

(A) An inventory and plan identifying all existing trees with a diameter of four inches or more (measured at breast height) and shrubs with a height of two feet or more must be prepared by a landscape architect and submitted with the permit application;

(B) A surveyor, licensed to work in the state of Alaska, must survey and mark the edge of the clearing limits. A copy of the survey must be submitted to the city planner for review and approval prior to any clearing on the site. City staff may visit the site to verify compliance with the approved landscape plan; and

(C) The as-built survey required after completion of the development must also delineate the surveyed edge of clearing limits after clearing is complete.

(A) If an opaque fence, wall, and/or berm is required to supplement the plants within a buffer, it must be a minimum of six feet in height and have a minimum 95 percent opacity rating. Where an existing fence or wall on abutting lot meets these requirements, no additional structure is required within the buffer. The existing fence or wall must be in good condition.

(B) For new fences or walls, all support posts must be on the side of the developing lot so that the more finished appearance faces the abutting lot or right-of-way. Fence and wall materials must consist of materials typically designed for the intended use. Materials such as jersey barriers, untextured concrete, garage doors, or other similar materials, as determined by the city planner, are prohibited.

(C) Existing native vegetation, or existing landscaping supplemented with additional plantings, may be approved for use instead of the fence or wall by the city planner if they determine that it meets or exceeds the purpose of the standards in this chapter.

5. Refuse Containers and Areas. Trash and garbage areas, including dumpsters, must be located within a gated enclosure that is opaque on all sides, including the gates. The height of the enclosure must be greater than the height of the dumpster and the exterior materials and colors must be similar/complementary with the primary building on the lot.

6. Service and Off-Street Loading Areas. Screening with a continuous row of evergreen trees must be provided such that the service and off-street loading areas may not be viewed from adjacent streets. Trees must be a minimum of eight feet in height at time of planting. Placement and quantity must be in a manner that will provide continuous screening within three years. When the loading area is in an area where it is not feasible to plant the trees adjacent to the loading area, the required trees may be added to the perimeter planting bed.

7. Mechanical and Electrical Equipment. All ground level equipment must be screened with landscaping or a combination of decorative fencing and landscaping that screens the equipment from view from adjacent streets. Shrubs must be a minimum of two feet in height at time of planting, reach a minimum mature height of three feet, and be maintained at that height. Landscaping must be consistent with ANSI and/or NESC standards, whichever is more restrictive.

8. Screening of Surface Parking Areas. Surface parking areas abutting or across an alley from a lot in a residential zoning district must be screened with a minimum of a six-foot-high opaque fence or wall along the abutting lot line or the lot line along the alley.

E. Waivers. When one of the permitted uses in the zoning district is proposed for expansion, the applicable requirements for that use shall be met. The city planner may reduce or waive the requirements where they are physically infeasible due to the location of existing structures or required paved parking.

F. Treatment of Blank Facades. A minimum of 50 percent of the blank facade of a building facing the street that is wider than 35 feet must be “broken up” with landscaped areas that include trees, shrubs, perennial flowers, and boulders. For purposes of this section, a blank facade is a side of a building where more than 50 percent or more of the wall area does not contain windows or glass doors and does not include architectural details provided on other building walls. (Ord. 22-03 § 8, 2022; Ord. 17-18(AM) § 2, 2017)