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ORDINANCE NO. 3990
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 4, TITLE XVII
OF THE 1971 CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY
OF PUEBLO TO ESTABLISH MINIMUM LANDSCAPING
REQUIREMENTS FOR COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL
USE DISTRICTS; AND PROVIDING FOR PENALTIES
FOR VIOLATION OF SAID REQUIREMENTS
WHEREAS, we the City Council of Pueblo, Colorado, adopt the
following ordinance for the purposes of retaining property values;
enhancing the beauty of the community; promoting purification of
the air; and controlling solar radiation, wind, precipitation,
temperature, traffic, glare, sound, and erosion; now therefore,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF PUEBLO, COLORADO, that
(Brackets indicate material to be deleted by this amendment; un-
derscoring indicates new material to be added )
SECTION 1
Chapter 4 of Title XVII of the 1971 Code of Ordinances of
Pueblo, Colorado is hereby amended by the addition of a new Sec-
tion 7 which reads as follows
"17 -4 -7 Landscaping Performance Standards
(a) For the purpose of this Section 17 -4 -7, certain
terms and words are herewith defined as follows
(1) Landscape Materials -- approved living trees,
shrubs, vines, flowers, grasses, and ground
covers; and may include water bodies, crushed
rock, sand, wood chips, landscape furniture,
and ornamental pieces
(2) Lot -- defined in accordance with the sub-
division chapter of the City of Pueblo,
Colorado
(3) Present Structure -- a structure in existence
on the effective date of this ordinance The
structure shall be considered in existence
where there is a foundation capable of being
constructed upon in compliance with the Uni-
form Building Code as adopted
(4) Review Agency -- the review agency for the
purpose of this ordinance shall be appointed
by the City Manager or his authorized repre-
sentative
(5) Unimproved Lot -- a lot shall be considered
unimproved when there is no structure exist-
ing upon it, as defined in (a)(3) of this
Section
(b) The provisions of this Section 17 -4 -7 shall apply
to property presently zoned or which is later zoned
within the following zone districts and used par-
tially or solely for commercial or industrial ac-
tivities R -5, R -6, B -1, B -2, B -3, 0 -1, and I -1,
when one of the following occurs
(1) The construction or erection of any building
or other structure upon an unimproved lot.
(2) Additions or alterations to a present struc-
ture(s) or the erection or placement of an
additional structure or structures upon the
lot or non - subdivided property resulting in
a percentage increase in the gross floor area
exceeding fifty (50) percent of the present
structure(s) All such additions, altera-
tions, repairs, and additional structures
shall be considered cumulative in determining
the percentage increase
(c) The required landscaping shall be determined and
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located as follows
(1) The minimum required landscape area shall be
that portion of land contiguous to a public
street right -of -way, and extending to a depth
of ten (10) feet; excluding vehicular access
ways and walkways approved by the City Through
lots and corner lots shall provide landscaping
along all contiguous public street rights -of-
way Except that;
(2) On such sites where the geology, soils, drain-
age, topography or other physical characteris-
tics of the land would create a hardship in
the development and /or maintenance of the land-
scaping; or where easements, pedestrian ways,
trail systems, existing vegetation, continuity
of design concepts within the district, park-
ing design, emergency vehicle access or other
matters of public health, safety, or welfare
would be promoted; the landscape area may be
a portion located within the front setback,
and having an area measurement not less than
that required by subsection 17- 4- 7(c)(1) and
shall comply with all other design standards
and requirements of this Section 17 -4 -7 Such
changes in location are subject to the approval
of the designated review agency.
(3) On such sites where landscaping of the public
right -of -way would comply with the general in-
tent of the ordinance, the transfer of the
area requirements, or a portion thereof, from
within the property line to the public right-
of-way may be approved by the designated re-
view agency; provided
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(i) The area measurement shall not be less
than that required by subsection 17 -4 -7
(c)(1) and shall comply with all other
design standards and requirements of
this ordinance
(ii) The general planning of the City, with
particular respect to the transportation
system, will not be jeopardized
(iii) Execution of a revokeable permit between
the City and the owner for the use of
right -of -way for the purpose of land-
scaping, with the owner accepting full
financial responsibility for all costs
for the movement, replacement and relo-
cation of the landscaping thereon should
such permit be revoked by the City
(d) The design standards and requirements for the re-
quired landscape area are as follows
(1) Water bodies, boulder groupings, crushed rock,
sand, wood chips, landscape furniture, and
ornamental pieces, singly or in combination,
shall not account for more than thirty (30)
percent of the ground area to be landscaped
at the time of installation or thereafter
(2) At least one tree shall be provided for each
three hundred (300) square feet, or portion
thereof, of area to be landscaped.
(i) Each required tree shall have an expected
height of twenty (20) feet or more at
maturity.
(ii) Each required tree shall have a caliper
of at least one and one quarter (1 -1/4)
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inches when installed.
(3) No tree, as measured from its center, shall be
located as follows
(i) within ten (10) feet of a street light
standard;
(ii) within five (5) feet of a fire hydrant;
(iii) within five (5) feet of vehicular access
way; or
(iv) within five (5) feet of a public sidewalk.
(4) At least one shrub shall be provided for each
fifty (50) square feet, or portion thereof, of
area to be landscaped
(i) Each required shrub shall have at least
an area of sixty (60) square inches, as
determined by multiplying the height by
spread, when installed and thereafter
(ii) No shrub, as measured from its perimeter,
shall be located as follows:
a within five (5) feet of a fire hydrant;
or
b within five (5) feet of a vehicular
access way if the planted or main-
tained height is greater than two (2)
feet.
(5) All landscape material located within the sight -
distance triangle shall be two (2) feet or less
in height, or have a clearance of at least
eight (8) feet beneath the lowest branch or
projection
(6) No permanent impervious surfacing or subsur-
facing shall be located around the base of any
tree or shrub which may impede the growth of
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the tree or shrub
(7) Only those trees, shrubs, vines, flowers, grasses,
and ground covers contained on the list of "Ap-
proved Living Landscape Materials" shall be in-
stalled or maintained within the required land-
scaped area, unless the Planning and Zoning
Commission permits an experimental living ma-
terial to be used
(e) The Landscape Plan shall include at least the
following information
(1) A linear scale, north arrow, name and address
of person or firm preparing the Plan, common
and legal description of the property, name
of streets contiguous to the property lines,
and the total square footage to be contained
in the area to be landscaped
(2) Location of vehicular access ways, walkways,
fire hydrants, street light standards, rights-
of-way, and utility lines or easements within
or affecting the design of the landscape area
(3) Location of the sight- distance triangle when
applicable
(4) A planting plan giving the location and iden-
tification of all landscape material to be
installed and a general rendering of any or-
namental piece which will cover more than
twenty -five (25) square feet
(5) A plant inventory giving the botanical and
common name, number and approximate installa-
tion size of the trees, shrubs, and vines; and
the botanical and common name and square foot
coverage of the flowers, grasses, ground covers,
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and other landscape materials to be used in
the landscape area
(f) The Landscape Plan review procedure shall be as
follows
(1) The Landscape Plan shall be submitted to the
City's designated agency for review and ap-
proval
(2) The designated agency shall either approve or
reject the Landscape Plan within thirty (30)
days from the date of submission, unless an
extension of time is authorized in writing
by the applicant.
(1) If the Plan is rejected, the applicant
shall be notified in writing as to the
reason for rejection
(ii) Failure to approve or reject the Plan
within the prescribed time shall consti-
tute approval of the plan.
(3) The City shall retain at least one approved
copy of the Landscape Plan
(4) The Landscape Plan may be revised from time,
to time, provided all revisions are approved
and recorded by the designated agency.
(5) A Plan which uses experimental landscape ma-
terial, or a Plan which does not comply with
the specific design standards and requirements
of this ordinance shall be submitted to the
Planning and Zoning Commission for their ap-
proval prior to submission to the designated
agency.
(6) The designated agency shall reject any Land-
scape Plan or revision thereto which does not
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comply with the design standards and require-
ments of this ordinance, or which contains
living landscape materials not on the "Ap-
proved Living Landscape Materials" list, un-
less the Commission has approved such a varia-
tion in accordance with 17- 4- 7(h)(2) or (3).
(g) Enforcement of the provisions of this Section 17 -4 -7
shall be as follows
(1) No Certificate of Occupancy shall be issued
until a Landscape Plan has been approved
(2) All landscaping as shown on the Landscape Plan
shall be installed within sixty (60) days from
the date the Certificate of Occupancy is is-
sued, except that the designated agency may
extend the time for those species whose plant-
ing season dictates such extension.
(3) The landscape area shall be installed and main-
tained in compliance with the Landscape Plan
Failure to install and maintain the landscape
area in compliance with the Landscape Plan
shall result in the property being non - compliant
with the zoning performance standards of the
district it is in, and in such case the follow-
ing may occur
(i) The Director of the Department of Zoning
Administration or his authorized repre-
sentative shall serve notice of such non-
compliance upon the owner(s) of record
in accordance with the provisions of
Section 1 -1 -11 of this Code.
(ii) If the property is not brought into com-
pliance within thirty (30) days from re-
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ceipt of the above notice, the Director
of the Department of Zoning Administra-
tion or his authorized representative may
take any of the following actions
a Revoke the certificate(s) of occu-
pancy
b Contract with a licensed landscape
company to bring the property into
compliance, and the cost of such
work plus incidental costs and a
twenty (20) dollar City handling fee
shall either be charged against the
property or owner(s) thereof as pro-
vided in Chapter 7, Title XIV of
this Code or charged against the pro-
perty owner(s), and may be pursued
as a civil debt with costs and attor-
ney fees payable by said owner(s).
c. Seek enforcement in accordance with
Section 17 -7 -3 of this Code
(4) Dying, dead, diseased, or pest infested ma-
terials may be considered as constituting a
failure to maintain the landscape area
(h) The Planning and Zoning Commission is directed and
authorized to do the following
(1) The Planning and Zoning Commission shall adopt
a list of trees, shrubs, vines, flowers, grasses,
and ground covers which are native or adaptable
to Pueblo's climate and soils, and which will
not constitute a nuisance or hazard to the
public health, safety or welfare The list
shall officially be titled "Approved Living
Landscape Materials." The Commission may re-
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vise the list at any regular meeting
(2) The Commission may permit the use of living
landscape materials not contained on the "Ap-
proved Living Landscape Materials" list, on
an experimental basis The Commission may
withdraw its permission if the material be-
comes, or indicates it will become, a nuisance
or hazard to the public health, safety or wel-
fare, or does not perform as anticipated. With-
drawal of permission shall result in the pro-
perty, having such experimental material be-
coming non - compliant and subject to the pro-
visions of this ordinance governing such status
(3) The Commission may permit variations from the
design standards and requirements, area require-
ments, or location requirements; provided the
general intent of this Section 17 -4 -7 is se-
cured."
SECTION 2.
If any part, subsection, or clause or phrase of this Ordinance
is for any reason held to be invalid, such decision shall not affect
the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance and the
City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this Ordi-
nance and each part, section, subsection, clause or phrase thereof,
irrespective of the fact that any one or more parts, sections, sub-
sections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared invalid.
SECTION 3
This Ordinance shall become effective 30 days from final pas-
sage and approval
INTRODUCED February 24, 1975
By PAT KELLY
Councilman
ATTES : APPROVED
I ‘ 14 d tl-'- ' pityoC rk resident of the Council