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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNS-1860 - Landscaping, Off-Street Parking, and Sign Standards Applicable to Commercial DevelopmentsREL: adg- 6 8/26/86 ORDINANCE NO. NS-1860 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA AMENDING SECTIONS 41-368, 41-369, 41-416, 41-427, 41-524, 41-615, 41-618, 41-623, AND 41-1003, ADDING SECTIONS 41-372, 41-373 AND 41-384 AND REPEALING SECTIONS 41-525 AND 41-526, TO REVISE THE YARD, LANDSCAPING, OFF-STREET PARKING, AND SIGN STANDARDS APPLICABLE TO COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENTS THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1: That Section 41-368 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 41-368. Front yard requirements in the C1 District. There shall be a front yard of not less than fifteen (15) feet. SECTION 2: That Section 41-369 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 41-369. Side yard and building setback requirements in the C1 District. There are no side yard requirements except that on corner lots the side adjacent to a street shall have a side yard of not less than fifteen (15) feet. However, no part of a build- ing above the first fifteen (15) feet in height may be located within twenty (20) feet of the vertical plane of a side lot line if the lot is contiguous to residentially zoned or used property on such side. SECTION 3: That the Santa Ana Municipal Code is hereby amended by adding a section, to be numbered 41-372, which said section reads as follows: Sec. 41-372. Landscaping requirements in the C1 District. (a) A landscaped area not less than fifteen (15) feet wide shall be maintained along any property line to the ex- tent it abuts a street, except at approved driveways. ORDINANCE NO. NS-1860 PAGE TWO (b) A landscaped area not less than five (5) feet wide shall be maintained along any property line to the extent it serves to separate property zoned or used for residential purposes from any off-street parking area. (c) Vehicular parking may not be located within any re- quired landscaped area. (d) Prior to the issuance of any building permit, the developer shall submit to the City and the planning division shall approve a landscape plan that conforms to the require- ments of this section and to standards for landscaping approved by the city council. (e) Landscaping shall be installed and maintained in accordance with the approved landscaping plan by the owner(s) and manager of the development. (f) Procedures for the approval and amendment of land- scaping plans shall be established by the planning division SECTION 4: That the Santa Ana Municipal Code is hereby amended by adding a section, to be numbered 41-373, which said section reads as follows: Sec. 41-373. Lot size and lot frontage requirements in the C1 District Each lot which is used for retail or service purposes in the C1 district shall have at least 15,000 square feet of area and at least 120 feet of street frontage. SECTION 5: That the Santa Ana'Municipal Code is hereby amended by adding a section, to be numbered 41-384, which said section reads as follows: Sec. 41-384. Landscaping, lot size, and lot frontage requirements in the C2 District Landscaping, lot size and lot frontage requirements in the C2 district are the same as prescribed for the C1 district by sections 41-372 and 41-373. ORDINANCE NO. NS-1860 PAGE THREE SECTION 6: That section 41-416 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code is amended to read as follows: Sec. 41-416. Yard, building setback, landscaping, lot size, and lot frontage require- ments in the C4 District Yard, building setback, landscaping, lot size, and lot frontage requirements in the C4 district are the same as those prescribed for the C1 district by sections 41-368, 41-369, 41-370, 41-372, and 41-373. SECTION 7: That section 41-427 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 41-427. Yard, building setback, landscaping, lot size, and lot frontage require- ments in the C5 District Yard, building setback, landscaping, lot size and lot frontage requirements in the C5 district are the same as those prescribed for the C1 district by sections 41-368, 41-369, 41-370, 41-372, and 41-373. SECTION 8: That section 41-524 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code is here amended to read as follows: Sec. 41-524. Yard, building setback, landscaping, lot size, and lot frontage require- ments in the CM District. Yard, building setback, landscaping, lot size, and lot frontage requirements in the CM district are the same as those prescribed for the C1 district by sections 41-368, 41-369, 41-370, 41-372, and 41-373. SECTION 9: That sections 41-525 and 41-526 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code are hereby repealed. SECTION 10: That Section 41-615 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows: ORDINANCE NO. NS-1860 PAGE FOUR Sec. 41-615. Same - Maintenance and operation. (a) Bumper guards, curbs, or other suitable barriers, shall be provided to protect public streets and sidewalks, to prevent parking in-areas where no parking is permitted, to prevent~parked vehicles from extending beyond the parking area boundary line or intruding into any pedestrian walkway, and to prevent vehicles from contacting any wall, fence, or landscaped area. (b) When the parking area abuts residentially zoned property or property used for residential purposes, a six (6) foot high masonry wall shall be erected along such property lines, except that such wall shall not exceed four (4) feet in height along any required front yard of the adjacent property. (c) Lights used to illuminate the parking area shall be reflected away from any residence. (d) Ail required stalls shall be clearly outlined on the surface of the lot. (e) The parking area and driveways shall be paved with asphaltic or concrete surfacing. (f) Ail parking areas shall be accessible to vehicles via drives and aisles of the size specified herein. SECTION 11: That Section 41-618 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 41-618. Landscaping requirements (a) Minimum five-foot wide landscape strips shall be planted and maintained where the off-street parking area buts any public street except at approved driveways. (b) In addition, at least three percent (3%) of any parking area, and any additional portion thereof which is not actually used for the movement and parking of vehicles, shall be landscaped with trees, shrubs and ground covers and be properly maintained. (c) The choice of plant material shall be trees and/or shrubs, with a ground cover in keeping with the size and limitations of the area. Ground covers alone are not acceptable. A minimum of one fifteen-gallon tree shall be provided for each ten (10) parking spaces, or portion thereof. ORDINANCE NO. NS-1860 PAGE FIVE (d) The landscaping shall be contained in planting areas that are enclosed by minimum six-inch high concrete or asphalt curbs. (e) Each interior planting area shall have an average width of nine (9) or more feet and an average area of one hundred and eighty (180) or more square feet. The planting areas shall be located throughout the parking area in order to obtain the maximum amount of dispersion. (f) Ail planting areas shall be served by water irrigation lines. (g) A plant list shall be shown on the required plot plan to obtain a building permit for the building for which the parking area is provided. The list shall include the botanical and common names of the plant to be used, the sizes to be planted, and the quantity of each. The plants shall be listed alphabetically and assigned key numbers to be used in locating the plants on the plan. (h) A plot plan indicating~the location of all land- scaping areas and the percentage of landscaping in the interior planting areas shall be submitted to and approved by the planning department. The decision of the department may be appealed to the planning commission. (i) The provisions of section 41-618 shall apply only to parking lots which are hereafter constructed or expanded in the P, LP, M1 and M2 districts, except the following: (1) An addition to any building which is required by other provisions of this Code or state law; (2) Any building addition which has less than five hundred (500) square feet of floor area; (3) The parking area is not viewed from a public street. (j) Parking lots in the M1 and M2 districts may be ex- cluded from the provisions of section 41-618 of this Code if it is the planning director's determination that: (1) The parking lot is used primarily for employee parking; and (2) Sufficient landscaping and/or solid walls or fences are provided to screen such parking areas from public streets. ORDINANCE NO. NS-1860 PAGE SIX (k) Ail provisions of section 41-618 shall be required except for minor modifications approved by the planning department. SECTION 12: That Section 41-623 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 41-623. Trash bin enclosures. (a) One trash bin enclosure shall be provided for each commercial or industrial establishment and for each residential building consisting of three (3) or mo~e dwelling units; except that for commercial or industrial establishments sharing vehicular access and parking in an integrated development, one shared trash bin enclosure may be provided for each group of four (4) or less such establishments, provided that any such shared trash bin enclosure shall be maintained as freely accessible to all establishments originally assigned to share in its use. (b) Ail trash and utility areas shall be screened from public streets and alleys and adjacent properties. Trash and utility areas shall be physically integrated into the project and shall include an off-street loading area of three hundred (300) square feet with no single dimension less than ten (10) feet. (c) The director of community development shall issue standards for the construction of trash bin enclosures re- quired by this section, and maintain such standards on file in the department of planning. All trash bin enclosures required by this section shall be constructed and maintained in accordance with such standards. SECTION 12: That Section 41-1003 of the Santa Ana Munmicipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 41-1003. Wall signs and canopy signs; number, location, length and content restrictions. No permit shall be issued for a wall sign or canopy sign which does not comply with the following standards: (a) Number and area. No more than one sign of either the wall sign or the canopy sign type shall be permitted ORDINANCE NO. NS- 1860 PAGE SEVEN for each activity on a site, unless the building or portion thereof in which the activity is located has walls facing more than one street or public area, in which case the activity may have one such sign on each such wall. (As used herein, "street" shall include freeways, but exclude alleys and service ways.) Sign area shall not exceed forty (40) percent of the sign- able area where located, to a maximum of two (2) square feet of sign area per lineal foot of business frontage. (b) Location. No wall sign or canopy sign shall be placed higher than the ground floor of a building, except a major building identification sign permitted pursuant to section 41-1007. (c) Length. The horizontal dimension of any canopy sign shall not exceed seventy-five (75) percent of the horizontal dimension of the portion of the building occupied by the activity identified by the sign, measured on the side of the building on which the sign is located. (d) Content. (1) No wall sign or canopy sign shall contain more than seven (7) items of information. (2) No wall sign or canopy sign shall advertise or identify any activity which is not located on the ground level of occupancy of the building. (e) Wall signs in commercial centers. Ail wall signs identifying individual businesses in a commercial center shall have a rectangular shape. They shall be consist- ently centered above the business entrances and located within an architecturally consistent area of the build- ing facade. Lettering styles shall be easily readable. Individual, precast or molded letters or a wooden sign with routed, carved, painted or sandblasted letters shall be utilized. SECTION 14: The Landscaping Standards set forth in Exhibit A, attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference, are here- by approved and adopted as the standards specified in section 41-372(d) of the Santa Ana Municipal Code. Said landscaping standards may hereafter be amended or repealed by resolution of the city council. ORDINANCE NO. NS-1860 PAGE EIGHT SECTION 15: If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court or competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance. The City Council of the City of Santa Ana hereby declares that it would have adopted this ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion thereof irrespective of the fact that any one or ~more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases, or portions be declared invalid or uncon- stitutional. SECTION 16: Neither the adoption of this Ordinance nor the repeal hereby of any ordinance shall in any manner affect the prosecution for violation of ordinances, which violations were committed prior to the effective date hereof, nor be construed to the collection of any such license or penalty or the penal provision applicable to any cash deposit in lieu thereof, re- quired to be posted, filed or deposit pursuant to any ordinance and all rights and obligations thereunder appertaining shall continue in full force and effect. ADOPTED this 15th day of September , 1986. ATTEST: ~/~anice C. Guy / ~'~/ 'Clerk of the Counc'i-1 Daniel E. Griset Mayor COUNCILMEMBERS: Griset Aye Acosta Ah~nt APPROVED AS TO FORM: Hart Ay~ ~~oo Johnson Aye Luxembourger Aye McGuigan Aye per Young Ave_ City At~t~9~rney COI~ERCIAL AREA LANDSCAPE STANDARDS Objective The landscape should be designed to satisfy the following criteria: 1. To create an aesthetically pleasing commercial/retai! property utilizing the use of trees, shrubs, vines, annual color, ground cover, and turf. 2. To create a buffer between on-site parking and the street and/or non-commercial property. 3. To provide vertical and horizontal dimensions to the site. A blend or integration of plant material should be achieved throughout the landscape design even though each part serves a different function. Street Frontage Requirements: The buffer strip is designed to serve as a visu'al barrier between the sidewalk/street, and the property facing the street. The buffer strip shall be a minimum of 1S' wide. The buffer strip shall have one 24" box canopy tree per 25 lineal feet. The trees can be placed in groups in order to achieve a particular design. Trees generally regarded as having invasive or surface roots shall be installed in root control planters as specified in City of Santa Ana Tree Planting Standard No. 124. Six (6) 5 gallon size shrubs per 25 lineal feet, either clustered or linear. Note: As an alternative, the use of three (3) S gallon size shrubs and ten (10) 1 gallon size shrubs is acceptable provided the plant material adds color and variety to the design. Annual color is encouraged but is not considered part of the shrub requirement. -1- EXHIBIT A Redwood chips, decorative stone~ and other organic materials are not acceptable substitutes for ground cover or tur£. Berms can add height and screen a parking area~ however, any grade over 4:1 must be planted in ground cover; tur£ is not acceptable. All appurtenances, i.e.: trans£ormers, back £1ow preventers, trash enclosures, signage, etc.~ shall be landscaped. Parked vehicles are not allowed to encroach into the landscape. Ground cover, includini tur£ grass, is only acceptable in conjunction with the above. Street Trees: Each street i~ Santa Aha has one or more designated species o£ street tree. Contact Street Maintenance at 549-6820 £or speci£ic in£ormation. Existing or required street trees must be indicated on the submitted landscape plan~ and are considered part o£ the overall design. The use o£ drought tolerant plant material is encouraged. A list o£ plant material taken £rom the Cali£ornia Department o£ Water Resources Bulletin 209 is available £rom the Planning Department. On-Site Landscape: The £ollowing areas are included in this category: trees, parking areas, existing trees, store £ronts, existing easements~ etc. Existing trees: Trees on the site should be identi£ied as to species, size, height and general condition. On-site trees should be incorporated into the landscape design wherever possible. Parking Areas: In general the landscape in a parking lot should be located throughout the area rather than con£ined to the edges. A design incorporating islands o£ landscape can accomplish tra££ic control, reduce glare, soften the expanse of hardscape, and provide necessary shade. The island planters must be provided with a six (6) inch concrete curb (redwood bender board or similar material is unacceptable). The intent o£ trees in island planters is to provide shade throughout the parking area. -2- Parkin~ Lot Requirements: Parking lo~ planters ar? defined as planting areas bordered on two sides (minimum) by parking area. A landscape planter not less than one designated parking stall, 8-1/2~ wide by 18' long, including the thickness of the raised curb, shall be required in all parking areas for every ten (10) parking spaces; each planter will require one 15 gallon size tree, eleven (11) 5 gallon size shrubs and groundcover or annual color to serve as filler material. Redwood chips, decorative stone and other organic materials are not acceptable substitutes for groundcover or turf. Pavers should be utilized for pedestrian access where plant materials form a barrier in landscape areas or pedestrian traffic will create unsightly bare spots in the landscape. Store Fronts: Buildings should be designed to incorporate landscape planters into store frontage. This can be done by means, of raised planters, sidewalk cutouts, or portable planters. Building setbacks that vary can easily accommodate landscape planters. Annual color, shrubs, vines, and ground covers are well suited to these sites. Buffer Areas: Various elements in the landscape require screening. This can be accomplished by vertical hedges, the use of vines on a wooden enclosure or trellis and espaliered shrubs/trees. The use of solid masonry walls to buffer between adjacent properties requires specific needs depending upon the desired impact. If a tall vertical screen is needed to buffer two and three story structures, a fast growing evergreen tree is the best choice. A combination of vines on the wall in pockets with groupings of trees can also be used unless a complete buffer is necessary. Buffer Area Requirements: Where parking areas abut residential properties, the buffer requirement is a minimum $ foot width. These are to be planted areas, excluding hardscape. -Provide 1 - 15 gallon tree and 5 thirty (30) linear feet. gallon shrubs per -Provide mature trees and shrubs capable of acting as an effective buffer. -Vertical vines are encouraged to soften walls. Flowering vines are encouraged over those that primarily foliage or deciduous. are -3- Easements Existing easements can alter landscape requirements. In some cases, trees and shrubs are not permitted so that access can be provided to the easement. However, the use of tur£, groundcover, or vines can be used in such areas. Any restrictions referring to easements should be determined by checking with Public Utilities and stating the restrictions that apply as a £ootnote on the submitted landscape plan. Treatment o£ Slopes: Any property with more than a 5.1 slope must have a copy o£ the grading plan with existing and proposed topographical lines submitted with the landscape. Retaining walls, jute mesh, or other erosion prevention materials should be indicated on submitted plans. Tur£ is unacceptable £or grades over 25%. Ground covers and fibrous rooted shrubs are to be specified for these areas. Color in the Landscape: Annual color should be incorporated into the landscape plan. Color is not limited to annuals. Careful selection o[ £1owering trees and shrubs can provide seasonal color all year. The use of evergreen and deciduous plant material, bark color, seeds, and fruit (berries) that persist, can provide additional color to the landscape. Continual Maintenance: Normally, there is a stated guarantee designated by the landscape architect for replacement o£ dead plant material within a specified period. Plant materials must be maintained and replaced, i£ dead, according to Sec. 41-609. This requirement goes beyond any guarantee period for installation o£ the landscape and applies to the perpetual life of the development. Plant materials will be maintained and dead material replaced as specified in the City of Santa Ana Code Section 41-609 -4-