HomeMy WebLinkAboutORD1347ORDINANCE NO. 1347
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF APACHE
JUNCTION, ARIZONA, AMENDING THE APACHE JUNCTION CITY CODE, VOLUME II,
LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE,CHAPTER 6, ARTICLR 6-1 LANDSCAPE AND SCREENING
REQUIREMENTS,BY AMENDING SECTIONS 6-1-2 APPLICABILTY,AND SECTION 6-
1-5 LANDSCAPING,IN CASE AM -9-04; REPEALING ANY CONFLICTING
PROVISIONS; AND PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY.
WHEREAS, the City Council adopted Ordinance NO.940 on February 20,
1996, which amended the Apache Junction City Code by incaLporating therein
a chapter for Landscape and Screening Requirements;and
WHEREAS, since its adoption, Article 6-1 Landscape and Screening
Requirements (the "Landscape Code") has been amended several times pursuant
to Ordinance Numbers 1095, 1097, 1151, 1197 and 1318; and
WHEREAS, on January 6, 2009, the City Council gave direction and
clarification to Staff that they wanted Staff and the Planning and Zoning
Commission to draft amendments to the Landscape Code relative to the issues
of applicability (with particular regard to small and/or narrow lots),
change of use, limited Staff discretion, separation walls, water efficient
landscaping and landscaping in parking lots; and
WHEREAS, after holding work sessions on the proposed amendments on
March 24, 2009 and May 12, 2009, and a public hearing on May 26, 2009, the
Planning and Zoning Commission, at their public hearing on May 26, 2009,
voted 6 to 0 to recommend approval of the amendments as outlined in this
ordinance.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF APACHE JUNCTION, ARIZONA,AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION I IN GENERAL
The Apache Junction City Code, Volume II,Land Development Code,Chapter 6,
Article 6-1 Landscape and Screening Requirements,shall be amended as
follows:
Section 6-1-2 Applicability shall be amended and rewritten to
read as follows:
ORDINANCE NO. 1347
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Section 6-1-2 Applicability
The standards outlined in this Chapter shall apply to the
exterior perimeters and other common areas of all single-family
dwelling subdivisions,mobile and manufactured home parks and
subdivisions,and recreational vehicle parks and subdivisions;
and all structures and uses in commercial,retail,office,
industrial and multiple -family uses and zones, as follows:
A.All structures and uses of land established or developed
after the effective date of this Ordinance.
B.When a change in use occurs to an existing structure or
use,a minimum of fifty (50)percent of the requirements
outlined in Article 6-1 shall be required.The exact
physical location, number and type of plantings are subject
to approval by the Development Services Director.A
"change of use"is defined as a change to a residential,
commercial or industrial property,from one basic use to a
different basic use which alters the density and/or
intensity of the previous use;or which requires more
parking (see Land Development Code ["LDC"],Chapter 1,
Article 21 Parking_),more hours of operation,higher
traffic counts or access changes;or which establishes a
use which is not compatible to or different from other
neighboring uses in a similarly zoned area.
C.Physical alterations to or expansions of established uses
in the amount of twenty-five (25)percent or more of the
existing building square footage.
D.The following standards shall not apply to lots which have
less than 50 feet of street frontage, and/or which are less
than 10,000 net square feet in size,unless already
required to be landscaped and screened as part of an
approved Planned Development,special district or other
specific permit process.The Development Services Director
may still require that some landscape and screening
improvements (such as planters,landscaping adjacent to
buildings and/or parking lots,metal façade improvements,
fences,etc.)be made to uses on small or narrow lots to
achieve the intent of this section.The Director may also
require corner lots with 150 lineal feet or more of street
frontage to have landscape improvements installed.
ORDINANCE NO. 1347
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E.The following standards shall not apply to "public and
quasi -public" uses as defined by the Land Development Code,
Chapter 1,Article 21;or to individual •occupancies in a
multi -tenant commercial or industrial building or
development site,unless the entire multi -tenant building
or development site is undergoing a change of use or
expansion as described in Sections 6-1-2-B and C above.
Section 6-1-5 Landscaping,Sub -section A.General Requirements,
shall be amended and rewritten to read as follows:
A.General Requirements
1.Any part of a site not utilized for structures,
parking,driveways,sidewalks,etc.shall be
landscaped.
2.An irrigation system shall be provided to all
vegetative landscaped areas where plantings are
located.
3.In order to control storm water flows and minimize
damage to plantings by vehicular traffic,all
landscaped areas adjacent to vehicular parking and
access areas shall be protected by six (6)inch
vertical concrete curbing or similarly -dimensioned,
anchored wheel stop,or other alternative approved by
the Development Services Director.
4.All trees and plant material used within the City as
required by this Code shall be compatible with the
desert environment, be water efficient landscaping and
shall conform to the current recommended plant listing
of the Arizona Department of Water Resources or
alternative materials that are drought -resistant,
native or naturalizing and accepted by the Development
Services Director or the City of Apache Junction Parks
and Recreation Department.
Section 6-1-5 Landscaping,Sub -section D.Transition/Separation
of Uses, paragraphs 1 and 2,shall be amended and rewritten to
read as follows:
D.Transition/Separation of Uses
ORDINANCE NO. 1347
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1.Where industrial or commercial uses or zones are
located adjacent to,or separated by an alley from
("alley"as defined in LDC,Chapter 1,Article 5
Definitions), any residential use or zone, a ten (19)
foot wide landscape strip,planted with one (1)tree
every twenty (20) linear feet, shall be required along
the common property line.Trees must be non -deciduous
and shall not be clustered.A masonry wall, a minimum
of eight (8)feet in height,shall be required along
the common property line.Terraced wall designs are
strongly encouraged.
2.A masonry wall,a minimum of six (6)feet in height,
but no taller than eight (8)feet in height,may be
required along interior property lines separating
individual commercial or industrial uses or zones.
a.The 6 to 8 -foot masonry wall may be waived where
the intensity of adjacent uses is similar in
nature,activity and hours of operation;and/or
the uses are part of a unified interconnecting
development site; and/or where opportunity exists
for shared access or parking;and/or where
natural or man-made physical constraints exist
which make separation walls impractical or un-
necessary.
b.Pursuant to Section 6 -1 -5 -D -2(a)above,6 to 8-
foot high wrought iron fences with intermittent
masonry columns may be substituted for masonry
walls where appropriate and desirable.
c.Such walls,if required,shall be located behind
the front yard setback.Within the front yard
setback, wall height shall be a maximum of three
(3) feet in height.
Section 6-1-5 Landscaping,Sub -section E.Parking Lot
Landscaping, shall be amended with the addition of the following
provision:
E.Parking Lot Landscaping
ORDINANCE NO. 1347
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7.Trees, shrubs, groundcovers and other landscape
materials used in parking lot islands, walkways,
perimeters and overhang areas shall be kept neat,
clean, trimmed and unobtrusive to people getting in
and out of their vehicles or otherwise using the
parking lots to access businesses and other uses.
SECTION II:REPEALING ANY CONFLICTING PROVISIONS
All ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict with the provisions of
this ordinance are hereby repealed.
SECTION III:PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY
If any section, subsection, sentence phrase, clause or portion of this
ordinance, or any part of the code adopted herein by reference, is for any
reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court
of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of
the remaining portions thereof.
PASSED AND ADOPTED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF APACHE
JUNCTION, ARIZONA, THIS 18TH DAY OF AUGUST , 2009.
SIGNED AND ATTESTED ID THIS 18TH
ATTEST:
KATHLEEN CONNELLY
City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
c 4 8 -14-69
RICHARD JOEL STERN
City Attorney
ORDINANCE NO. 1347
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DAY OF AUGUST
Mayor