To First Annotated Code of Ocala, FL

 

Code of Ordinances

City of Ocala, Florida

 

Ch. 118 “Trees, Landscaping, and Site Restoration”

________

 4/21/98

________

 

 

The main reasons of the Ocala, Florida Landscape Code, is to protect and preserve the city trees and landscape which is a vital natural resource for the health, safety, and general welfare of the communities citizens.

 

            The Landscape Code has many design components in which to better the quality of life for it residents. These components include: Preservation of existing trees, VUA screening, VUA interiors (landscaping within the parking lots), and landscape/open space plan. Preserving existing trees, as well as planting new ones, was stated in the main purpose of the code above and will be explained in the chart below.

           

             Preservation of existing trees.  Existing viable shade trees will be retained on any proposed development or modification of an existing development that must be approved through the site plan review process according to the following minimum standards: 

 

  Number of Existing Viable Shade Trees   

Minimum Number of Existing Viable Shade Trees to be Saved on Property Being Developed   

Less than 3.0 per acre or a proportion thereof   

80 percent of all viable shade trees   

3.0 to 5.0 per acre   

65 percent of all viable shade trees   

5.1 to 8.0 per acre   

50 percent of all viable shade trees   

8.0 or more per acre   

4 viable shade trees per acre   

Preservation of Existing Trees……………………..Ocala, Florida www.municode.com

 

            The main requirements of the VUA screening and VUA interiors are that all off-street parking areas must be screened with a 5’ landscaped buffer or wider between the two areas. This excludes sidewalks and driveways. The landscaped “strip” must include a hedge of no smaller than 3’ in height and must be continuous. Other ideas are acceptable, but must be approved by the planning director. VUA interior landscaping shall account for no less than 10% of the parking areas. There shall be one shade tree per interior landscaped area. Each tree requires a 360 square foot area or open space.

 

 

            Some unique aspects of the Ocala, Florida Code are permitting and their fees.

Different permits include: grading permits, tree removal permits, and G-U tree removal permits (property controlled by the city or governmental entity). There are many different tree removal permits such as: removal of damaged trees (disease, insects, lightning, etc.), removal of health endangering trees, removal of harvestable trees, and removal of nuisance trees. Permit fees range anywhere from $20.00 to $75.00.  An additional $10.00 is charged for square footage exceeding 50,000 square feet of project area.

 

            To further Preserve Ocala’s historic trees, it was found that Ocala will schedule a workshop on the 15th of January 2008, to discuss the revision of its tree code. http://www.ocala.com/article/20071207/NEWS/212070318/

 

            After researching through the Ocala, Florida Landscape Code I realized how precise and detailed this code has been written. This is an absolute plus in educating the public through implementation of landscape codes on how important landscape materials are to us in everyday life. This in turn also brings light to how important landscape architects are to a community and shouldn’t be viewed as just a “landscaper”, but as an architect of the land who creates ideas and designs in order to enjoy life to the fullest.

 

www.municode.com, www.ocala.com

 

Austin Perkins

Back to US Map

Back to Florida Map