Code of Ordinances
Key West, Florida
Chapter 108
Article VI “landscaping”
The city of Key West has a very unique character that attracts tourists, which the city relies on for income, a valuable asset that must be protected. The purpose of the landscape code for Key West is to protect and preserve the unique characteristics of the area by requiring screening and beautification of parking areas, storage and display or sales areas. This ordinance encourages use of native, non-invasive, drought tolerant plants. Tree credit is given only to those trees considered to have exceptional quality.
The ordinance is composed of four divisions including General, requirements for specific areas, regulations and planting methods. The sections of these divisions include, definitions, specific requirements for each area, plant protection, tree credits, irrigation, and installation and maintenance.
The review of landscape plans encourages community involvement in the approval process. All landscape plans must be submitted to the Tree Commission, which will then review submitted plans in a public meeting. Landscape plans to be reviewed can be drawn by a landscape architect or other professional with comparable experience in meeting the requirements of the local code. Once approved by the Tree Commission, the plans are sent to the Planning Board.
The Key West landscape ordinance requires street frontage planting, interior area requirements, and a perimeter requirement. The street frontage requirements are based on the size of the lot; lots of .5 acres require a 10’ buffer while lots of 3 acres require a 40’ wide buffer. Screening of views from the street are important, a minimum of 3.5’ tall screening is required except for commercial areas, which require a 3’ tall screen. The width of the street planting area is based on the overall acreage of the site. The width ranges from a 10’ wide strip for sites of .5 acre or less to a width of 40’ for sites of 3 areas or more. The code requires a certain amount of plant materials required for this area based on plant units rather than specific tree and shrub requirements. Use of large trees is encouraged based on the plant unit value of trees in relation to shrubs. Large trees are worth 10 plant units while a shrub is worth only 1 plant unit. The image of parking lots is also an important component of the code. The interior landscape requirement is much higher than in many other communities with 20% of the vehicular use area to be landscaped. Protection of existing trees is enforced by a requirement of tree barricades or by use of a performance bond to ensure the health of existing trees.
This ordinance gives emphasis to planting drought tolerant plants, irrigating 100% of the area with low water solutions and emphasis on screening. Native species are required to keep the character of the area and because of their suitability and sustainability for the climate. Screening is required on all sides of the property and the interior landscape requirement is relatively high. The focus is clearly on preserving the unique characteristics of the site to protect and promote the local economy.
The Key West landscape ordinance contains several features not commonly found in ordinances. The review and approval procedures encourage public participation and a review of plans by many people instead of a single inspector. This is done to ensure quality of design in an area whose economy is largely based on tourism. Another interesting feature of this code is the use of plant units rather than specific tree and shrub requirements. This method provides a great deal of flexibility in design while still requiring a substantial planting density and promoting use of larger trees.