County of Palm Beach, FL
Section 7.3 Landscaping & Buffering
Land
Development Code 6.16.92, 12/97
Supplement No. 6
The purpose and intent of this code is to promote the health, safety, and welfare of existing and future residents of Palm Beach County by establishing minimum standards for the installation and continued maintenance of landscaping in unincorporated Palm Beach County.
As stated in Sec 7.3 B. Applicability: The provisions of this section shall be considered minimum standards and shall apply to all development in unincorporated Palm Beach County, except development exempted in Sec 7.3 C.
___Trees - At the time of installation (TOI), perimeter trees shall be a min. of 12 ft in height, with a min. six ft spread, and a min. diameter of two and one half inches measured at a point which is at least four and one half ft above the existing grade level. At the TOI, interior trees in VUAs shall be a min. of 10 ft in height with a five ft canopy and be container grown or root pruned in the field. A min. of 50 percent of all trees used to satisfy the standards of this section shall be classified as native. In addition, 50 percent shall be classified as drought-tolerant by the most recent edition of the South Florida Water Management District’s: Xeriscape Plant Guide.”
___Shrubs – At least 50 percent of all required hedges and shrubs shall be classified as native or drought tolerant by the most recent edition of the South Florida Water Management District’s “Xeriscape Plant Guide.” At the TOI, required hedges & shrubs shall be a min. of 24 in. in hgt, or 18 in. in hgt for native species, spaced at a max. of 24 in. OC. Required hedges shall form a solid continuous visual screen of a least 3 ft in hgt within 2 yrs of planting. Hedges used in combination with non-living landscape barriers to meet the 6 ft screen requirements shall be installed the hgt necessary to provide the total 6 ft screen within 2 yrs of planting. Ornamental grasses may be used to satisfy the requirements of this section.
___Ground Covers – Live material used as ground cover shall
provide a min. of 50 percent coverage immediately upon planting and 100 percent
coverage within one yr to coincide with reinspection after planting.
___Other - Palms – Palms shall have a min. of 8 ft of clear trunk or 12 ft in overall height at the TOI. Preserved native palms with a min. of 4 ft of clear trunk located within the interior of a site may be counted as one required interior tree. Queen palms shall also have a min. caliper size of 6 inches.
The design components that are
contained within the code are interior
plantings, safe sight distance triangles, utilities (trees planted under), tree
protection, right-of-way buffers, landscape barriers, landscape buffers between
compatible uses, landscape buffers between incompatible uses, installation of
vegetation, replacement of vegetation, maintenance of vegetation, tree pruning,
irrigation, earth berms and landscape in easements.
According to Section 7.3 E4, at the TOI,
perimeter trees shall be a min. of 12 ft in height, with a min. six ft spread,
and a min. diameter of two and one half inches measured at a point which is at
least four and one half ft above the existing grade level. At the TOI, interior trees in VUAs shall be a
min. of 10 ft in height with a five ft canopy and be container grown or root pruned
in the field. A min. of 50 percent of
all trees used to satisfy the standards of this section shall be classified as
native. In addition, 50 percent shall be
classified as drought-tolerant by the most recent edition of the South Florida
Water Management District’s: Xeriscape
Plant Guide.”
According to Section 7.3 E4a, trees shall have, at installation, a min. of 4 ft of clear trunk. A min. of 75 percent of all trees that are required to be planted in the interior of VUAs shall be shade trees.
According to Section 7.3 E8, at least 50 percent of all required hedges
and shrubs shall be classified as native or drought tolerant by the most recent
edition of the South Florida Water Management District’s “Xeriscape Plant
Guide.” At the TOI, required hedges
& shrubs shall be a min. of 24 in. in hgt, or 18 in. in hgt for native
species, spaced at a max. of 24 in. OC. Required
hedges shall form a solid continuous visual screen of a least 3 ft in hgt
within 2 yrs of planting. Hedges used in
combination with non-living landscape barriers to meet the 6 ft screen
requirements shall be installed the hgt necessary to provide the total 6 ft
screen within 2 yrs of planting. Ornamental grasses may be used to satisfy the
requirements of this section.
According to Section 7.3G2e, all parking, loading, storage, or outdoor display areas adjacent to rights-of-way shall be screened with a continuous hedge a min. of 24 in. in hgt, and space 24 in OC OTI.
According to Section 7.3 F1, the width of the
landscape buffer along streets, access easements, thoroughfares, or other means
of vehicular access shall depend on the width of the street’s ultimate
right-of-way (ROW) as referenced by Table 7.3-3. The width of the ultimate ROW shall be
determined by reference to the Traffic Circulation Plan Map of the Palm Beach
Couth Comprehensive Plan, or as determined by the County Engineer. When used in ROW buffers, the required wall
shall be installed a min. of 10 ft from the ultimate ROW as designated on the
County Thoroughfare Map, unless waived by the County Engineer. ROW widths for non-thoroughfare plan street
classifications shall be determined by reference to Chart 8.22.2; ROW refers to
access easements, marginal access roads, local streets, or collector arterial
streets, etc.
According to Section 7.3 E14b, existing native trees
shall be credited according to the formula in Table 7.3-2. Fractional measurements shall be attributed
to the lower category.
According to Section 7.3 J Special landscape and
vegetation protection standards, the following applies: 1. Lake Worth and Loxahatchee River
buffers. A 50 ft native vegetation
buffer shall be preserved along Lake Worth and the Loxahatchee River. 2.
Vegetation Preservation. All
development shall comply with Sec 9.5.
3. Wetlands. A buffer zone of native upland vegetation
shall be planted pursuant to Section 9.4.
According to Section 7.3 L1-3 the following
applies: 1. Field Inspections. Unless otherwise provided in this section,
all developments subject to this section shall be inspected by PZ&B prior
to issuance of a paving permit certificate of occupancy or Certificate of
Compliance submitted and signed by the landscape contractor. 2.
Optional special certification.
In lieu of initial field inspection and certification by PZ&B, the
landowner may submit a special Certificate of Compliance which complies with
the following:
a.
Form of
Special Certification. The special
certification shall: (1) be submitted to
PZ&B prior to issuance of a building permit, paving permit, or Certificate
of Occupancy or Certificate of Completion; (2) be submitted in sufficient
numbers upon forms available from PZ&B; (3) bear the seal of a Landscape
Architect; other license professional as authorized by Chap 481, Fla State,
Part II; (4) state that the Landscape Architect or other licensed professional
as authorized by Chap 481, Fla State, Part II, personally inspected the site;
(5) state that the Landscape Architect or other licensed professional as
authorized by Chap 481, Fla State, Part II, certifies that landscaping was
properly installed and meets all requirements of this section; (6) state that
the Landscape Architect or other licensed professional as authorized by Chap
481, Fla State, Part II, understands that any misrepresentations or
misstatements in the special certificate of compliance shall constitute a
violation of this section and of State Law; (7) state that the Landscape
Architect or other licensed professional as authorized by Chap 481, Fla State,
Part II, understands that misrepresentations or misstatements in the special
certificate of compliance may also become grounds for professional disciplinary
action pursuant to State Law; and (8) contain such information as required by
PZ&B which is reasonable and necessary to a determination that landscaping
is in compliance with this section.
b.
Field
verification of special certification.
PZ&B may at its option conduct a field inspection to verify
representations made in the special certificate of compliance.
c. Acceptance of special certification. If no field verification is conducted by PZ&B, the special certificate of compliance shall be deemed to have been accepted. Upon acceptance by the Department, the special certificate of compliance shall be filed and maintained wit the official records of the development. (Ord #97-63).
According to Section 7.3 D2, prior to issuance of a
building permit or paving permit, a landscape plan which has been either
prepared by and bears the seal of a Landscape Architect authorized to prepare
landscape plans by Chap 481, Fla State, Part II, or by an architect or engineer
as otherwise authorized by Chap 481, Fla State, shall be submitted to the
Building Division in a form and manner acceptable to PZ&B.
According to Section 7.3 H5, landscaped areas
shall be irrigated as necessary to maintain required plant material in good and
healthy condition (irrigation systems compliance standards are then listed in
H5a-h).
According to Section 7.3 H3, the land owner, or successors in interest, or agent, if any, shall be jointly and severally responsible for: a. regular maintenance of all landscaping; b. repair or replacement of required landscape structures to structurally sound condition; c. regular maintenance, repair, or replacement of landscape barriers required by this section; d. perpetual maintenance to prohibit the reestablishment of prohibited and non-native invasive species within landscaping and preservation areas; e. continuous maintenance of the site; f. trees planted in VUAs shall be allowed to grow to a mature hgt and full canopy. Pruning shall be limited to periodic trimming to maintain the health of the trees or shrubs; and g. buffer strips shall be maintained and preserved along the entire length of the property between the incompatible use or district abutting the district or development.
This code seems, in my opinion, to not be very unique or unusual at all. It is very comparable to a number of other codes I have read. I do appreciate, though, the list provided under Section 7.3 A. Purpose and Intent. It specifies the objective of this particular section and is listed as follows: 1. Aesthetics; 2. Environment; 3. Water Conservation; 4. Preservation; 5. Compatibility; 6. Land Values; 7. Human Values; 8. Removal of Prohibited Plant Species; and 9. Improved Design.
John O. Graves