10.452A Planter Strip and Street Tree Standards.
Throughout the City, planter strips shall be planted and installed as provided below, and in conformance with Sections 6.710 through 6.750. For properties in the Southeast Overlay, see Section 10.379 for streetscape, planter strip, and street tree standards. For planter strips in or adjacent to parking lots or facilities, refer to the standards in Section 10.746(10).
(1) Landscaped and Irrigated Planter Strips Required. Planter strips shall be planted and irrigated as a condition of approval for the following land use actions unless the site does not have public street frontage or a planter strip, the existing planter strip is already planted, or a previous plan was already approved for the planter strip:
(a) Land divisions (Types II and III),
(b) Preliminary PUD plan,
(c) Transportation facility,
(d) Site plan and architectural review (Type II and III),
(e) Conditional use permit, or
(f) Park development review.
(2) Plan Submittal. Upon final approval of a land division, preliminary PUD plan, or transportation facility, the applicant shall submit the plan details in subsection (3) of this section with the public improvement plan review submittal to the Medford Water Commission, Engineering, Planning, and Parks, Recreation, and Facilities Departments for review and approval to install. Upon final approval of a site plan and architectural review, conditional use permit, or park development review, the applicant shall submit the plan details in subsection (3) of this section prior to submitting the building permit to the Medford Water Commission, Engineering, Planning, and Parks Departments for review and approval to install.
(3) Plan Details. The applicant shall submit the following plan details with a state of Oregon registered landscape architect’s seal with signature, or state of Oregon licensed all-phase landscape contractor number. The plan shall include the proposed design of the entire area between the curb and the property line and show sidewalks, existing landscaping, street trees, ground cover materials, street lights, utility poles, traffic signals, stop signs, transit stops, fire hydrants, and any other landscape features or elements existing or proposed.
(a) Proposed Trees. The appropriate tree species shall be selected from the city of Medford approved street tree list and identified on the plan. The review authority shall consider tree species based on the following:
(i) Maximizing tree canopy size at maturity to provide maximum shading and no less than 70 percent canopy cover over the sidewalk at tree maturity,
(ii) Avoiding conflicts with utilities, street lights, and traffic visibility,
(iii) Providing tree species diversity within a block, and
(iv) Ensuring the tree is a minimum of one and three-quarter inch caliper in size when planted.
(b) Tree Placement. The following shall be considered or provided regarding the placement of trees within the planter strip:
(i) The type, size and spacing of trees to be planted.
(ii) Trees shall not be planted within the clear vision triangle defined in Section 10.735.
(iii) Trees shall not be planted closer than 20 feet from light poles.
(iv) Where overhead power lines exist, the appropriate tree species from the approved street tree list shall be selected for planting.
(v) Trees shall not be planted within a 10-foot diameter of any water meter or other utility infrastructure.
(c) Other Details. The plan shall include the following:
(i) A legend that describes the tree species and tree sizes,
(ii) The type of living ground cover, shrubs, or organic material ground cover (such as rocks or shredded bark mulch (no bark nuggets or chips)), or any combination of all three to be installed,
(iii) Any specifications for soil preparation and installation, and
(iv) An appropriately designed automatic underground irrigation system shall be included per Section 10.780.
(v) A schedule for inspections of work.
(d) Planter Strips Along Arterial and Collector Streets. Proposed planter strip landscaping along higher order streets shall be reviewed and approved by the Parks, Recreation and Facilities Department (PRFD). The plan details in subsections (3)(a) through (c) of this section shall be provided along with the following specifications:
(i) The plan shall be limited to trees and organic ground cover unless the addition of shrubs is specifically approved by PRFD.
(ii) An appropriately designed automatic underground irrigation system shall be included per Section 10.780 and using City of Medford parks landscape and irrigation specifications. The plans shall include:
(A) A separate water meter provided to the City and paid for by the developer or homeowners’ association, and
(B) A dedicated power meter to power irrigation control.
(e) Water Quality Features. Nothing shall preclude an applicant from designing the planter strip to incorporate bioswales or other low impact development techniques into the plans. The incorporation of stormwater facilities into the planter strip shall be reviewed and approved by Public Works Engineering and the Parks, Recreation, and Facilities Department if proposed along higher order streets.
(f) Water Conserving Landscaping. Covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&Rs) recorded for private regulation of any development or subdivision, regardless of development type or zoning district, shall not establish any restriction inhibiting the use of water-conserving landscaping design or require the installation of high water use landscape elements as defined herein, upon property governed by the CC&Rs.
(4) Installation Timing and Security.
(a) Landscaping and irrigation within the planter strips shall be installed prior to certificate of occupancy of the applicable residential dwelling unit(s), commercial, industrial, or other approved structure being built. If the installation is not completed by the time of certificate of occupancy, the developer or property owner shall enter into an agreement with the City to ensure compliance according to Sections 10.666 and 10.667.
(5) Maintenance Responsibilities.
(a) The continued maintenance and survival of the landscaping and trees within the planter strip shall be the responsibility of the owners of the abutting property, except in cases where the City has accepted maintenance responsibility and maintains it as described in Section 6.730.
(b) The Parks, Recreation, and Facilities Department (PRFD) will not accept maintenance responsibility of planter strip landscaping along arterial and collector streets until an inspection by staff is conducted and all requirements of the approved plan have been implemented. The applicant shall work with the PRFD to make any final corrections needed prior to transferring maintenance responsibility. Maintenance responsibility of the planter strips shall remain with the applicant/developer if final corrections cannot be agreed upon between the applicant/developer and the Parks, Recreation, and Facilities Department staff. The Parks, Recreation, and Facilities Department staff shall provide notice to the applicant/developer when maintenance is accepted.