- November 7, 2024
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In some cases, requiring fewer trees in a given space means that they'll be healthier. Images from the city's council meeting backup documentation.
Palm Coast’s new landscaping code eases some tree standards for homeowners and alters buffer requirements so required shrubbery doesn’t block views.
The new code—a “major rewrite,” according to City Manger Jim Landon — was approved unanimously by the Palm Coast City Council at its regular meeting Tuesday, Oct. 18.
The city’s first landscape code was adopted in 2008.
Speaking before the council at the Oct. 18 meeting, Palm Coast Planning Manager Ray Tyner said the plans to revise the landscape code brought input from local residents and organizations, including the Flagler County Association for Responsible Development.
“We started the public process very early on to try to get as many stakeholders as we could,” Tyner said. “We felt it was key for us to actually work hand in hand with the folks that actually work out in the field, and are actually utilizing our code.”
Among the matters that came up multiple times in public comments and suggestions, Hoover said, were recommendations to give shade trees larger islands and space them farther apart; comments that the landscape standards are too inflexible, or the code not user-friendly; comments that landscape plantings are too dense, appeals to make sure the city maintains its beautiful landscaping “wow factor,” appeals for more flexibility on field changes for irrigation, and comments that the mitigation required for tree removal at single-family homes is excessive.
The city’s planning and community development staff split the proposed revisions to the landscape code into six categories: increasing landscape aesthetics, increasing flexibility, single-family homes, improving maintenance and enforcement, buffers, and Planning and Land Development Regulation Board and Beautification and Environmental Advisory Committee recommendations.
To increase landscape aesthetics, Senior Planner Bill Hoover said at the meeting, the city is increasing the minimum size of islands for shade trees, increasing the spacing of shade trees to eliminate overcrowding, adding specific standards so that ponds and lakes will have natural looking shapes, adding specific planting standards for temporary sales trailers and requiring owners to remove invasive plants.
To increase flexibility, he said, the city created specific standards for industrial projects, increased options for providing required foundation plantings, allowed an option of creating an Alternative Landscape Betterment Plan, created less stringent options for expansions on existing sites and created 10% tolerance levels on plant sizes (and 20% during times of very limited plant availability).
In terms of changes related to single-family homes, the new code reduces planting and replacement sizes for trees, allows homeowners to have more understory trees, sets specific standards for foundation shrubs, allows understudy trees to replace wrapping of building corners, and, if FPL overturns or damages a tree, allows for it to be removed without a permit or mitigation.
For maintenance, the new standards require that trees be allowed to grow naturally and not be over-pruned, that tree-trimmers be trained or certified by the city to work on commercial sites or multifamily projects with 25 or more units, that owners and trimmers would be held jointly responsible for not following city standards, and that all required plantings that are dead or damaged must be replaced before a commercial building or parking can be expanded. The new code also clarifies sections of the landscaping chapter to help code enforcement.
In terms of buffers, the new code eliminates requirements for some buffer shrub plantings near lakes or preserves so views are not blocked, and, on most specially designated roadways, reduces front buffers from 35 feet to 25 feet, and, on non-designated roads, reduces front and side street buffers from 20 feet to 10 feet. Some specially designated roadway segments with quality tree canopies would have front buffers remain at 35 feet.
The Planning and Land Development Regulation Board and the Beautification and Environmental Advisory Committee differed in their recommendations to city staff. The Planning and Land Development Regulation Board recommended the revised code be presented to City Council as city staff had written it. The Beautification and Environmental Advisory Committee recommended three different buffer standards: a minimum spacing of 30 feet instead of 50 feet, for shade trees in buffers, and that buffers in two other zone remain at the slightly larger standards in the current code rather than the slightly smaller ones recommended by staff in the new code.
The City Council unanimously approved the revised code as written by city staff.
