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City advances buffer-yard zoning amendment to prevent invasive plantings
Summary
On first reading, Urbandale approved amendments to Title 15 to clarify tree caliper standards, remove an explicit conifer quota, and require that plantings exclude species listed as invasive by the Iowa DNR; the Planning & Zoning Commission recommended approval and no public speakers opposed the change.
The council approved first reading of an amendment to Urbandale’s zoning code (ordinance 2025-22) to refine buffer-yard and planting requirements.
Community Development Director Steve Franklin told the council the proposed changes aim to increase plant diversity, measure overstory trees by caliper rather than simple height, and prohibit species identified as invasive by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Forest Invasive Species Guide. Franklin explained he removed a requirement that 35% of trees be coniferous because existing buffer-yard requirements already provide coniferous screening in many locations and because few native conifers are appropriate in the city’s urban conditions.
Franklin said the ordinance would also encourage native shrubs where practical, set a suggested starting point of 50% native trees on a site (as referenced in the DNR list) while acknowledging practical constraints in narrow urban planting strips, and clarify terminology (e.g., 'balled and burlapped' planting stock). Planning and Zoning recommended approval. The public hearing drew no speakers and the council approved first reading as amended (motion by Kroll; second by Bodie).
