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Clarkdale panel outlines stricter landscape-design rules, proposes water-harvesting incentives
Summary
Planning committee reviewed a revised Chapter 9 that would tighten landscape requirements for new development, require irrigation plans and maintenance, and add incentives for passive water-harvesting; staff will return with a plant-size table and refined local species list.
The Clarkdale planning committee reviewed a substantial rewrite of Chapter 9 on landscape design standards, with staff saying the goal is to ensure new commercial and large residential projects provide meaningful, maintainable landscaping rather than bare dirt or temporary plantings.
"The purpose of the landscape design standards is to make sure that when somebody builds a project, especially a commercial project or a large residential subdivision, there's some sort of requirement for landscaping so that they don't just need dirt and weed," staff member Ruth told the committee as she introduced the draft.
The draft packet circulated to members includes redline versions and a proposed table that will vary landscape-strip widths by neighborhood (for example, upper versus lower Clarkdale), and a proposed requirement that some residential front-yard landscaping be installed prior to issuance of a certificate of occupancy. Staff also said irrigation plans will be required for newly built single-family homes so front yards are not left as dirt.
On maintenance and enforcement, the draft makes replacement obligations explicit: dead vegetation must be replaced within 18 days of discovery or by the next planting season, whichever occurs first. Members discussed making raised planter borders in parking areas require cuts to allow stormwater to flow into planters for rainwater harvesting, changing the text from an option ("may") to a requirement ("shall").
Committee members pressed staff to be more precise in several areas: minimum plant sizes and counts will be replaced with a new table specifying tree sizes (caliper), container sizes, and shrub counts tied to landscape area; soil preparation and minimum topsoil depth will be added to improve long-term plant survivability; and the approved plant list will be tailored to Clarkdale microclimates rather than imported wholesale from larger, lower-elevation lists.
Staff flagged several practical edits already in progress: removing invasive or hazardous species (staff recommended removing "heavenly bamboo" from adaptive shrubs), curating a shade-canopy tree list to avoid thorny species near sidewalks, and refining buffering and exemptions for very small sites.
Members welcomed incentives for passive water-capture measures (curb cuts, basins that route runoff into planters) and discussed a possible credit metric—for example, allowing a modest reduction in landscape-area requirements if a project implements a specified amount of water-harvesting.
The committee did not adopt any final rule at the meeting. Staff said they will incorporate member suggestions and return the chapter for further review at the next meeting, including a more detailed plant-size table and an updated, locally vetted plant list.
The planning commission asked staff to provide illustrative diagrams and quantifiable standards so builders and residents can understand when a project complies and how enforcement will work.
