Description

The new owner has replaced the sod front yard almost entirely with rocks. This lack of vegetation is in violation of the following City Ordinances:

16.40.060.2.1.2. A: Required permeable green space for yards abutting streets. Required front yards and required side yards abutting streets shall be maintained as permeable landscaped vegetative green space with the exception of driveways, walks, patios and similar paved areas and non-organic mulch areas, which areas combined shall not exceed 25 percent of the required yard area for corner lots and 45 percent of the required yard area for inside lots. Facilities constructed to achieve compliance with ADA requirements shall be exempt from this surface calculation. Yards abutting streets which do not conform to the provisions herein and which existed as of August 25, 1977, are grandfathered and exempt from this subsection.

16.40.060.2.1.2. B: Ground cover, private property. Permeable portions of private property including required yards shall be maintained with an herbaceous layer of sod or ground cover plant material.

16.40.060.2.1.2. D. Mulch. Organic mulch is a beneficial addition to landscaping in many situations including providing a surface covering under shrubs, or where ground cover material is maturing. The intention of these regulations is to allow mulch within a landscape design while not allowing an entire yard to only be covered with mulch. The use of cypress mulch is discouraged.
1. Installation standards. Where used in lieu of sod or ground cover plant material, mulch shall be placed to a minimum depth of three inches. The top level of the mulch shall not exceed the height of the immediately adjacent ground surface. Mulch shall not be placed directly against a plant stem or tree trunk. Non-organic mulch including rubber, decorative gravel or crushed stone shall be allowed only in planting areas (e.g., in gardens or hedge areas).
2. Limits on installation on one- and two-unit residential properties.
a. Organic mulch may be used without limit underneath shrubs and trees, provided the shrubs and trees or a combination thereof are planted and maintained at a cumulative ratio of at least one shrub or tree, planted within the mulch per each ten square feet of organic mulched area;
b. No more than 50 percent of the required front and street side yard may be covered with mulch;
3. Limits on installation in rights-of-way. Organic mulch may be used in permeable areas of the right-of-way to keep moisture in the soil while other forms of approved ground cover plant material are maturing. Mulch is prohibited within four feet of the curb or road edge if there is no curb. Mulch in the right-of-way must be contained within borders sufficient to prevent flotation of mulch into the roadway. With the exception of permitted driveway or sidewalk materials, the use of shell, rock or other similar hardened non-organic mulch in the right-of-way is prohibited.