An effort to set parameters for the amount of open space housing developers need to provide their residents made Crescent City councilors realize that the municipal code contains landscaping standards that likely aren’t applied consistently.
Some don’t make sense, Councilor Kelly Schellong Feola said Monday. One example she gave is a requirement that at least one tree from an approved list be planted in a residential front or side yard every 30 feet. The other is limiting the use of non-vegetative material in residential landscaping to 25 percent, Feola said.
“I know a lot of older people that can’t get out and mow their lawns,” she said. “They like to decorate their yards with river rock and such, and this is saying you can’t do that for more than 25 percent of your property.”
It’s these inconsistencies the Community Development Department and the Planning Commission have been working through, according to Ethan Lawton, a planner with SHN, a Eureka-based engineering and planning firm that is contracted with the city. When it comes to landscaping standards in residential zones, developments that are less than four units aren’t required to submit site plans to the city that verifies their landscaping plans, he said.
But, while there’s no special permit required for a single-family home, for example, under the municipal code, city staff should still review those landscaping standards, City Attorney Martha Rice said.
“No building permit should be issued unless [the development] meets these landscaping requirements,” she said.
These standards, including the tree requirement in residentially zoned areas, applies to new developments, City Manager Eric Wier told Redwood Voice Community News on Wednesday. He noted that single-family homes don’t have to jump through the same hoops that a multi-family development does, but the standard should still be applied.
The Council’s discussion over landscaping began with a proposal to change standards for planting trees alongside city sidewalks and to set parameters for how much “common usable open space” developers need to include in their housing projects.
According to Lawton, the latter applies to multi-family residential homes planned for Crescent City. Examples might include a community garden, a barbecue area and dining facilities, a playground and spaces to gather.
City staff had initially proposed requiring developers to designate 10 percent of their housing projects for common usable open space, Lawton said. The Planning Commission decided that for multi-family homes that exceed five units, that percentage should be at least 20 percent.
For developments that exceed 10 housing units, those common usable open space areas are required to include a play area and other amenities, according to Lawton. There’s also a limitation on landscaping — Lawton said the open space can’t be all landscaping and “not be usable.”
Those landscaping standards could be waived if a multi-family housing development is within 1,000 feet of suitable open space, Lawton said.
Three councilors approved changes to the landscaping standards. However, Feola dissented saying the 20 percent requirement was too burdensome.
“If you have a 10-acre parcel you’re going to require the developer to make 2 acres of that usable space, or common space,” she said. “That takes away from housing that they could be providing.”
Councilor Jason Greenough was absent.
Wier said the 20 percent requirement for common usable space would force developers to create housing that’s similar to Battery Point Apartments, which broke ground on Sept. 10.
However, Lawton said, the 162-unit development at Gary and E streets exceeds the then-proposed 20 percent requirement. He noted that 36 percent of Battery Point Apartments is common usable open space.
Crescent City Mayor Blake Inscore pointed out that California often overrides local standards when it comes to low-income housing projects and asked if Crescent City would be able to hold to the 20 percent parameter.
However, he said he wasn’t concerned about the 20 percent requirement because the city continues to struggle with workforce housing affordability and professionals might prefer to live in a condominium-type unit rather than a 50-year-old home.
According to Wier, Planning Commissioners began discussing the need for green space in housing complexes after considering developments that kept those areas to a minimum. One example the city manager gave was Roosevelt Estates, Sam Schauerman’s 56-unit moderate income housing development that’s being built at 1405 California Street.
According to Lawton, the developer claimed that about 10 percent of the site would be open space. But, he said, it was used for stormwater catchment and couldn’t be considered a common usable space.
The City Council, for the most part, supported the new landscaping standards, which included a list of approved trees for developers to plant. However, Inscore said the city doesn’t necessarily lead by example. The mayor pointed to tree wells in the downtown area that are in various stages of disrepair. He asked if the trees the city had planted are even on the approved list.
“Maybe there’s an opportunity for us to do a beautify Crescent City campaign,” Inscore said, adding that he had urged Wier to pursue a grant to create an urban forest in the downtown area. “Maybe we have an opportunity with this saying we’d like to see a tree in every front yard to beautify Crescent City.”
According to Lawton, Community Development Department staff also noted inconsistencies in the city’s General Plan while updating the Housing Element.
The City Council’s newest members will have that to look forward to next year, Inscore said.
