A g en d a It e m S u mm a r y

M U N I C I PA L P L A N N I N G B OA R D
JANUARY 15,13

A G E N DA I T E M # 3 : LANDSCAPING CODE: A N N UA L V E G E T A B L E G A R D E N S
SUMMARY
Staff is proposing a minor amendment to a previous recommendation to a re-write of the Landscaping Code approved by the Municipal Planning Board in April 2011. This particular recommendation will add regulations related to residential vegetable gardens. The current and proposed landscaping codes do not address vegetable gardens, yet require permanent plantings for maintained ground cover, shrubs and trees. However, over the past year, several issues have arisen with vegetable gardens in the community. The regulations proposed are designed to provide reasonable development standards to allow vegetable gardens with a level of maintenance to provide a neat appearance, and meet the other objectives of the proposed landscaping code (shade coverage requirements, water conservation, aesthetic needs and permanent landscaping that survive the harsh summer weather conditions of Central Florida). In light of the above, the City Planning Division has decided to hold back City Council approval and adoption of the revised Landscaping Code, so that the Municipal Planning Board can review the issue of vegetable gardening. The final Landscaping Code rewrite will be brought forward to the City Council with the issue of vegetable gardening addressed.

Case Number Applicant

LDC2011-00020

City of Orlando

Requested Action

Request to amend Chapter 60 of the land development code to establish requirements for residential vegetable gardens.

Recommendation

Approval of LDC amendment concept and authorization for City Staff to prepare an Ordinance for First Reading at City Council.

BACKGROUND
The City held several focus groups from 20102012 to develop concepts, review and finalize a Landscaping Code that incorporates a green factor; a point based system which allows flexibility in landscaping requirements to credit water saving technologies, permanent edible landscaping and sustainable practices while enhancing aesthetics. During the final code drafting process in 2012 with the City Attorneys office, the issue of annual vegetable gardens came to the forefront. The current and proposed ordinances that regulate landscaping were largely written without considering this new trend for residential urban gardeners, who at certain extremes have devoted their entire front yards towards annual food production. Typically in the past, such gardens have been relegated to the rear yards of residential properties. Additionally, in November and December 2012, the City sponsored several community and round table meetings as a part of the Green Works Orlando Community Action Plan, part of Mayor Dyer's Green Works initiative. The issue of gardening, particularly front yard vegetable gardens, had been brought up as an issue that the City needs to address. Participants stressed the importance of allowing for personal food production throughout the City, as well as having clear, easy-to-understand rules. While the City of Orlando does not have any zoning districts that allow for agricultural uses outside of a Holding-H and Conservation-C districts for recently annexed and environmentally sensitive properties, the City wishes to support individual property owners who want to garden on their property, but needs to balance these desires with reasonable rules that protect the aesthetic character of Orlando, provide shade to combat the urban heat island effect, and ensure that landscaping survives in the long-term without long periods where landscaping is absent from a property.

Project Planner(s)

Jason Burton, AICP, CNU-A, LEED-AP Chief Planner Kenneth Pelham, RLA, LEED-AP Landscape Architect Jon Ippel, AICP, LEED-AP Sustainability Director

City Attorney

Kyle Shephard, Esq.

Updated: January 8, 2013

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LDC2011-00020

Landscaping Code: Annual Vegetable Gardens

LDC Amendment

P RO P O S E D L D C A M E N D M E N T: A NA LY S I S
SUMMARY
This draft contains the following modifications to the draft Landscaping Code, which reflect regulations for vegetable gardening in residential districts. Amend draft landscaping code to address vegetable gardens in residential properties (one and two family). Allow side and rear yard vegetable gardens with a 3-foot setback from property lines. All accessory structures (compost bins, sheds, etc.) must be in rear yard. Allow maximum 25% vegetable garden of the front yard area. Maximum 4-ft height of plantings or related structures (tomato cages, growing trellises) in front yard. Front Yard plantings, boxes and trellises set back 5-feet from neighboring properties. In front yard, one of the following techniques shall be required: 1. Screening with mature shrubs or fence (chain link prohibited). 2. A 10-ft. setback for the garden planted with conventional landscaping. 3. Planter boxes up to 2-feet in height, set back 3-feet from rights-of-way. No vegetable gardens, trellises or swales are allowed in the rights-of-way. Require trees on the property to meet minimum requirements. If a front or street side yard vegetable garden is not actively cultivating food for a period of over three consecutive months, the garden shall be planted with plants selected from the LDCs approved plant list. All gardens shall be well maintained, neat and orderly. Fallow portions shall be neatly covered with mulch to prevent erosion and weeds. The issue of vegetable gardening and agricultural uses in nonresidential (commercial and industrial) areas is proposed to be addressed in the future as part of the Citys Use and Performance Standards ordinance which is undergoing the drafting process. The concepts are more use-based regulations, such as: where agriculture uses will be allowed in the future (where they previously have not been allowed); when community gardens require progressive levels of discretionary land use permits; and when vegetable gardens may be considered accessory uses to a business, such as a restaurant.

DETAILS
The regulations for vegetable gardens in single family and two family development are designed to allow vegetable gardening without special permits from the City of Orlando. However, they are designed to provide minimum acceptable standards for maintenance, setbacks from neighbors and relative heights. Rear and Side Yard Gardens. A minimum setback of 3-feet is recommended for gardens in the rear and side yards. 3-feet allows the garden to be serviced without disturbing neighboring properties, and in the case of side yards, allows for emergency access to the rear yard. Within the side yard itself, a maximum height of 5-feet for any structure, such as trellises, storage bins, tomato cages and the like will limit heights in these narrow areas, where such structures may conflict with the principal structure (e.g.. accessory structures are typically required to be placed 5-feet from the principal structure, and in the typical single family lot in Orlando, the typical side yard setback is 5-feet). This provides for a maximum height that prevents overgrowth and other hazards occurring in sideyards. Maximum heights for trellises, cages and the like in rear yards will be regulated the same as other accessory structures. Generally, items from 5 to 12 feet in height require a 5-foot setback, and those items 12-feet and over require a 15-foot setback. Front and Street Side Yard Gardens. It is recommended that the front and street side yard areas (if present) be limited to 25% of the area between the principal faade of the principal structure and the right of way. This includes the entire front yard area, inclusive of driveway and all the area between neighboring properties. For a typical residential lot in Orlando, this allows approximately half of the front yard to be dedicated to vegetable gardens. The remainder of the front yard will need to be planted with permanent plants, shrubs, trees and ground covers selected from the Landscaping Codes approved plant list, which guides property owners to not plant invasive plants and those plants that can survive in the heat of Central Floridas subtropical climate. Front and Street Side Yard Setbacks/Heights for Gardens. In order to create a finished appearance and not disturb neighboring properties, it is proposed a setback of 5-feet be required from neighboring properties. Plant materials and trellises shall be less than 4-feet in height. Treatment of Front Yard and Street Side Yard Gardens. In order to provide a finished appearance from the street with permanent landscaping treatments, one of the following treatments is required:

Provide a fence or mature hedge (3-4 feet in height) along the right of way property line to screen the garden and provide permanent landscaping (chain link prohibited). Provide a 3-foot setback from the right of way for plantings, with the intervening area containing a landscaped swale or similar treatment to prevent erosion off the property. Raised planter boxes constructed out of durable materials of up to two feet in height, setback a minimum of 3-feet from rights-ofways. If there is no screening or planter boxes, setback the vegetable garden a minimum of 10-feet from the right of way, with the intervening area landscaped.

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LDC2011-00020

Landscaping Code: Annual Vegetable Gardens

LDC

P RO P O S E D L D C A M E N D M E N T: A NA LY S I S
Additional Requirements for All Gardens: Vegetable gardens are prohibited in rights-of-ways. The minimum shade coverage (typically one canopy and one understory tree, plus a street tree) is required for all sites installing front or street side yard gardens. This requires sites have a level of shade coverage, which impacts the Citys heat island effect and provides an aesthetic for our residential neighborhoods where trees are valued above low plantings. If a garden in the front or street sides is not actively cultivating food for a period of 3 months, permanent landscaping should be installed; this essentially requires that a spring and fall crop is planted, so front yard gardens are not fallow for extended periods of time. Maintenance Requirements: Gardens shall be well maintained, neat and orderly. Fallow portions of the garden shall be neatly covered with mulch to prevent erosion and weeds. After germination, exposed soil in planting areas should be covered with mulch, pine needles or other similar material to prevent erosion. way the length of the front yard and any adjacent neighbor to the garden with a fence (chain link prohibited) or mature hedge, 3-4 feet in height, with a minimum 3 foot setback of the plant materials from the right-of-way. The 3 foot setback must accommodate a landscaped swale or similar treatment to prevent soil erosion off the property. d. Additional Requirements: Vegetable gardens, trellises, swales or any other accessories to gardens are not allowed in parkstrips or any part of the right-ofway. The minimum shade coverage (amount of required shade and understory trees) and street tree requirements shall be met for any site installing a front or street-side yard vegetable garden. If a front or street side yard garden is not actively cultivating food for a period of over three consecutive months, the garden shall be planted with plants selected from the Approved Plant List, Figure 12. (3) Maintenance requirements for all Vegetable Gardens. Gardens shall be well maintained, neat and orderly. Fallow portions of the garden shall be neatly covered with mulch to prevent erosion and weeds. After germination, exposed soil in planting areas should be covered with mulch, pine needles or other similar material to prevent erosion.

DRAFT REGULATION:
The following is proposed to be appended to the landscaping section applicable to one and two family residential sites:

(h) Vegetable Gardens: Vegetable gardens are annual edible land-

scapes that are generally not selected from the Approved Plants List. The following requirements apply to vegetable gardens at one and two-family residences: (1) Rear Yards and Side Yards. Vegetable gardens are allowed in the rear and side yards behind the principal structure with a minimum 3-foot setback. All structures over 5 feet in height shall be set back consistent with Accessory Structure requirements in rear yards. In side yards, no structures are allowed over 5-feet in height. (2) Front and Street Side Yards. Vegetable gardens in front and street side yards are allowed only with the following development standards: a. The planted area of the vegetable garden is limited to 25% of the front yard (constituting the area between the principal faade of the principal structure and the right-of-way, between neighboring side properties, including driveways) and street side yard areas. b. Trellises, plant material and other related structures shall not be over 4-feet in height and setback a minimum of 5-feet from any neighboring property. Sheds, composting bins and other such accessory structures shall not be placed in the front yard. Adequate views to the residence entrance and address number for emergency services shall be maintained. c. The garden shall be designed using one of the following techniques: 1. If the garden has no planter boxes or is not screened, the plant material shall be setback a minimum of 10 feet from the right of way, with the setback area landscaped with any of the following: sod, evergreen groundcovers, evergreen shrubs, rain garden, landscaped swale, xeriscaping or similar treatment. 2. Raised planter box bed(s) of up to two feet in height, set back a minimum of 3 feet from the right-of-way. Planter boxes shall be well maintained and constructed out of treated wood, stone or other durable material. 3. Screened along the property line at the right-of-

EXAMPLES
The City has been challenged to draft an appropriate regulation due to the many examples of maintained and unmaintained vegetable gardens that have recently cropped up in the City within front yards, with some under code enforcement action; the City acts upon citizen complaints in such cases. Staff feels it may be helpful to review some of the examples that we have experienced over the past few years, and how the draft regulations are related to allay concerns from neighbors that some vegetable gardens, if unattended or are overwhelming to the site, are unsightly and could potentially harbor vermin and endanger the safety of a neighborhood.

Eola Heights. This garden in Eola Heights contains planter boxes made from durable materials, and includes a picket fence planted with Indian Hawthorne to provide screening. While the garden itself is large, it is located on an oversized lot and with the garden limited to about 25% of the front yard area. The garden is planted in both the spring and fallthe winter crop is shown here.

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LDC2011-00020

Landscaping Code: Annual Vegetable Gardens

LDC

P RO P O S E D L D C A M E N D M E N T: A NA LY S I S

Audubon Park. This garden contains planter boxes, none of which are over 2-feet in height. A growing trellis is on the tallest planter box, which is not greater than 4-feet above the soil level in the planter box. The boxes themselves are placed at least 3-feet from the right of way and takes up less than 25% of the front yard.

Lake Mann Estates. This front yard has been planted entirely with corn that has grown to over 9-feet tall. Emergency services has a difficult time seeing the address for the site and where the front door is located.

RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends approval of the modification of LDC2011-00020, and authorization for staff to prepare an ordinance for first reading at City Council.

FINDINGS
Staff finds that the proposed amendment (LDC2011-00020) is consistent with the standards contained in LDC 65.482, which describes staffs role in the review of proposed Land Development Code text amendments: 1. The proposed text amendment is consistent with the Growth Management Plan. 2. The proposed text amendment promotes the public health, safety, and welfare. 3. The proposed text amendment will result in compatible land uses. 4. The proposed text amendment will result in orderly and logical development patterns.

REVIEW/AP NEXT STEPS*

P R O V A L

R O C E S S

1. February 4, 2013: Municipal Planning Board minutes reviewed and approved by City Council. If appealed, the Council will consider the appeal of this legislative item on the next available Council date, February 25, 2013. 2. February 25, 2013: Potential first reading of ordinance at City Council for approval. 3. March 25, 2012: Second reading and hearing for ordinance at City Council for adoption. *This timeline is provided for informational purposes only, and exact dates are subject to change.

Colonialtown North. This garden is primarily weeds with some edible annual plants interspersed throughout. It is overgrown and unmaintained. There is no clear path to the front door or setbacks from neighboring properties. No street trees shade the sidewalk or provides a consistent shade canopy for the neighborhood.