§ 17-63. Definitions.

For the purpose of this article, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed to them:

Administrator. The director of planning and development or his designee.

Appropriate materials. Heat- and drought-tolerant sod grasses, shrubs, flowering plants or similar plant material, and ground cover.

Critical root zone. Minimum area beneath a tree which must be left undisturbed in order to preserve a sufficient root mass to give a tree a reasonable chance of survival. The critical root zone (CRZ) will typically be represented by a concentric circle centering on the tree's trunk with a radius equal in feet to one and three-tenths (1.3) times the number of inches of the trunk diameter. Example: The CRZ radius of a 20-inch diameter tree is twenty-six (26) feet.

Developed property. Property upon which a building has been placed or for which a building permit has been issued.

Grass (sod). A surface layer of earth containing grass; turf.

Ground cover. Nonliving natural or artificial materials commonly used in landscaping to cover non-impervious areas, such as, but not limited to, mulch, straw, wood chips, bark, sand, or stone.

Impervious surface. Any material or surface that prevents absorption of stormwater into the ground. Includes but is not limited to buildings, asphalt and concrete surfaced streets, parking lots, and sidewalks.

Impervious surface, non. All that area of a lot which is not covered by buildings, asphalt or concrete surfaced streets, parking lots, or sidewalks or any other impervious surface.

Interior landscaped areas. The area of a lot devoted to parking spaces and vehicular use.

Irrigation system. A permanent, artificial watering system designed to transport and distribute water to plants.

Landscaping. Landscaping shall consist of any of the following or combination thereof: material such as, but not limited to, grass, ground covers, shrubs, vines, trees, berms, mulch, sand, walls, screens, fences, lighting and/or signage, and any change in contours of the land, grades, etc. to achieve the effect of landscaping. Artificial plants and/or trees are not considered landscaping and shall not be used to meet the requirements of the landscape regulations.

Landscape border. A planted border around the outer boundary of a parking lot or vehicular use area.

Landscape strip. A planted area abutting a right-of-way.

Native plants. Any plant species with a geographic distribution indigenous to the southeastern region of the United States. Plant species which have been introduced by man are not native vegetation.

Property owner. Property owner shall mean the person owning such property or his agent as shown by the city tax records or an approved landscaping plan.

Region. The southeastern region of the United States.

Shrub. A shrub required by this article shall be a self-supporting plant material usually not more than ten (10) feet in height at maturity.

Tree. Any self-supporting, woody perennial plant usually having a single trunk diameter of three (3) inches or more which normally attains a mature height of a minimum of fifteen (15) feet.

Tree protection zone. An area encompassing the Critical Root Zone of a tree.

Vine. A vine is a plant which normally requires support to reach maturity.

Xeriscape. Landscape methods which conserve water through the use of drought-tolerant plants and planting techniques.

(Ord. No. 43-09, § 1, 10-1-09)