§ 10-25. Approval of landscape design plan.
(a)
Commercial projects: An existing tree location survey shall be drawn showing protected trees to be preserved. This includes specimen and majestic trees as well as regulated trees up to a density of fifteen (15) per acre. The landscape design plan shall than be submitted to the county administrator or designee for approval. It shall be drawn by a landscape designer familiar with both plants and designs or a landscape architect familiar with both plants and designs. The plan shall be drawn to scale normally of not less than one (1) inch equals thirty (30) feet showing dimensions and distances. A different scale may be permitted for good cause shown.
The landscape plan shall include all dimensions, and plan information required by the site plan review process, including but not limited to:
(1)
Designation of plant materials lists by common and botanical (scientific) name, including applicable cultivar's name, and location of plant material to be installed or preserved in accordance of this section;
(2)
Use or zoning classification of adjacent properties;
(3)
A tabulation of all information necessary for evaluation of the plan, including gross acreage, area in square feet of impervious surfaces, area in square feet of green space, list of trees left native for credit to include diameters, buffer requirements to include plant types, water use plan, and mulch to a minimum depth of two (2) inches shall be printed on the plan and on the Hernando County Commercial Landscape Plan form.
(b)
The plan will show the proposed natural vegetation areas to be preserved and the proposed areas to be cleared. The installed planting areas, buildings, drainage facilities, parking/pavement areas, storage areas, or impervious surfaces existing or proposed for the development site shall also be displayed. Finally, the landscape design plan shall include the following items:
(1)
Soil characteristics.
(2)
Plant installations. Installed plant materials shall conform to the Standards for Florida Grade No. 1-or-better as given in Grades and Standards for Nursery Plants (GSNP), State of Florida, Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
a.
Installed plants shall be grouped in planning areas according to water-use-zones and irrigated separately according to high, moderate, or low water usage. If turf grass is used, it shall be irrigated separately from other landscaping.
b.
Installed plants shall be appropriately spaced according to growth needs of the species. Except for this priority or as otherwise indicated, no two (2) plants (excluding trees and turf grass) shall be more than thirty (30) inches apart on center.
c.
No more than fifty (50) percent of the landscaping shall be turf grass unless varieties with excellent drought-tolerance are used.
d.
Mulches are required and shall be at least two (2) inches in depth.
e.
Synthetic lawns or synthetic plants are not acceptable.
(3)
Water use zones and irrigation. For all required landscaped areas irrigation shall be used in order to establish and maintain optimal growth of plant material. The irrigation system shall be designed to correlate to the water use plant zones established in the landscape design. On projects larger than two (2) acres, only shallow wells, open surface water bodies or reclaimed water shall be used as the source of irrigation water. The following criteria for irrigating the site should be used in the design of the system. Water use zones shall be designed for installed planting areas according to high, moderate, or low water usage. The percentage of each zone to the total of all landscaping shall be shown. No more than fifty (50) percent of landscaping shall be in the high water use zone. Areas of preserved natural vegetation shall be counted toward the low water use zone.
a.
All automatic irrigation systems shall be designed to avoid runoff, low-head drainage, over spray, or comparable conditions where water flows onto/over adjacent property, non-irrigated areas, impervious structures, sidewalks, or roadways.
b.
Irrigation control equipment shall include an automatic irrigation controller that has adequate programming flexibility to respond to the specifications of irrigation devices being used. This includes features such as repeat cycles and multiple-program capabilities.
c.
Sprinkler spacing shall not exceed fifty-five (55) percent of the sprinkler diameter coverage.
d.
Nozzle sizes shall match the water application rate of the zone.
e.
Sprays, rotors, and low-volume emitters shall have consistent application rates within each control-valve circuit. Drip, micro-spray, or other low-volume emitters are required in non-turf grass areas that are outside of the high water use zone.
f.
An operational soil moisture sensor or a rain sensor shut off device, that will override the irrigation cycle of the sprinkler system when adequate rainfall has occurred, shall be installed and must be maintained and operated on all irrigation systems.
g.
All watering restrictions of the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) and Hernando County shall be obeyed.
(Ord. No. 2008-02, § 10, 1-15-08)