- How do you measure a new parking lot to determine if it is more than a half-acre in size?
To determine whether a proposed parking lot meets the one-half acre threshold to trigger climate mitigation, all areas within the perimeter of the off-street parking area, including parking spaces, aisles, planting islands, corner areas, and curbed areas are counted. Interior driveways and off-street loading areas are not counted.
- Do these requirements apply to vehicle storage areas?
No, vehicle storage areas are not considered parking lots, so these requirements do not apply.
- Do these requirements apply to vehicle loading areas?
No, vehicle loading areas are not considered a part of the parking lot, so these requirements do not apply.
- Is there a way to reduce or avoid the climate mitigation requirements?
You cannot apply for an adjustment or variance to change the requirements for climate mitigation. You can avoid the requirements by building a parking lot (or lots) less than a half-acre in size.
- What if multiple small parking lots are proposed on a single property?
If multiple new off-street surface parking lots are proposed as part of the same development, the area of all new lots is combined to determine if they total more than a half-acre in size and thus trigger these requirements.
- Can a combination of options be used to meet the climate mitigation requirement?
Yes, you can choose to utilize a combination of the climate mitigation methods to meet this requirement. The following formulas can be used to calculate how much of the total requirement is met via each method based on proposed development: Note: You cannot mix and match the tree canopy requirement; you must choose to either provide trees along driveways or provide trees that meet the 30 percent tree canopy coverage option.
- What are the ANSI A300 standards?
The ANSI A300 standards are a set of nationally-approved standards for tree planting, care, and management that must be followed during site development and ongoing maintenance. They aim to ensure that tree canopies on a given development site meet the expected canopy projected during permitting.
- What if I want to plant tree species that are not included in the list of approved trees?
Additional tree species are allowed to be planted with approval by the Planning Administrator, so long as they are native and drought tolerant. Such trees will be categorized as either large or small by the Planning Administrator and counted as such on tree plans.