Orange County NC Website
29 <br /> DRAFT <br /> 1203 Charity Kirk: Can we talk about the foundation plantings then? Like foundation plantings, Page 6-46, one, <br /> 1204 we're going to add an"A"stating landscaping should be planted a minimum 2 feet from the <br /> 1205 foundation. <br /> 1206 <br /> 1207 Perdita Holtz: Also, I wanted to say that it should say"shall be planted" because our attorney's office is very <br /> 1208 diligent about not having discretionary language added to the UDO more than it already is. I know <br /> 1209 there are plenty of examples in there, but they don't want to see more, so if it's not a standard, <br /> 1210 don't put it in the UDO. That's what they're telling us. <br /> 1211 <br /> 1212 Lamar Proctor: Can I ask one question about that real quick? So,y'all have a lot more experience in dealing with <br /> 1213 the best practices in what actually ends up on a site plan. So, in that regard for the 5 feet,what do <br /> 1214 you see? Do you see most site plans it's clear that they are taking all that into account and they're <br /> 1215 using best practices in putting these plantings in their locations? <br /> 1216 <br /> 1217 Perdita Holtz: Yes. I mean,we don't have a whole lot of non-residential structures going in, in Orange County, <br /> 1218 and normally when it's a commercial building going in,those people are working with a <br /> 1219 professional landscape architect to do some of their plans and such. <br /> 1220 <br /> 1221 Lamar Proctor: Thank you. <br /> 1222 <br /> 1223 Beth Bronson: I will say that that was my only comment was that I don't see a lot of enforcement with the non- <br /> 1224 residential. And what I see with the non-residential is, yeah,they may say that they're using a <br /> 1225 local company or that they're using a professional landscaper, but the quality of their plants are <br /> 1226 not in any way meeting the needs of these standards, and you see a lot of death of those buffer <br /> 1227 plants within the first year, 2 years. I'm not saying that they're going to be replaced, or I'm not <br /> 1228 saying that they're not going to be replaced, but I will say that watching non-residential,which is <br /> 1229 normally larger parcels, try to adhere to these landscaping development standards, it really shows <br /> 1230 what the bare minimum is, I think. Like it just doesn't,they don't look good. And it's not that they <br /> 1231 don't look good. It's just like they don't look healthy. They don't look well attended. Like they <br /> 1232 don't look like good specimens to begin with. And I like the idea of adding native and drought <br /> 1233 resistant. I guess too,this section doesn't really address enforcement. That's the only other thing <br /> 1234 that I noticed. <br /> 1235 <br /> 1236 Cy Stober: This is the simplest part of our ordinance to enforce. We can enforce this. We enforce it almost <br /> 1237 every week. And you can thank your colleague, Ms. Kirk,for all the work she did with our new <br /> 1238 planting guide,which is enforced by the staff, and you must use if you're doing plantings in <br /> 1239 Orange County. It is targeted to native, drought-resistant plants, or drought tolerant. And we <br /> 1240 have shade tolerant. We have sun-loving plants in there. So, depending upon the geometry and <br /> 1241 the building orientation, you can plant different plants on the property. Thank you very much. We <br /> 1242 are putting it into action, and this is a very simple part of our ordinance. This may be the simplest <br /> 1243 part of our ordinance to enforce. <br /> 1244 <br /> 1245 Beth Bronson: It seems so. <br /> 1246 <br /> 1247 Cy Stober: But it does take time for them to grow back. <br /> 1248 <br /> 1249 Charity Kirk: Going back to this foundation planting addition, are we okay with it? Landscaping shall be planted <br /> 1250 a minimum of 2 feet from the foundation. <br /> 1251 <br /> 1252 Statler Gilfillen: I think it should be no closer than 2 feet to the foundation. <br /> 1253 <br /> 1254 Charity Kirk: A minimum of 2 feet from the foundation. <br /> 1255 <br /> 1256 Statler Gilfillen: Whatever legally works. <br /> 1257 <br />