Plant Materials
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Landscaping creates interest and beauty downtown and yields a long-term positive impact on the visual quality of the business district. Proper landscaping gives visual relief from the rigidity of buildings and pavement, masks clutter, creates pedestrian spaces, provides shade and minimizes glare and heat from surfaces and vehicles. In addition, plants perform a number of other important functions. Plants absorb some noxious gases, act as receptors of dust and dirt particles and help to cleanse the air of pollution. Planting helps to make downtown a comfortable place to shop, work and visit, and can be used to direct and guide vehicular and pedestrian traffic and provides human scale. The City has a tree ordinance that establishes standards for the use of trees throughout the city.

Success with planting downtown is determined largely by proper selection, installation and, most of all, maintenance. As part of any planting project, a maintenance program must be developed and followed.

Guidelines:

  1. Plantings should be protected from vehicular and pedestrian traffic.

  2. Plant materials which require minimum maintenance should be chosen. Avoid high maintenance materials.

  3. Planting should be clustered where space allows.

  4. Planting should not impede vehicular or pedestrian traffic, nor hide signs, signals or mask building facades.

  5. Plant materials should be hardy species selected on the basis of their height, color and character. Plant materials should compliment the building facades and public improvements.

  6. Where possible, use plant materials to visually link pedestrian areas.

  7. Avoid plant material with shallow root systems which may break up sidewalks or roadways. Avoid planting over or near underground utilities if damage to those systems is likely to occur.

  8. Comply with the requirements of the City Tree Ordinance.