A. Landscapes shall be regularly inspected and maintained to ensure water efficiency and keep plants in a healthy condition. Maintenance shall include, but is not limited to, programmed watering, fertilizing and soil amendment applications, weed control, cleaning, pruning, trimming, pest control, replenishing mulch and cultivating. Tree topping shall not be permitted except when necessary for the protection of public safety, property damage or liability.

B. Landscape structural features shall be maintained in sound structural and attractive condition.

C. All plant material shall be serviced by a permanently installed, electrically automated irrigation system. Project sites containing two thousand five hundred square feet or more of landscaped area must have a controller that can be programmed to accommodate different landscape hydrozones and the controller shall be equipped with a battery backup to preserve the controller settings in case of an electrical system interruption.

D. Tree pruning shall follow the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) pruning guidelines. This subsection does not apply to utility companies trimming trees for the purpose of providing necessary clearance for power lines.

E. All plants and irrigation systems shall be maintained as originally approved unless otherwise approved by the city. The city can, at any time, require landscaping and irrigation to be replaced and/or reinstalled in accordance with the approved plans and requirements of the state’s Model Water Efficient Landscaping Ordinance (MWELO).

F. Failure to maintain landscaping and/or irrigation systems as provided in the project’s approved landscape plan shall result in the issuance of a citation and, if not abated, may include civil penalties. (Ord. 4943 § 1, 2018; Ord. 4624 § 2, 2010; Ord. 4010 § 1, 2001)