(a) It shall be the duty of the owner or occupant of a lot or open area to maintain, in a healthy condition, all plants, shrubs, turf, and other landscaping, excluding city-installed trees, on the city right-of-way within or adjacent to such lot or open area. If any such landscaping should become diseased, hazardous, or otherwise defective, it shall be the duty of the owner or occupant to remove and replace such landscaping in accordance with applicable city landscaping standards.

(b) The requirements of subsection (a) of this section shall not apply where the city manager or manager's designee has notified the owner or occupant in writing that the city has assumed responsibility for maintaining the City's right-of-way.

(c) On corner lots, no fence, retaining wall, shrub, tree, hedge or similar obstruction shall be erected, planted or maintained within the triangular area formed by the intersecting street lines and a straight line adjoining the street lines at points which are at a distance of 30 feet from the point of intersection along such street lines, provided that fences more than 75 percent open may be constructed at not more than 42 inches in height above the sidewalk grade. Fences less than 75 percent open, hedges, shrubs and retaining walls may be planted or constructed and maintained at not more than 26 inches in height above the adjoining sidewalk grade. When sidewalks do not exist, such grade shall be established by the city manager or the manager's designee.

(d) It shall be the duty of the owner or occupant of a developed lot or developed open area, which lot or open area is situated within any type of zoned district other than an R-A, open, natural area, agricultural district or residential lot greater than one-half acre, and which front and side yards of a lot or open area is adjacent to or visible from any street, to install or otherwise provide landscaping in accordance with applicable city landscaping standards. For the purposes of this section, the term "landscaping" shall be construed broadly to include turf, plants, shrubs and/or trees, as well as the alternative landscaping style or styles commonly known as xeriscaping; however, the term "landscaping" shall not include weeds, as defined in section 142-71, and shall not include barren patches of soil or dirt.

(e) It shall be the duty of the owner or occupant of a developed lot or developed open area to maintain, in a healthy condition, all plants, shrubs, turf, and other landscaping, excluding city-installed trees, on all such property, front and side yards, adjacent to or visible from any street. In the event that any such landscaping should become diseased, hazardous, deteriorated, desiccated, withered, or otherwise defective, including but not limited to withering or desiccation resulting from the lack of sufficient water, it shall be the duty of the owner or occupant to remove, revive, restore or replace such landscaping in accordance with applicable city landscaping standards. If an existing landscaped property, which has less than 50 percent long-lived organic materials, is cited for a lack of maintenance of landscaping, then the owner shall improve his or her landscaping to comply with the minimum 50 percent long-lived organic material requirement, per subsection (g).

(f) For the purposes of this section, front yard shall mean the open space on the same site with the building between every point on the front of such building and the front lot line of the site, and extending the full width of the site. Side yard shall mean the open space on the same site with the building between the side of the building and the side lot line and extending from the front yard to the rear yard.

(g) Subject to the provisions contained in section 138-191 of this Code, any and all landscaping required to be installed or otherwise provided by this section shall consist of not less than 50 percent of long-lived organic materials such as sod, turf, shrubs, trees, and other similar material. (Code 1979, § 40-54.2; Ord. No. 97-15, § 1, 4-28-1997)