(a) Parkways less than four (4) feet in width shall be landscaped with materials including bark, decorative stone, brick pavers, concrete pavers, permeable pavers, poured concrete or vegetative ground cover.

(b) Parkways four (4) feet or more in width shall be landscaped. Living vegetation including turf grass, vegetative materials, or artificial turf grass shall cover a minimum of forty percent (40%) of the unbuilt surface area within three (3) years of planting. Tree canopy and weeds may not count toward this percentage. Vegetative materials (excluding trees) shall not exceed twenty-four (24) inches in height at maturity. Other materials including brick pavers, permeable pavers, or decorative stone may be used. Stone or rock smaller than one (1) inch in diameter presents a hazard to vehicular and pedestrian traffic and poses a clogging risk to City storm drains and shall not be allowed in parkway strips. Thorn bearing plant species, asphalt or poured concrete shall not be permitted.

(a) All materials used in the parkway strip shall be placed in such a way that they will not spill or slough off into the gutter, sidewalk, roadway or adjacent property.

(b) A property owner whose real property abuts a parkway shall provide landscaping in all parkways as provided in this Section and shall continue to maintain the landscaping in a healthy, safe, attractive, and nuisance-free condition. This shall include leveling, retaining and maintaining all materials from encroaching upon any areas outside of the parkway strip, pruning all plant materials (excluding public trees), and keeping the parkway weed-free.

(c) Sufficient irrigation shall be required for any and all vegetative plant material, including trees, installed in a parkway strip. Irrigation shall be done in a manner that does not waste water; drip irrigation should be used where feasible. Overhead irrigation shall be prohibited in spaces less than five (5) feet.

(d) Vegetation which causes a public safety problem, as determined by the City Engineer, may be ordered by the City to be removed or may be removed by the City.

(a) Parkways four (4) feet or more in width shall be planted with trees. Such trees shall be spaced not more than twenty-five (25) feet apart and shall have a minimum caliper size of two (2) inches.

(b) Parkway trees may be clustered or spaced linearly in the right-of-way as determined by the City Forester.

(c) A variety of compatible species shall be included in the planting plan for a specific site or development. Trees shall be selected from the tree selection guide maintained by the City Forester and shall be appropriate to their location. Tree selection shall be reviewed and approved by the City Forester prior to planting.

(d) Trees may be planted in parkways along State highways only after a permit is issued by the Utah Department of Transportation.

(e) A fee, as shown on the Consolidated Fee Schedule adopted by the Municipal Council, based upon a formula of one (1) tree for every twenty-five (25) feet of street frontage, shall be required of the property owner when a building permit is issued for a new structure on a lot. Street trees shall be installed by the City Forestry Division. A property owner shall have two (2) years from the date the fee has been paid to prepare the parking strip with an irrigation system and landscaping that conforms to City Code. Failure to do so shall be a violation of this Section. If the property owner has not installed the required irrigation system and suitable landscaping, the City may undertake appropriate administrative and/or legal action to enforce this provision, forfeit these funds and use them to (i) make necessary improvements, (ii) seek court ordered completion of the required landscaping, and/or recoup its enforcement costs, or (iii) plant trees elsewhere in Provo City.

(f) The Energy Department and/or the City Forester shall periodically prune and spray parkway trees as they, in their sole discretion, deem appropriate for the purpose of maintaining safe distances between tree limbs and power lines, according to Provo City Code.

(g) Trees planted under power lines shall conform to City Code and Energy Department standards.

(h) The City Forester shall undertake the removal of diseased and dead trees from the parkway. Removal of trees from the parkway by others without approval from the City Forester is prohibited unless otherwise expressly allowed by another provision of the Provo City Code.

(a) Occupancy permits for new commercial and residential buildings shall not be issued unless abutting parkway landscaping has been installed or a bond provided to guarantee installation.

(b) Except for routine parkway maintenance, no one may remove from a parkway any landscaping required by the provisions of this Chapter or Chapter 9.20, Provo City Code.

(c) In all new subdivisions and developments requiring street improvements (curb, gutter, sidewalk, and street trees), the developer shall, as a part of the development, install the concrete work around the parkway strip, along with four (4) inch sleeves underneath or through the sidewalk and drive approach to accommodate placement of irrigation systems to and in the parkway strip.

(d) Wasting water in parkways, by significantly over-spraying landscaped areas, or by creating excess runoff, is prohibited. If, after notice from the City and a reasonable opportunity to correct this violation, a property owner fails to cease this practice, it shall be deemed a nuisance, which nuisance may be abated as provided by law.