City officials discuss landscaping regulations

By Eric Czarnik

Seeds of debate and discussion were recently planted with a proposed amendment to a landscaping ordinance that could soon make its way to the Sterling Heights City Council agenda.

At a May 14 Sterling Heights Planning Commission meeting, the panel voted 6-0 to recommend to the City Council some single-family residential landscaping regulations.

The recommended proposal would require homes to have a minimum amount of front- and side-yard landscaping. The proposal would amend Zoning Ordinance No. 278 and several articles pertaining to environmental provisions, administration and enforcement, as well as definitions.

City Planner Don Mende said at the May 14 meeting that current city ordinances do not sufficiently define minimum front- and side-yard landscaping requirements for single-family residences. This has caused some homeowners to consider removing landscaping altogether or put in grass up to the edge of the home’s front, he said.

Mende said the proposal would define a residential landscape area as being immediately adjacent to a home, and it must extend out at least three feet from the home, and it may only take up a maximum of 10 percent of the front yard land area.

At least 70 percent of this landscape area would have to contain “living plant material” like flowers, bushes or shrubs, Mende said.

Without such an ordinance amendment, residents could surround their homes with stone, pave the front yard or cover it with green-stained concrete, Mende explained.

“So this ordinance would certainly establish some minimum standards to help our regulatory process,” he said.

During public comment at a May 19 City Council meeting, resident Michael Lombardini gave a tablet slideshow presentation about the recommended proposal, even though it hadn’t come up for official council discussion yet.

Lombardini said he wants the council to consider the idea of modifying the proposed rules since, historically, “once an item hits the agenda, it’s a done deal.”

“I’m opposed to this rule because I believe it’s an attack on artistic freedom, architectural diversity and because, under current city rules, it leaves no room for exceptions,” Lombardini said.

City Councilman Joseph Romano said he thinks that every home should have some type of landscaping, though he wasn’t sure on the degree. Mayor Michael Taylor said potential City Council approval is a two-step process, and “nothing is set in stone yet.”

“As Mr. Romano said, what we’re trying to protect against is people who are doing no landscaping whatsoever, letting weeds grow up, and that can become an eyesore that spreads through a neighborhood and can diminish property values,” Taylor said.

On May 29, Mende told the Sentry that the proposed definition of “living plant material” in a residential landscape area could also include things like trees and mulch, but not grass.

He also said that while no specific incident prompted officials to consider policy changes, the city has had minimum standards for other zoning districts pertaining to businesses and multifamily residential units. This proposal will bring some standards to single-family homes, he said.

“There wasn’t, like, a big court case that brought it to a head,” Mende explained. “Over time, the code enforcement officers and city officials and calls from neighbors that their neighbor isn’t landscaping their yard. ... It’s just kind of a culmination of all these things over the years.”