Draft chapter 169: Screening and Buffering Standards
§ 169.08 Permitted Plants For Screening And Buffering
The 2026 draft's § 169.08; it has no counterpart in the current code.
Comparison with a draft: not adopted. The archive holds no public hearing, ordinance or vote adopting the recodified Code through the October 20, 2026 meeting packet. Until one is adopted, every page here compares the consolidated code with a draft that can still change: the revised draft with the October 6 changes is not in the archive.
A comparison with the August 2026 draft recodification prepared by Iowa Codification for the City. The draft has not been adopted and can still change; the current code (unofficial compilation) governs until a recodified Code is adopted. Matches between sections are made by machine from the texts and are reviewed where uncertain.
New
2026 draft
§ 169.08 Permitted Plants For Screening And Buffering
Plant Mature Height, Form, Color Spacing Name/Variety General Buffering Dwarf Summer Blooming Spirea (Spirea japonica or x bumalda) S1 Daphne spirea 1 foot, mounding, pink flowers 3 feet on center 2 feet, mounding, yellow/green 3.5 feet on Lime mound spirea leaves center Japanese white 3.5 feet on 2 feet, mounding, white flowers spirea center 3.5 feet on Magic carpet spirea 2 feet, mounding, pink flowers center Spreading Juniper (Juniper horizontalis or Juniperus chinensis) Evergreen 1 to 1.5 feet, spreading, gray-green 4.5 feet on Andorra foliage, turns to plum in fall center 1 foot, spreading, bright silvery 4.5 feet on Blue chip blue foliage, dense center 1 to 1.5 feet, spreading, feathery 4.5 feet on Buffalo green branches center 1 foot, spreading, blue-gray foliage 4.5 feet on Sargent, blue all year center Japanese Barberry (Berberis thunbergi) 1 foot, spiny mound, red leaves in 3.5 feet on Crimson pygmy summer, red berries in winter center 1 foot, spiny mound, green leaves, 3.5 feet on Kobold red berries in winter center Variable Height Dwarf Summer Blooming Spirea (Spirea japonica or x bumalda) Screen S2 Anthony waterer 2 to 3 feet, mounding, rosepink 4 feet on center spirea flowers, red fall color 2 to 3 feet, mounding, red leaves in Goldflame spirea spring, yellow in summer, red in 4 feet on center fall; pink flowers Little princess spirea 2 to 3 feet, mounding, covered 4 feet on center
Plant Mature Height, Form, Color Spacing Name/Variety with pink flowers throughout summer 3.5 feet on Magic carpet spirea 2 feet, mounding, pink flowers center Variable Neon flash spirea 2 to 3 feet, upright, dense; 3.5 feet on Height abundant with bright red flowers in center Screen S2 summer Dwarf Korean Lilac 4 to 5 feet, dense shrub, small 4.5 feet on (Syringa meyeri foliage with very fragrant blooms center “Palibin”) American Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis) Evergreen 10 to 15 feet, narrow, bright green 3.5 feet on Emerald year round center Holmstrup 3 to 5 feet, dense, slow growing 3 feet on center 3.5 feet on Globe 3 to 5 feet, globular, dark green center Taunton Spreading 2 to 3 feet, 4 to 5 feet width, dense; 4 feet on center Yew Evergreen soft, dark green needles High American Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis) Evergreen Screen S3 10 to 15 feet, narrow, bright green 3.5 feet on Emerald year round center 15 to 30 feet, wide pyramidal, dark Techny 4 feet on center green 5 to 6 feet, dense shrub, brilliant Compact Burning purple-red fall color (Note: 3.5 feet on Bush (Euonymus potentially invasive near center alatus compacta") woodlands and pasture) Hatfield Yew 3.5 feet on (Taxus media) 10 feet, pyramidal, dense center Evergreen Deviations from the listed plants are allowed if the replacement shrubs are similar in form or hardiness to a permitted variety and are approved by the City.
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Data last updated October 22, 2026. Built from the archive's documents; see how the data is built.