The Riverton City Council continued consideration of proposed amendments to the city's site-plan development standards, directing staff to refine landscaping language and better align the code with Waterwise landscaping guidelines.

Planning staff described the package as largely a housekeeping update to move away from prescriptive plant lists and toward staff-driven arborist review and site-specific recommendations. The changes would give the city's planning staff and arborist more discretion to approve plant selection, irrigation and landscape design through the site-plan review process rather than a rigid checklist in code.

Council members and staff discussed several substantive points the council said need additional work before final adoption: the percentage of required turf (one section in the draft referenced a 70% figure, which a council member contrasted with Jordan Valley Water Conservancy's 20% guidance), the appropriateness of planting under power lines, and which tree species should be eliminated from mandatory lists (council members cited the flowering pear as an example of a tree they want to avoid).

Planning staff recommended returning the draft to the Planning Commission for additional comment on Waterwise landscaping integration before the council acts. The Planning Commission had forwarded a recommendation for approval on the narrower draft that staff initially presented; council members asked staff to reconcile the draft with water-conservation policy and to return with clearer language.

During public comment, residents asked about responsibility for trees damaged by traffic and how replacement costs are handled. The city attorney explained that when a vehicle strikes a street or park tree, cost recovery varies: if a police report identifies a driver, the city can bill the driver's insurer for the tree's replacement (the city uses an arborist's valuation); if no responsible party is identified, replacement is paid from city funds.

The council voted to continue (table) the ordinance (Ord. 25-24) to a future meeting to allow staff to revise the draft language and bring it back after additional review.

Staff said the changes are aimed at both saving water and improving long-term tree health by letting the city's arborist recommend species and placements that will succeed in specific locations. Council members asked staff to pay particular attention to trees planted under power lines and to update the code's turf requirements to better reflect regional water-conservation standards.