1000.7: REQUIRED FENCING, SCREENING, AND LANDSCAPING:
   A.   Fencing And Screening:
      1.   Where any business or industrial use (i.e., structure, parking or storage) abuts property zoned for residential use, that business or industry shall provide screening along the boundary of the residential property. Screening shall also be provided where a business or industry is across the street from a residential zone, but not on that side of a business or industry considered to be the front (as defined by this ordinance).
      2.   All fencing and screening specifically required by this ordinance shall be subject to section 1000.8 of this chapter and shall consist of either a fence or a greenbelt planting strip as follows:
         a.   A greenbelt planting strip shall consist of evergreen trees and/or deciduous trees and plants and shall be of sufficient width and density to provide an effective visual screen. This planting strip shall be designed to provide complete visual screening to a minimum height of six feet (6'). Earth mounding or berms may be used but shall not be used to achieve more than three feet (3') of the required screen. The planting plan and type of plantings shall require the approval of the council.
         b.   A required screening fence shall be constructed of masonry (e.g., brick, stone, decorative concrete block, interlocking or mortarless concrete wall systems), wood or metal. Chainlink fences with privacy slats shall not be permitted within residential or commercial zoning districts to meet the requirements for screening. Such fence shall provide a solid screening effect six feet (6') in height. The design and materials used in constructing a required screening fence shall be subject to the approval of the city council. Fences in excess of six feet (6') in height shall require approval of the zoning administrator and the building official.
   B.   Landscaping; General Residential:
      1.   Required Ground Cover: The lot area remaining after providing for driveways, sidewalks, patios, building site and/or other requirements shall be sodded, seeded and mulched prior to issuance of a certificate of building occupancy, as follows:
         a.   Sod/Seeding Requirement:
            (1)   The boulevard (street right of way) of the lot shall be sodded.
            (2)   The front yard beyond the boulevard (street right of way) including the side yard shall be sodded.
            (3)   The yard may be seeded in lieu of sodding provided it has an underground sprinkler system which covers one hundred percent (100%) of the yard, silt fence installed on the nonsodded perimeter boundary and a cash escrow is established with the city plus a nonrefundable administrative fee in an amount established in section 3-1-3 of the city code. Upon satisfactory installation of the ground cover and significant growth as determined by the city, the escrow will be returned to the property owner and a certificate of occupancy issued.
            (4)   If the weather or other uncontrollable factors prevent the sodding or seeding of bare ground within fourteen (14) days of the final grading, the area shall be covered with straw or other temporary material to control erosion.
         b.   Nongrowing Season Escrow:
            (1)   A temporary certificate of occupancy can be granted for a building during the nongrowing season provided that the owner establishes a cash escrow with the city plus a nonrefundable administrative fee in an amount as established in section 3-1-3 of the city code. Upon satisfactory installation of the ground cover, the escrow will be returned to the property owner and a certificate of occupancy issued.
            (2)   If the ground cover is not installed by June 1 of the following year, the owner will forfeit the escrowed funds and be required to vacate the property until the certificate of occupancy can be issued when ground cover has been installed. The cost to install the ground cover shall be at the homeowner's expense.
            (3)   If the weather or other uncontrollable factors prevent the sodding or seeding of bare ground within fourteen (14) days of the final grading, the area shall be covered with straw or other temporary material to control erosion.
            (4)   A thirty (30) day extension may be granted for good reason by the city council upon written request of the landowner.
         c.   Exception To Sodding Or Seeding:
            (1)   A homeowner with a yard area in excess of one acre can apply for an extension to the sodding and seeding requirements for yard area portion in excess of one acre provided the landowner submits a ground cover plan acceptable to the city. The intent of this exception is to allow a landowner to seed and mulch, but not irrigate larger acreages.
      2.   Required Plantings: In addition to required ground cover specified in subsection B1 of this section and exclusive of required buffering or screening, all residential properties containing four (4) dwelling units or less shall contain a minimum of one shade tree or evergreen tree which shall conform to the minimum size requirements listed in subsection D of this section.
      3.   Limitations: Fences and trees shall not be located within the street or other public right of way. Any landscape structures and plantings placed upon utility easements or within the public right of way are subject to removal if required for the maintenance or improvement of the utility. Trees on utility easements containing overhead wires shall not exceed twenty feet (20') in height. (The planting of large trees is not recommended under overhead wires.) The amount of hard surfacing provided on a lot shall be limited to the size and area necessary to accommodate ordinance requirements and allowances.
   C.   Landscaping; New Residential Subdivisions, Semipublic And All Income Producing Property Uses: (Excluding residential structures containing 4 dwelling units or less.) Prior to approval of a building permit, all above referenced uses shall be subject to a mandatory landscape plan and specification requirements.
      1.   Focus Of Plan: The landscape plan should be developed with an emphasis upon the boundary or perimeter of the proposed site at points adjoining other property and the immediate perimeter of the structure.
      2.   Required Ground Cover: The lot area remaining after providing for off street parking, off street loading, sidewalks, driveways, building site and/or other requirements shall be sodded or seeded and mulched within thirty (30) days of building occupancy.
         a.   The front and side yards (and/or any other yard which abuts a public street) of all lots shall be sodded. Rear yards which do not abut a public street may be seeded and mulched. In special cases, deviation from this standard may be approved by the city planner or city building official.
         b.   In cases where sodding or seeding and mulching has not been done within thirty (30) days of building occupancy, the property owner/developer shall be required to provide an escrow deposit, in an amount established in section 3-1-3 of the city code, which will be returned to the property owner/developer upon completion of the work.
         c.   If the weather or other uncontrollable factors prevent the sodding or seeding of bare ground within fourteen (14) days of final grading, the area shall be covered with straw or other temporary material to control erosion.
      3.   Required Plantings: In addition to required ground cover specified in subsection C2 of this section and exclusive of required buffering or screening, all new residential subdivisions, semipublic and all income producing property uses (excluding residential structures containing 4 dwelling units or less) shall be landscaped using ornamental grass, shrubs, trees or other acceptable vegetation or treatment generally used in landscaping within one year following the date of building occupancy.
         a.   A minimum of one shade tree or evergreen tree shall be provided per residential unit and per nonresidential lot which shall conform to the minimum size requirements listed in subsection D of this section.
         b.   A minimum of sixteen (16) ornamental trees or shrubs shall be provided per street side of nonresidential lots which shall conform to the minimum size requirements listed in subsection D of this section.
   D.   Minimum Size Requirements: All plants must at least equal the following minimum size:
Potted/Bare Root Or Balled And Burlapped
Potted/Bare Root Or Balled And Burlapped
Shade trees
   2 inch diameter
Ornamental trees (flowering crab, Russian olive, hawthorn, etc.)
   11/2 inch diameter
Evergreen trees
   3 - 4 feet
Tall shrubs and hedge material (evergreen or deciduous)
   3 - 4 feet
Low shrubs:
 
 
Deciduous
   24 - 30 inches
 
Evergreen
   24 - 30 inches
 
Spreading evergreens
   18 - 24 inches
 
The type and mode of planting for all trees and shrubs is dependent upon time of planting season, availability, and site conditions (soils, climate, groundwater, manmade irrigation, grading, etc.).
   E.   Spacing: Plant material centers shall not be located closer than three feet (3') from the fence line or property line and shall not be planted to conflict with public plantings based on the judgment of the city staff.
   F.   Types Of Plantings:
      1.   The following species are suitable for screening and landscaping purposes:
Common Name
Scientific Name
Common Name
Scientific Name
Ground covers:
 
 
Ground juniper
Juniperus spp.
 
Periwinkle, myrtle
Vinca minor
Shrubs:
 
 
Arborvitae
Thuja spp.
 
Common lilac
Syringa vulgaris
 
Dwarf winged euonymus
Euonymus alatus compactus
 
Japanese yew
Taxus cuspidata
 
Mock orange
Philadelphus spp.
 
Privet
Ligustrum spp.
 
Sumac
Rhus spp.
 
Winged euonymus
Euonymus alatus
Shade trees:
 
American linden
Tilia americana
 
Crabapple
Malus spp.
 
Ginkgo tree
Ginkgo biloba (male only)
 
Hackberry
Celtis occidentalis
 
Honey locust
Gleditsia triacanthos
 
Kentucky coffee tree
Gymnocladus dioicus
 
Little leaf linden
Tilia cordata (and varieties)
 
Mountain ash
Sorbus spp.
 
Oak
Quercus spp.
 
Red maple
Acer rubrum
 
River birch
Betula nigra
 
Sugar maple
Acer saccharum
Coniferous trees:
 
 
Austrian pine
Pinus nigra
 
Black Hills spruce
Picea glaca densata
 
Colorado blue and green spruce
Picea pungens
 
Fir
Abies spp.
 
White pine
Pinus strobosa
 
      2.   The following species are prohibited for screening and landscaping purposes within public rights of way:
Common Name
Scientific Name
Common Name
Scientific Name
Amur maple
Acer ginnala
Ash
Fraxinus spp.
Black locust
Robinia pseudoacacia
Box elder
Acer negundo
Buckthorn
Rhamnus cathartica
Cottonwood
Populus deltoides
Elm
Ulmus spp. (except for disease resistant varieties)
Ginkgo
Ginkgo biloba (female only)
Lombardy poplar
Populus nigra italica
Mulberry
Morus spp.
Norway maple
Acer platanoides
Russian olive
Elaeagnus angustifolia
Siberian elm
Ulmus pumila
Silver maple
Acer saccharinum
Willow
Salix spp.
 
      3.   The following species are prohibited for screening and landscaping purposes throughout the entire city of Albertville:
Common Name
Scientific Name
Common Name
Scientific Name
Amur maple
Acer ginnala
Ash
Fraxinus spp.
Black locust
Robinia pseudoacacia
Buckthorn
Rhamnus cathartica
Elm
Ulmus spp. (except for disease resistant varieties)
Norway maple
Acer platanoides
Russian olive
Elaeagnus angustifolia
Siberian elm
Ulmus pumila
 
   G.   Design:
      1.   The landscape plan must show some form of designed site amenities (i.e., composition of plant materials, and/or creative grading, decorative lighting, exterior sculpture, etc., which are largely intended for aesthetic purposes).
      2.   All areas within the property lines (or beyond, if site grading extends beyond) shall receive landscape treatment or surfacing. All exterior areas not paved or designated as roads, parking or storage must be planted into ornamental vegetation (lawns, ground covers or shrubs) unless otherwise approved by the zoning administrator.
      3.   Turf slopes in excess of 2.1 are prohibited.
   H.   Landscape Maintenance:
      1.   All plants shall be guaranteed for two (2) full years from the time planting has been completed via a landscaping warranty. All plants shall be alive and in satisfactory growth at the end of the warranty period or replaced.
      2.   All plants required as part of an approved landscaping plan shall be maintained and kept alive. Dead plants shall be replaced in accordance with the approved landscape plan on file with the city.
      3.   Maintenance and adherence of the approved landscape plan is the responsibility of the property owner.
      4.   Failure to adhere to an approved landscape plan constitutes a violation of city approval.
   I.   Existing Trees: With respect to existing trees in new developments, all trees on the site are to be saved which do not have to be removed for streets, buildings, utilities, drainage or active recreational purposes. Trees over six inches (6") in diameter that are to remain are to be marked with a red band and are to be protected with snow fences or other suitable enclosure prior to any site grading or excavation. The city may further require that the applicant retain a professional forester to prepare a forest inventory and management plan for the development in order to control and abate any existing or potential shade tree disease.
   J.   Mechanical Equipment: All mechanical equipment, such as air conditioning units, etc., erected on the roof of any structure shall be screened so as not to be visible.
   K.   Buffer Yards:
      1.   Lot Depth Requirements: Double frontage residential lots shall have an additional depth of at least twenty feet (20') in order to allow space for buffering/screen planting along the back lot line. Except as may be approved by the city council and except for lots of record, preliminary platted lots, and residential planned unit development concepts having legal standing on January 1, 1998, for those lots which abut arterial or major collector streets, the following minimum lot depths shall be required. Lot widths of double frontage lots which meet the minimum depth requirements may be reduced by ten feet (10'), provided lot area minimums can be met.
 
Zoning Districts
Required Lot Depth
R-1A, R-2, R-4, R-5, R-6, R-7
170 feet
R-1, R-3, R-8
159 feet
 
      2.   Lot Width Requirements: Except as may be approved by the city council and except for lots of record, preliminary platted lots, and residential planned unit development concepts having legal standing on January 1, 1998, lots which border major collector or arterial streets on a side yard shall be increased at least ten feet (10') in required minimum lot width for the purpose of establishing buffers along the lot line bordering such streets.
      3.   Screening Plan: For applicable subdivisions, a screening plan shall be submitted. The plan shall identify all proposed buffer screening by type, size and location.
      4.   Timing/Responsibility Of Installation: Weather permitting, all buffer yards, bermings, and/or plantings shall be constructed or planted within thirty (30) days of issuance of an occupancy permit. In cases where buffer yards, bermings, and/or plantings have not been installed within thirty (30) days of building occupancy, the property owner/developer shall be required to provide an escrow deposit equal to one and one-half (11/2) times the estimated cost of the ground cover, which will be returned to the property owner/developer upon completion of the work.
      5.   Maintenance:
         a.   Maintenance of the buffer strip planting and/or fence shall be the responsibility of the individual property owners or, if applicable, the homeowners' association.
         b.   All repairs to the fence or wall and all replacement of landscape materials or plantings shall be consistent with the original approved screening design.
      6.   Design Standards: All plantings within designated buffer yards shall adhere to the following:
         a.   Fencing and screening shall be consistent with subsection A of this section.
         b.   Plant material centers shall not be located closer than three feet (3') from the fence line or property line.
         c.   Landscape screening shall be planted in two (2) or more rows. Plantings shall be staggered in rows unless otherwise approved by the city council.
         d.   Where massing of plants or screening is intended, plant spacing shall be specific to the species chosen to provide screening to a height of six feet (6') in compliance with this section. The "American Standard For Nursery Stock" published by the American Association Of Nurserymen shall be used as the reference for spacing guidelines as needed.
         e.   Landscape materials, sizes, and spacing shall be consistent with subsections D through F of this section. (Ord. 1988-12, 12-19-1988; amd. Ord. 1997-17, 11-17-1997; 2005 Code; Ord. 2005-03, 6-6-2005; Ord. 2009-001, 2-2-2009; Ord. 2009-016, 10-5-2009; Ord. 2017-01, 1-3-2017)