1294.01 Purpose.
1294.02 Definitions.
1294.03 General landscaping and maintenance of yards.
1294.04 Landscaping requirements for front yards.
1294.05 Screening and buffering when lot abuts a more restrictive district or use.
1294.06 Screening and landscaping of parking lots.
1294.07 Screening of accessory uses.
1294.08 Requirements for fences and walls.
1294.09 Approval process for required landscaping, fences and walls.
1294.10 Flexibility.
1294.11 Exceptions to chapter.
Visual screening or landscape buffers shall be provided for the following purposes:
(a) To remove, reduce, lessen or absorb the impact between one use or zone and another;
(b) To protect, preserve and promote the aesthetic appeal, character and value of the City's neighborhoods;
(c) To soften the appearance of building masses and to break up and reduce the impact of large paved areas;
(d) To reduce heat generation, storm water runoff and soil erosion;
(e) To obscure the view of outdoor storage, rubbish areas, dumpsters, parking and loading areas, and to minimize potential noise, glare and visual clutter of parking and loading areas; and
(f) To establish a minimum standard for the consistent appearance of plant material in the community landscape.
(Ord. 58-01. Passed 5-29-01.)
Terms related to required landscaping and screening shall have the following meanings:
(a) “Berm.” An earthen mound designed to provide visual interest, screen undesirable views, and/or decrease noise.
(b) “Caliper.” The diameter of a tree trunk which shall be measured at six inches above the ground for trees up to and including four-inch caliper size, and 12 inches above the ground for larger trees.
(c) “Opacity.” The state of being impervious to rays of light measured by observation of any two-square-yard area to the height of the required screening.
(d) “Shrub.” A self-supporting deciduous and/or evergreen species normally branched near the base, bushy and less than 15 feet in height, as normally grown in the County and Northern Ohio.
(e) “Shade Tree.” A tree with foliage that usually sheds annually and is planted primarily for its high crown of foliage or overhead canopy.
(f) “Tree.” A self-supporting, woody, deciduous, and/or evergreen plant, with a well defined central stem or a species of such plant that normally grows to a height of 15 feet or more in the County and Northern Ohio.
(Ord. 58-01. Passed 5-29-01.)
Required yards and all other portions of the lot not covered by permitted structures shall be landscaped with grass, trees, shrubbery and/or other appropriate ground cover or landscaping material, as required by the Planning Commission which at all times shall be maintained in good and healthy condition.
(a) All screening shall be free of advertising or other signs, except for directional signs and other signs for the efficient flow of vehicles.
(b) Unless otherwise specified, trees and shrubs shall be arranged to create varied and attractive views and plant material should provide a variety of color displayed throughout the year.
(c) The required landscaping shall be maintained in healthy condition by the current owner and replaced when required by Section 1294.09(b)(2)C. Replacement material shall conform to the original intent of the landscape plan.
(d) Vehicle parking shall not be permitted in landscaped areas.
(Ord. 58-01. Passed 5-29-01.)
Except for lots devoted to single-family detached and two-family dwellings, the entire area of a lot that is within the required front building and parking setback, excluding driveway openings, shall be landscaped. Each lot shall provide a minimum of one tree with a minimum caliper of 2.5 inches for each 10,000 square feet of developed land. The owners of the landscaped property shall be required to maintain it in a suitable manner.
(Ord. 58-01. Passed 5-29-01.)
Screening and buffering shall be provided along the entire length of a common boundary whenever a lot abuts a more restrictive zoning district or use as required below. Such screening and buffering shall be provided in accordance with the following regulations and shall be approved as part of the development plan required by Chapter 1228.
(a) Required for the Following: Screening and buffering shall be required according to the following:
(1) When a lot in any Office, Business or Industrial District abuts a Residential District;
(2) When a lot in any Industrial District abuts an Office or Business District;
(3) When a lot in a R-3 District abuts a R-1 or R-2 District; and
(4) When a lot in a Residential District is occupied by a nonresidential special use.
(b) Ingress and Egress. No buffer yard shall be used for any purpose other than for plantings and screening, except that necessary ingress to or egress from the lot shall be permitted, including access to easement tracts by the grantees to perform the functions of which such easements were granted. Buffer yards shall be designed to permit proper and adequate fire and emergency access to both the site and any established easements.
(c) Width of Buffer Yard. Each required buffer yard shall have a minimum width equal to the parking setback required for the district.
(d) Screening. When the natural vegetation within the required buffer yard does not form a solid, continuous, visual screen, as determined by the Planning Commission, or does not have a minimum height of six feet along the entire length of the common boundary, screening shall be installed in compliance with the following:
(1) Screening materials.
A. Screening within the buffer yard shall consist of one or a combination of the following:
1. A dense vegetative planting that provides 80% summer opacity and 60% winter opacity.
2. A fence with openings through which light and air may pass together with a landscaped area at least ten feet wide.
3. A non-living opaque structure such as a solid masonry wall, or a solid fence that is compatible with the principal structure.
4. A landscaped mound or berm at least seven feet wide.
B. Fences and walls, or fences and walls in combination with a mound or berm, may be used as a complete buffer only with the approval of the Planning Commission.
(2) Location. The location of the wall, fence, berm or vegetation shall be placed within the buffer yard to maximize the screening effect as determined by the Planning Commission.
(3) Height of Screening. The height of screening shall be in accordance with the following:
A. Visual screening walls, fences, or mounds and fences in combination shall be a minimum of six feet high measured from the natural grade, except as set forth in division (d)(3)B. below.
B. Whenever the required screening is located along the common side lot line in the area extending from the parking lot to the street, the required screening shall not exceed a height of three feet. Fences and walls in a front yard shall also comply with 1294.08.
C. Vegetation shall be a minimum of six feet high measured from the natural grade, in order to accomplish the desired screening effect.
(4) Buffering Effect. The desired buffering effect shall be achieved not later than 12 months after the initial installation. The Commission may extend this 12-month period where a hardship would be created because of lack of expected growth or material shortages, but the Commission shall not extend such period beyond three years from the time the initial installation was to have been or has been completed.
(Ord. 58-01. Passed 5-29-01.)
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