(a) Intent. This section is intended to:
(1) Improve the appearance of off-street parking areas, vehicular use areas (those areas used by vehicles for passage or parking that are covered by an impervious surface including, but not limited to parking lots, driveways, etc.), and properties abutting public rights of way;
(2) Reduce heating effects of paved surfaces;
(3) Require buffering between differing land uses;
(4) Minimize runoff soil depletion and erosion thereby helping to reduce flooding;
(5) Lessen the transmission from one lot to another of noise, dust, and glare;
(6) Maintain or improve the unique character of city streets and neighborhoods and to contribute to the general welfare through landscaping;
(7) Maintain the topography and view sheds of the city, and achieve 40 percent tree coverage.
(b) Definitions.
(1) “Hardscape." Hardscape preparations refer to the inanimate elements of landscaping specifically associated with or necessary for the installation of plantings, especially any masonry work or woodwork.
(2) "Impermeable surface." An impermeable surface is one that water will not penetrate, such as concrete or asphalt, and that will not support the growth of large shade trees.
(3) "Permeable surface." A permeable surface in the context of this title is one, such as soil, that will allow sufficient water to penetrate the surface, and that will allow absorption of water and provide nutrients to enable the growth of large shade trees.
(4) "Topography." The topography of a site is its three-dimensional shape.
(5) "View shed." A view shed is an area of land, water, and other environmental elements, such as trees, green space, that is visible from a fixed vantage point. The term is used in urban and rural planning to identify areas of particular scenic and/or historic value that are deemed worthy of preservation.
(c) General.
(1) The requirements of this section are minimum landscaping requirements, and nothing herein shall preclude a developer and the city from agreeing to more extensive landscaping.
(2) Any variations from the standards established by this title on any plat or plan which must be submitted to the planning commission will be reviewed by the tree commission which shall make recommendations to the planning commission.
(3) Plans submitted to the tree commission need to contain the following information: location of property lines; locations of building(s), dumpsters, parking areas, and all vehicular use areas; location of drop lines, water, sewer, electric, and gas lines; and other utilities; a plating list giving the numbers of trees, shrubs and any other plant material by their Latin and common names, and their planted size; a legend showing symbols for the trees and shrubs by species/cultivar; a scale of no more than 30 feet to the inch; a north arrow; contact address for plan review; address of the plan site.
(4) A representative of the individual or entity submitting the plan must attend the tree commission meeting at which the plan is to be reviewed.
(5) If the specific application of the landscape requirements will seriously limit functions of the site, the tree commission shall have authority to permit consolidation and/or relocation of these landscaped requirements elsewhere within the site or to a public park or right-of-way within the city.
(d) Installation and Maintenance.
(1) Installation: If installation of plantings is not completed in a planting season, then landscaping must be installed during the next planting season. All hardscape preparations for the landscape must be complete before the buildings are occupied. In no case shall any plant material interfere with or cause damage to utility lines, public roadways or other works. Species of trees whose roots are known to cause damage to pavements or other public works should not be planted closer than 15 feet to such public works. A list of such species is maintained by the tree commission. All landscaping shall be of nursery stock quality and shall be installed in a sound workmanlike manner and according to accepted good planting procedures. All landscaping shall be adaptable to climate conditions of the area, and consideration shall be given to not planting large trees near utilities. All landscaping shall be maintained in good condition and in accordance with all provisions of this Ordinance as follows:
A. All landscaping shall present at all times, a healthy, neat, clean, orderly, disease-free and pest-free appearance.
B. All landscaping soil and fill shall be free from weeds, refuse, and debris at all times.
C. Landscaping elements, such as walls and fences, shall be constructed in a sound workmanlike manner, with adequate support or footings and shall be repaired or replaced, as needed, to preserve an attractive appearance and to function as intended.
D. Any dead plant material or material which fails to show healthy growth must be removed within thirty (30) days.
E. Replacement of removed plant material must take place within ninety (90) days of removal or notification by the City, whichever occurs first.
F. Any replacement plant material must meet the size and other characteristics of newly planted material, as required in this chapter.
G. Trees and large shrubs shall be adequately supported, as necessary, using stakes and guys. Such supports shall be designed so as to protect trees and shrubs from injury. Trees and shrubs shall be fastened to the supports with an acceptable commercial tree tie of plastic or hose covered wire. Stakes and wires to trees and shrubs should be removed at the end of one year to prevent permanent damage.
H. Required landscape plantings shall be coordinated with the location of utilities, driveways and traffic site distance triangle areas.
I. Trees shall not be placed within public utility easements, but within adjacent areas that do not conflict with such public easements and meet site landscaping requirements.
J. Planting design shall coordinate the locations of trees to allow access to utilities with minimal disruption to the trees and their supporting root systems while avoiding increased service costs to the utilities.
K. Exceptions to the location and spacing of trees shall be allowed to accommodate for the location of public utilities.
L. Any landscaped area required by this chapter shall not be encroached upon by any type of vehicle. All landscaped areas must be protected by an encroachment barrier. A vehicle may overhang a landscaped area provided that a minimum width of three (3) feet in landscaped area remains.
M. The maximum growth height of any landscaping within the traffic sight triangle shall be three (3) feet in height.
(2) Maintenance: The owner of landscaping required by this code shall maintain such landscaping in good condition so as to present a healthy condition, free from refuse and debris. The owner should make provisions for the adequate watering of live plant material. If landscape plantings die, they must be replaced. Diseased, blighted and insect infested plant material must be replaced when requested by the Mayor, Safety Service Director or ODNR Urban Forester within 30 days of notice.
(e) Shade Tree Requirements and Vehicular Use Areas Interior Requirements.
(1) For every 1,527 square feet of impermeable surface at least one large shade tree or two medium sized shade trees shall be planted in a permeable space of at least 240 square feet with a minimum linear dimension of eight feet. Shade trees shall be planted within eight feet from the adjacent impermeable surface except where there is a building of more than one story where the shade trees shall be planted between 15 feet to 20 feet from such buildings. Large shade trees must be planted at least 30 feet from each other and from any medium sized trees. Medium sized trees must be 15 feet from each other. The tree commission maintains a list of small, medium and large sized trees from which the trees are to be selected. Any trees not on the list must be approved for use by the tree commission. The list is available at
http://cityofbelpre.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Tree-List.pdf
(2) For every 1,767 square feet of permeable surface, excluding that used in Part A, at least one large shade tree or two medium sized shade trees shall be planted. Large shade trees must be planted at least 30 feet from each other and from any medium sized trees. Medium sized trees must be 15 feet from each other. Healthy trees preserved during site preparation may be counted toward fulfilling the tree requirements. The following requirements shall apply to the interior areas of vehicular use areas:
A. Landscaping and planting areas shall be reasonably dispersed throughout the parking lot.
B. Such landscaped areas shall be located in such a manner as to divide and break up the expanse of paving. Each unused space resulting from the design or layout of parking spaces, which is over twenty-four (24) square feet in area, shall be landscaped.
C. The planting of one (1) tree shall be required for every twenty (20) interior parking spaces. All newly planted trees shall be planted in a permeable area of at least nine (9) square feet, total permeable area, for small trees and thirty-six (36) square feet, total permeable area, for large trees, except additional permeable area may be required by the City, if necessary to insure adequate growth.
D. Permeable landscaped areas of less than fifty (50) square feet shall contain small trees and areas of fifty (50) feet or larger shall contain large trees.
(3) Vehicular encroachment. Landscaped areas abutting parking spaces must be protected from vehicular encroachment by wheel stops, curbing or other means to prevent vehicles from damaging trees or other landscaping. Vehicles shall not encroach on landscaped areas.
 |
(f) Buffer Landscaping.
(1) Screening, as required by the provisions of this Code, shall be of such nature and density that will screen the activities on the lot from view from the normal level of a first-story window on an abutting lot within five years.
(2) Shrubs, hedges, or walls shall be provided for the purpose of obscuring objectionable features or attractive nuisances such as parking lots, unsightly rear entrances, utility or maintenance structure, loading facilities, swimming pools and recreational areas:
A. Between residential and business properties.
B. Between residential properties.
(3) Decorative brick/ mason walls or plantings from six feet in height shall be required to partially screen any parking lot or loading area in any zoning district from any adjoining property or from property located across the street therefrom.
(4) Screening trash collection areas. Unattractive elements such as trash, service and loading areas are to be located out of public view from streets, adjacent residential properties, and other highly visible areas such as parking lots access drives, etc. Trash and/or garbage collection areas for commercial, multifamily residential and industrial uses shall be completely screened from the street and from adjacent properties by a fence (see table below) at least six (6) feet high and by natural plants or
trees of equal minimum height, so planted as to provide maximum opacity. All refuse areas with receptacles (dumpsters) in existence at the time of the adoption of this amendment shall be completely screened from the street and from adjacent properties by a fence (see table below) of at least six (6) feet in height. No refuse receptacle shall be located in the public right-of-way. Such screening shall be situated so as to screen the view of the collection area from adjacent roads and properties.
USE | VINYL COMPOSITE | CHAIN LINK | WROUGHT IRON | MASONRY PRODUCT |
Multi-Family Uses | Permitted | Permitted with white, black, brown or dark green slats to provide total coverage | Permitted | Permitted |
Commercial, Office, and Retail Uses | Permitted | Permitted with white, black, brown or dark green slats to provide total coverage | Permitted | Permitted |
Industrial Uses | Permitted | Permitted when not visible from the public right- of-way | Permitted | Permitted |
* Permitted with white, black, brown or dark green slats to provide total coverage |
(g) Corner Lots.
(1) Landscaping at intersections of a private drive and a public right-of-way, or at intersections of two or more public rights-of-way, shall be maintained at a maximum height of 24 inches or, if planted with trees, trees shall have all branches trimmed to maintain a clear vision of eight feet above the roadway surface, for such distance behind the right-of-way lines as is deemed necessary on a case by case basis by the zoning inspector to insure the public safety.
(2) No landscaping, tree, fence, wall or similar item constructed or installed after the adoption of this code shall be maintained in the vicinity of any corner, street intersection, or access way intersecting a public right-of-way which the zoning inspector determines is an obstruction to visibility or is a traffic hazard.
(h) Residential Landscaping.
(1) Application: This section shall apply to all new developments and to alterations to existing buildings which will increase the number of dwelling units. Existing trees may fulfill these minimum requirements. Tree species plant specifications shall meet the specifications set by the tree commission.
(2) Required trees for residential unit types: One large shade tree per unit to be planted on the lot frontage planted at 30 feet from the closest large shade tree, where utilities prevent a large shade tree planting two medium shade trees may be substituted where they are to be planted 15 feet apart. Where there is insufficient frontage trees may be planted within the lot, provided that large shade trees are at least 30 feet apart and medium trees are 15 feet apart, and that no large shade tree is planted within 15 feet of a multiple story structure. Trees planted for this requirement may also be used to meet the requirements of Section pertaining to shade trees. To meet this requirement the trees may be placed in the right-of-way with the consent of the tree commission. The list is available at http://cityofbelpre.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Tree-List.pdf
(i) Commercial, Institutional, and Industrial Landscaping.
(1) Application: This section shall apply to all new developments, pavement replacing of existing parking lots greater than 25 percent including adding at least one-fourth inch of material to the surface of 25 percent of the parking lot by way of renovating, repaving, or upgrading, and to alterations to existing buildings which will increase the floor area by more than 25 percent, and to alterations, renovations, and improvements to existing buildings where the costs exceed 50 percent of the Washington County Auditor's Valuation. In the case of pavement replacement and existing building alteration, the minimum number of parking spaces required for the use by the Belpre City Zoning Code shall not be reduced. Existing trees may fulfill these minimum requirements. Acceptable, healthy trees preserved during site preparation may be counted toward fulfilling the tree requirements of Shade Tree requirements section.
(2) Required landscaping: In all business and manufacturing districts, an eight-[foot] wide landscape strip shall be required adjacent to the street right-of-way, except where driveways or other openings may be required. This eight-foot wide strip shall be landscaped open space free of any wall, fence, embankment and/or walkway. This area should be planted with shrubs, small trees and plant materials that do not constitute a driving hazard. No landscape material or parked vehicles, except for required grass or ground cover, shall be permitted. Trees shall be permitted as long as, except during early growth stages, only the tree trunk is visible between the ground and eight feet above the ground, or otherwise does not present a traffic visibility hazard. Where the city right-of-way at the front of a property exceeds 100 feet, the required eight-foot wide area may be placed in the right-of-way.
(3) If building plans allow a 2 foot to 4 foot green/natural materials buffer is required to separate the building and sidewalk and/ or the building and parking lot.
(j) Minimum Requirements. The provisions of this chapter are for the promotion of the public health, safety, morals and general welfare for the City of Belpre, Ohio and are considered to be minimum requirements. Wherever the requirements of any other lawfully adopted rules, regulations, ordinances, and deed restrictions or covenants filed of record, are not in conflict with the intent and purpose of this chapter, but impose more restrictive or higher standards, the more restrictive or higher standards shall govern.
(Ord. 25-2012-2013. Passed 7-8-13.)