§ 157.034 BUFFERYARDS.

   (A)   The bufferyard is a unit of yard together with the planting thereon. Both the amount of land and the type and amount of planting specified for each bufferyard requirement are designed to minimize nuisances between adjacent land uses. The planting units required of bufferyards have been calculated to ensure that they do, in fact, function as buffers.

   (B)   Bufferyards shall be required to separate land uses from each other in order to eliminate or minimize potential nuisances such as dirt, litter, noise, glare of lights, signs and unsightly building or parking areas, or to provide spacing to reduce adverse impacts of noise, odor or danger from fires or explosions.

   (C)   Proposed uses in any district that are specifically agricultural, as defined under agriculture, are exempt from providing bufferyards unless otherwise specified.

      (1)   Location, maintenance, planting size and landscape plan.

         (a)   Bufferyards shall be located on the outer perimeter of a lot or parcel, extending to the lot or parcel boundary line. Bufferyard plantings shall not be located on any portion of an existing or dedicated public or private street right-of-way or drainage and utility easement.

         (b)   All plant material that dies must be replaced within six months so as to maintain the approved bufferyard and landscape plan.

         (c)   Deciduous trees are to be a minimum of two inches in diameter or eight feet tall at the time of planting. Evergreen trees shall be a minimum of five feet tall at the time of planting.

         (d)   Any existing plant material which otherwise satisfies the requirements of this section may be counted toward satisfying all such requirements.

         (e)   The following plant material substitutions shall satisfy the requirements of this section.

            1.   In all bufferyards evergreen, canopy or evergreen understory trees may be substituted for deciduous canopy trees without limitation.

            2.   In all bufferyards, evergreen or conifer shrubs may be substituted for deciduous shrubs without limitation. A landscape plan shall be submitted with each applicable application. The plan shall be a site plan drawn to scale showing the location, type, size and category of each plant unit used.

      (2)   Determination of bufferyard requirements.

         (a)   To determine the type of bufferyard required between two adjacent parcels, the following procedure shall be followed:

            1.   Identify the zoning district of the proposed land use by referring to the horizontal column of the Table 7, Bufferyard Requirements;

            2.   Identify the zoning district of the adjacent parcels by referring to the vertical column of the Table 7, Bufferyard Requirements; and

            3.   Determine the bufferyard required on each boundary of the subject parcel by referring to the Table 7, Bufferyard Requirements, and then to the options for that bufferyard.

         (b)   The required bufferyards constitute the total bufferyard required between the adjacent land uses. Any of the alternatives for the required bufferyard shall satisfy the requirement of buffering between adjacent land uses.

      (3)   Bufferyard requirements.

         (a)   Bufferyard requirements are stated in terms of the width of the bufferyard and the number of plant units required per 100 linear feet of bufferyard. The requirements of a bufferyard may be satisfied by any of the alternatives illustrated. The “plant unit multiplier” is a factor by which the basic number of plant material required for a given bufferyard is determined given a change in the width of that yard. The product of the plant unit multiplier and the required plant units determines the respective number of plant units required per 100 linear feet of the bufferyard alternative. Any fraction less than 1/2 shall be disregarded, while a fraction 1/2 or greater shall be counted as one plant unit. The quantity and type of plant materials required by each bufferyard are specific and identified in Appendix B. The specifications of each bufferyard and its alternatives are illustrated in this section. Each alternative depicts the total bufferyard located between two parcels.

         (b)   Whenever a wall, fence or berm is required within a bufferyard, these are shown as “Fence/Berm” in the following table, wherein their respective specifications are also shown. Whenever a wall is required in addition to a berm, the wall shall be located between the berm and the higher intensity use, in order to provide maximum sound absorption.

         (c)   If the development on the adjoining use is existing, planned or deed-restricted for solar access, understory trees may be substituted for canopy trees where canopy trees would destroy solar access.

         (d)   If the development borders a jurisdictional boundary outside that of this chapter, the bufferyard used shall be based on the district most comparable to that of this chapter, at the discretion and approval of the Director.

         (e)   The exact placement of required plants and structures shall be the decision of each user except that the following requirements shall be satisfied.

            1.   Evergreen (or conifer) plant materials shall be planted in clusters rather than singly in order to maximize their chances of survival.

            2.   Berms with masonry walls required of Bufferyard J and K options are intended to buffer more significant nuisances from adjacent uses and, additionally, to break up and absorb noise, which is achieved by the varied heights of plant materials between the wall and the noise source.

            3.   When berms with walls are required, the masonry wall shall be closer than the berm to the higher intensity use.

            4.   Within a bufferyard, a planting area at least five feet wide containing 15% of the total plant requirements (based on the multiplier = 1) shall be located between the masonry wall and the higher intensity class use. These plants shall be chosen to provide species and sizes to reduce noise in conjunction with the wall.

         (f)   All bufferyard areas shall be live vegetation and seeded with lawn or prairie grasses unless the ground cover is already established.

         (g)   Bufferyards may contain natural water amenities or areas established for drainage provided that planting requirements are still satisfied.

      (4)   Use of bufferyards. A bufferyard may be used for passive recreation. It may contain pedestrian, bike or equestrian trails, provided that no plant material is eliminated, the total width of the bufferyard is not reduced and all other regulations of the chapter are met. In no event, however, shall permanent structures be permitted in bufferyards including ice skating rinks, stables, swimming pools and tennis courts.

      (5)   Ownership of bufferyards. Bufferyards may remain in the ownership of the original developer of a land use, or they may be subjected to deed restrictions and subsequently be freely conveyed, or they may be transferred to any consenting grantees, such as adjoining landowners, a park or forest preserve, or an open space or conservation group, provided that any such conveyance adequately guarantees the protection of the bufferyards for the purposes of this chapter.

      (6)   Excess bufferyards. Where the bufferyard required between a land use and vacant land turns out to be greater than that bufferyard which is required between the first use and the subsequently developed use, the following uses apply:

         (a)   The subsequent use may provide 1/2 of the buffer required. The existing use may expand its use into the original buffer area, provided that the resulting total bufferyard between the two uses meets the bufferyard requirements.

         (b)   The existing use may enter into agreements with abutting land owners to use its existing buffer to provide some or all of the required bufferyard of both land uses. The total buffer shall equal the requirements. Provided that such an agreement can be negotiated, the initial use may provide the second use some or all of its required bufferyard and/or extra land on which it might develop. The existing use may reduce its excess buffer by transferring part or all of the excess buffer to the adjoining land owner to serve as its buffer. Any remaining excess buffer area may be used by the existing use for expansion of that use or for transfer by it to the adjoining land owner to expand that adjoining use.

Table 9, Bufferyard Requirements

Adjacent District

District of Proposed Use

C

AP

AG

R1

R2

R3

R4, MF

PB

LB

GB

UB

AB

I1

I2

PUD

C

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

@

AP

-

-

Ag

Ag

Ag

Ag

Ag

Ag

Ag

Ag

Ag

Ag

Ag

Ag

@

AG

-

-

Ag

Ag

Ag

Ag

Ag

A/B*

A/C*

A/E*

-

A/G*

A/H*

A/I*

@

R1

-

-

Ag

B

C

D

D

D

E

G

-

I

J

K

@

R2

-

-

Ag

C

B

D

D

D

E

G

-

I

J

K

@

R3

-

-

Ag

D

C

B

B

D

E

G

-

I

J

K

@

R4, MF

-

-

Ag

D

C

B

B

D

E

G

-

I

J

K

@

PB

-

-

A

D

D

D

D

A

A

B

-

C

C

C

@

LB

-

-

A

E

E

E

E

A

A

A

-

C

C

C

@

GB

-

-

A

G

G

G

G

A

A

A

-

C

C

D

@

UB

-

-

A

H

H

H

H

D

C

A

-

A

B

C

@

AB

-

-

A

I

I

I

I

E

D

C

-

A

A

B

@

I1

-

-

A

J

J

J

J

E

D

C

-

B

A

A

@

I2

-

-

F

K

K

K

K

F

E

D

-

C

A

A

@

PUD

@

@

@

@

@

@

@

@

@

@

@

@

@

@

@

* In areas abutting an existing residential use or agricultural use, the more restrictive bufferyard shall apply.

- No bufferyard required.

@ As determined by APC.

 

Bufferyard Class and Alternatives		Bufferyard Width (feet)	Plant Unit Multiplier	Plant Units Required per 100 Linear Feet				Required Fence/Berm
				Canopy Trees	Understory Trees	Shrubs	Evergreens/ Conifers
Ag (no plantings permitted in the 30 feet closest to agricultural zoning)
	1	40.0	-	-	-	-	-	-
A				1	1	0	0
	1	5.0	1.0	1	1	0	0	-
	2	7.5	0.8	0	1	0	0	-
	3	10.0	0.6	0	1	0	0	-
	4	12.5	0.4	0	0	0	0	-
B				1	2	0	0
	1	10.0	1.0	1	2	0	0	-
	2	15.0	0.8	1	2	0	0	-
	3	20.0	0.6	1	1	0	0	-
	4	25.0	0.4	0	1	0	0	-
C				1	2	3	0
	1	10.0	1.0	1	2	3	0	-
	2	15.0	0.8	1	2	2	0	-
	3	20.0	0.6	1	1	2	0	-
	4	25.0	0.4	0	1	1	0	-
D				2	4	6	0
	1	15.0	1.0	2	4	6	0	-
	2	20.0	0.8	2	3	5	0	-
	3	25.0	0.6	1	2	4	0	-
	4	30.0	0.4	1	2	2	0	-
E				3	6	9	0
	1	10.0	0.9	3	5	8	0	F1
	2	20.0	1.0	3	6	9	0	-
	3	25.0	0.8	2	5	7	0	-
	4	30.0	0.6	2	4	5	0	-
F				5	10	15	0
	1	10.0	0.8	4	8	12	0	F3
	2	15.0	0.9	5	9	14	0	F2
	3	20.0	1.0	5	10	15	0	-
	4	25.0	0.8	4	8	12	0	-
	5	30.0	0.6	3	6	9	0	-
G				4	6	24	12
	1	15.0	0.7	3	4	17	8	F3
	2	20.0	0.8	3	5	18	9	F4
	3	25.0	1.0	4	6	24	12	-
	4	30.0	0.8	3	5	19	10	-
	5	40.0	0.6	2	4	14	7	-
H				5	8	30	15
	1	20.0	0.8	3	5	18	9	F5
	2	30.0	1.0	5	8	30	15	F4 or B2
	3	40.0	0.8	4	6	24	12	F3 or B1
	4	50.0	0.6	3	5	18	9	-
I				6	9	36	18
	1	25.0	0.6	4	5	22	11	F6
	2	30.0	0.8	5	7	29	14	F5
	3	40.0	1.0	6	9	36	18	F4 or B2
	4	50.0	0.8	5	7	29	14	F3 or B1
	5	75.0	0.6	4	5	22	11	-
J				8	12	48	24
	1	30.0	0.6	5	7	29	14	BW2
	2	40.0	0.8	6	10	38	19	F6 or BW1
	3	50.0	1.0	8	12	48	24	B3 or F5
	4	75.0	0.8	6	10	38	19	B2 or F4
K				10	15	60	30
	1	50.0	0.6	6	9	36	18	BW3
	2	75.0	8.0	80	120	480	240	BW2
	3	100.0	1.0	10	15	60	30	BW1 or F6
	4	125.0	0.8	8	12	48	24	B3 or F5

 

Fence, Berm and Wall Requirements
		Height (feet)		Material
Fences
	F1	3.7		wood picket
	F2	4.0		wood rail
	F3	6.0		wood stockade
	F4	8.0		wood stockade
Fences
	F5	6.0		masonry wall
	F6	8.0		masonry wall
Berms
	B1	4.0		earth
	B2	5.0		earth
	B3	6.0		earth
Berm Walls		Berm	Wall
	BWI	4.0	6.0	earth berm and masonry wall
	BW2	5.0	7.0	earth berm and masonry wall
	BW3	6.0	8.0	earth berm and masonry wall

 

 

Bufferyard Class and Alternatives	Bufferyard Width (feet)	Plant Unit Multiplier	Plant Units Required per 100 Linear Feet				Required Fence/Berm
			Canopy Trees	Understory Trees	Shrubs	Evergreens/ Conifers
D			2	4	6	0
1	15.0	1.0	2	4	6	0	-
2	20.0	0.8	2	3	5	0	-
3	25.0	0.6	1	2	4	0	-
4	30.0	0.4	1	2	2	0	-

 

(Ord. 98-25, passed 12-21-1998)