(A) Existing trees and shrubs. Any existing trees within required bufferyards shall be encouraged to be utilized and supplemented as necessary to meet bufferyard screening requirements. Existing trees intended to meet bufferyard screening requirements shall be protected from detrimental actions such as vehicle or equipment movement, excavating and grading, and installation of storage or structured elements. Credit for existing trees will be based on the following:
Existing Tree Caliper (inches) | Number of Tree Credits Given |
2—6 | 1 |
7—12 | 2 |
13—18 | 3 |
19—24 | 4 |
25 or greater | 5 |
(B) Uses in the bufferyard. No activities shall occur in the bufferyard except for maintenance of the bufferyard, required ingress and egress and the installation and maintenance of water, sewer, electrical and other utility systems where the installation causes minimal disturbance of existing vegetation.
(C) Uses in the rear yard and side yards abutting a residential use. The following uses shall be shielded from view from the property line of adjacent residentially used or zoned property by means of an opaque fence, opaque wall or solid vegetative buffer:
(1) Dumpsters or other trash holding areas;
(2) Outside storage areas; and
(3) Loading/unloading areas.
(D) Encroachment into setbacks.
(1) If an existing structure is located within a setback where the implementation of the streetyard and/or bufferyard requirements are physically impossible and the encroachment into the yard (streetyard or bufferyard) allows for a minimum of three feet of planting area, only the required shrubs shall be planted.
(2) If the encroachment into the yard (streetyard or bufferyard) allows for less than three feet of planting area, no planting shall be required in that yard:
(a) For every yard (streetyard or bufferyard) in which the situation exists, one additional small tree shall be planted in each streetyard or bufferyard not encroached upon;
(b) For every yard (streetyard or bufferyard) in which the situation exists, five feet of additional yard width shall be added to a yard (streetyard or bufferyard); or
(3) If all four yards (streetyard and three bufferyards) allow less than three feet of planting area, no planting shall be required.
(Ord. eff. 9-6-2012, § 9.16; Am. Ord. 21-1, passed 9-17-2020)