(a) In addition to the other forms of required landscaping, screening shall be required to conceal specific areas of high visual or auditory impact or hazardous areas from adjacent, less intensive uses and from views from public rights-of-way. Such areas shall be screened at all times, unless otherwise specified, regardless of adjacent uses, districts, or other proximate landscaping material.
(b) The following areas shall be screened in accordance with this section:
(1) Large waste receptacles (e.g., dumpsters and cardboard recycling containers) and refuse collection areas;
(2) Accessory outdoor storage and bulk sales;
(3) Pipes, conduit, and cables associated with the building or use;
(4) Outdoor service areas that are necessary to support common business operations (e.g., outdoor air-conditioner, freezer or refrigeration units, storage units, etc.);
(5) Ground-level or facade-mounted mechanical equipment; and
(6) Roof top equipment that is not otherwise hidden by the roofline, parapet wall, or other similar feature.
(c) Screening shall not be required if any of the above items are not visible from adjacent rights-of- way or from adjacent lots in residential zoning districts.
(d) All sides of the item shall be screened with the exception that one side of the item may be screened with a gate or other similar feature to allow access.
(e) Screening Methods.
(1) The following items are permitted for use as screening materials, and more than one method may be used on a lot or site.
A. Vegetative materials that provide an opaque screen of at least seventy-five percent (75%), year- round, to the minimum height necessary to fully screen the facility from off-site views (See Figure 1113-A.) but in no case shall that screen be less than six (6)-feet tall or exceed eight (8) feet in height; or
B. An opaque fence or landscaping wall, with a height of six (6) feet, consistent with the standards of Section 1111.03; or
C. Integration into the building design (e.g., false walls or other architectural screening) that utilizes the same building materials and colors as the principal building. See Figure 1113-B.
Figure 1113-A: The above image illustrates a vegetative screen that hides HVAC equipment and a dumpster.
(2) The required screening shall have a height sufficient enough to screen the applicable item(s) provided it is in accordance with any other applicable sections of this code.
(3) To the maximum extent feasible, pipes, conduit, and cables should be located along the rear facade of buildings if conditions do not allow for them to be enclosed within the building itself. Pipes, conduit, and cables shall be located as far away from public view as practical and shall be painted a similar color as the building facade to further reduce visibility.
(4) In all cases, fences and landscaping walls are limited to the heights allowed by Section 1111.03 unless the landscaping wall used for screening is an extension of the principal building, in which case, the landscaping wall may be the same height as the principal building wall that from which it is extended. See Figure 1113-B.
Figure 1113-B: The above image illustrates a facade wall and fence that is an extension of the principal building that is designed to screen outdoor storage areas.
(Ord. 2023-16. Passed 6-5-23.)