Whenever any property is affected by these landscape requirements, the property owner or developer shall prepare a landscape plan for submittal to the Planning Director or designee for review.
A. Implementation of Landscaping Plan
Where landscaping is required, no building permit shall be issued until the required landscaping plan has been submitted and approved by the City Planner. It shall not be legal to use the property (as opposed to the structure) until landscaping is completed as shown on the approved plan. In instances where conditions do not permit immediate planting of materials and if the City Planner is furnished with a bond or irrevocable letter of credit, then a Temporary Occupancy Permit may be issued.
B. Posting of Bond or Irrevocable Letter of Credit (Ord. 16-20)
A performance bond or irrevocable letter of credit from a banking institution or other such surety acceptable to the Municipal Attorney may be substituted for completion of the landscaping as shown on the approved landscaping plan, subject to the approval of the City Planner. After a bond or irrevocable letter of credit has been posted, the landscaping material required in the approved landscaping plan shall be installed within 12 months after the date of the posting of the bond or irrevocable letter of credit. The City Planner may authorize a longer period of time up to two years for multi-family units and other developments that expect construction to last more than twelve months. However any extension beyond two years must be approved by City Council. Foreclosure proceedings shall be brought against the performance bond or irrevocable letter of credit if the required landscaping plans have not been complied with by the end of the approved planting period.
C. Landscape, Screening and Bufferyard Requirements (Ord. 17-14, 7-18, 09-21)
1. Fence or Wall: Any fence or wall that is required for screening purposes or within a bufferyard shall be constructed using natural materials such as wood, brick or stone. Such a fence or wall shall appear solid with no visible gaps. A fence or wall shall have a minimum height of 6 feet and a maximum height of 7 feet.
2. Table of Minimum Plant Size: Unless otherwise specifically indicated elsewhere in this ordinance, all plant materials used for screening or within a bufferyard shall meet the following minimum size standards:
Plant Material Type Minimum Size
Canopy Tree
Single Stem 2.5 inch caliper
Multi-Stem 10 feet height
Understory Tree 1.5 inch caliper
Evergreen Tree 5 feet height
Shrub
Deciduous 24 inches height
Evergreen 18 inches height
3. Planting Requirements: All trees, shrubs and other plantings shall be installed in accordance to standards established by the most recent American Standard for Nursery Stock. (Ord. 17-16)
4. Location of Required Screening: All planting, berming, fencing and/or walls required by this ordinance shall be installed within the area established as the bufferyard. However, at the discretion of the approving authority, all or a portion of the required screening may be placed outside of the required bufferyard where, because of topographical or other physical constraint, such location provides the most effective screening. All landscaping installed shall be aesthetically located to maximize buffering to any adjoining residentially zoned land. (Ord. 16-13)
5. Bufferyard Requirements: Existing vegetation that meet or exceed the requirements in the Table of Minimum Plant Size or any tree required to be preserved by this or other Ordinance that is located within a required bufferyard shall be counted to satisfy the planting requirements contained in this Ordinance. All improvements made to these areas shall be in accordance to Table 9.6 Bufferyard, Landscaping and Screening Requirements.
6. Earthen Berm: An earthen berm, when required, shall be constructed in a sculpted and undulating manner to an average height as stated in Table 9.6 Bufferyard, Landscaping and Screening Requirements. Berming shall be required where a bufferyard is devoid of trees or any significant vegetation or where topographic constraints or stormwater drainage systems do not preclude its construction. (Ord. 09-21)
7. Traffic Hazard: Where located adjacent to a dedicated public right-of-way, landscaping or screening shall not be permitted to obstruct clear vision so as to create a potential traffic hazard.
8. Vehicle Inventory Lot: The minimum landscape design requirements as defined herein for a Vehicle Inventory Lot may be reduced or modified upon concurrence from the requisite approval authority.
9. Screening of Utility Cabinets: All ground mounted electrical and utility-related connection and service boxes shall be effectively screened on all four sides with shrubbery or other forms of plant material, which, at maturity, reaches a height as tall as the cabinet or box itself and has fifty percent (50%) opacity of the box or cabinet, to the satisfaction of the City Planner. The shrubbery or other forms of plant material shall be maintained or replaced by the utility company, if necessary. (Ord. 09-21)
Zoning District by Use or Circumstance | Buffer Width (feet) | Minimum Bufferyard Requirements
| |||||
Earthen Berm (avg. ht.) | Fence or Wall6 | No. of Plants per 100 Linear Feet of Bufferyard | |||||
Canopy Tree4 | Understory Tree4 | Shrub4 | Evergreen or Conifer | ||||
Zoning District by Use or Circumstance | Buffer Width (feet) | Minimum Bufferyard Requirements
| |||||
Earthen Berm (avg. ht.) | Fence or Wall6 | No. of Plants per 100 Linear Feet of Bufferyard | |||||
Canopy Tree4 | Understory Tree4 | Shrub4 | Evergreen or Conifer | ||||
O-PD, B-PD, and I-PD 1 | |||||||
Adjacent to a Residential Use | 100 | 6 feet | Yes | 10 | 15 | 50 | 30 |
Adjacent to a Public Street | 20 | 3 feet | No | 3 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
Adjacent to a non-residential use | 20 | N/R | No | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 |
O-S, B-1, B-2, I-1: Non-Residential Use5 | |||||||
Adjacent to a Residential Use | 25 | 4 feet | Yes | 3 | 6 | 20 | 15 |
Adjacent to a Public Street | 10 | N/R | No | 3 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
Adjacent to a Non-Residential Use | 10 | N/R | No | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 |
APD, Architectural Preservation District | |||||||
Non-Residential Use adjacent to a Residential Use | 10 | N/R | Yes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
R-1, R-2, R-3, R-PD: Non-Residential Uses1 | |||||||
Adjacent to a Residential Use | 25 | 3 feet | Yes | 3 | 6 | 20 | 15 |
Adjacent to an Arterial Street | 25 | 3 feet | No | 3 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
Abutting any other Street or a non- residential use | 10 | N/R | No | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
R-3, R-PD: Multi-Family Residential Use1,5 | |||||||
Adjacent to a Single-Family Use | 25 | 3 feet | Yes | 3 | 6 | 20 | 15 |
Adjacent to an Arterial Street | 25 | 3 feet | No | 3 | 5 | 10 | 0 |
Abutting any other Street or a non-residential use | 10 | N/R | No | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
R-2, Two-Family Residential Use5 | |||||||
Adjacent to a Single Family Use | 10 | N/R | No | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 |
Adjacent to a Public Street | 10 | N/R | No | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
R-1, Single-Family Residential Use 5 | |||||||
Freestanding Solar Energy System | 5 | N/R | Yes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Residential Cluster Development adjacent to an Arterial Street | 25 | 3 feet | No | 4 | 6 | 10 | 5 |
RV in the Side Yard abutting a Single-Family Use2 | 5 | N/R | Yes3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
RV in the Side Yard abutting a Non-Residential Use2 | 5 | N/R | Yes3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
N/R: Not Required
1 Outer Perimeter of the Planned Development Zoning Districts.
2 Number of plants required per thirty (30) linear feet of bufferyard.
3 A resident or property owner may apply for a Zoning Certificate to substitute a fence for any or all of the required landscape screening provided such fence is of sufficient size and mass to provide buffering greater than or equal to the required landscape screening.
4 Up to 50% of the required landscape materials may be substituted subject to the following ratios: 1 Canopy Tree = 2 Understory Trees; 1 Understory Tree = 3 Shrubs; 1 Canopy Tree = 6 Shrubs.
This does not apply to required landscaping adjacent to or abutting a public street or single-family residential use.
5 Default standards for interior bufferyards in Planned Development Zoning Districts for residential and non-residential uses if a standard is not established as part of a Development Plan approved by City Council.
6 A fence or wall may substitute for an earthen berm where permitted provided such fence or wall is of an equivalent height.
D. Parking Lot Landscaping Requirements
1. Landscaping Required (Ord. 7-18)
a. Any premises having a parking lot or lots with an area of 6,000 square feet or greater shall provide landscape areas within the interior of the parking lot.
b. Interior landscaping shall be 8% of the parking lot surface area.
c. Landscaped areas shall be placed within the perimeter of a parking lot. The perimeter of a parking lot is defined by placing a simple geometric shape around the external edges of the lot. Landscaping areas located in the corners or otherwise set in from the edge of the parking lot where such area would otherwise be paved are considered to be within the parking lot and may be included as a part of the required landscaping. See Figure 9.1.
d. Required parking or paving setbacks, screening, bufferyard, or other landscaping required by this ordinance shall not be utilized to meet any requirement of these landscaping provisions.
e. A minimum of 1 canopy tree, 1 understory tree, and 2 shrubs shall be installed for every 300 square feet of landscaped area. The landscaped area shall include plantings of a type and size described in Section 9.25, C, above. (Ord. 16-13)
f. The use of concrete, asphalt or other paved surface inside the required landscape areas shall be prohibited.
g. All landscaped areas shall be designed and located to standards acceptable to the City Planner that clearly define internal streets, traffic lanes and parking areas and maintain intersection sight distance. In addition:
i. Landscaped areas shall have a minimum width of 9 feet.
ii. Raised concrete curbing shall be placed around the perimeter of all landscaped areas. Up to two (2) gaps each of 12 inches or less are permitted per landscaped area to allow for the drainage of stormwater into landscape islands for the purposes of irrigation. (Ord. 16-13)
E. Street Trees (Ord. 16-13)
1. Purpose: To establish minimum planting and maintenance requirements for street trees installed by a Subdivider or Developer within a public right-of-way.
2. Requirements for Trees Located within Public Right-of-Way: A Subdivider or Developer that proposes to plant trees in a public right-of-way within or adjacent to their subdivision or development may plant such trees in a manner, type, quantity and location as approved by the Planning Commission and subject to the following:
a. Trees shall be planted in accordance with any Landscape Plan that is a part of an approved Development Plan, Site Plan or Subdivision. Final tree locations may be adjusted by the City as unusual conditions may warrant.
b. The specific tree types proposed on a Landscape Plan shall be subject to approval by the Public Works Director or appointed designee.
c. The minimum spacing between trees shall be 40 feet for canopy trees, 30 feet for medium trees and 20 feet for understory trees.
d. The minimum distance between the tree and the edge of the street shall be two and one-half feet for a canopy tree, two feet for a medium tree and one and one-half feet for an understory tree. In areas where a sidewalk exists or is proposed, the minimum distance between the tree trunk and both the edge of the street and the sidewalks shall be two feet for a large tree, two feet for a medium tree and one and one-half feet for a small tree.
e. The tree location shall maintain required intersection sight distances.
f. The trees shall be planted a minimum of ten feet from a fire hydrant.
g. Only understory trees shall be planted under or within ten lateral feet of overhead utility wires.
h. A Subdivider shall include street trees as a part of their Maintenance Bond required by Article 9.17, Guarantees of the UDO.
i. A Developer shall provide to the City a Maintenance Bond in accordance with Article 9.17, Guarantees of the UDO.
j. All street trees shall be maintained in accordance with Chapter 1028 of the Centerville Municipal Code.
F. Preservation of Trees (Ord. 16-13)
1. Subdivisions, Development Plans or Major Site Plans: Existing trees or stands of trees shall be shown on the construction drawings or plot plans with the location, trunk diameter and common name of all trees to be presented to the Planning Commission for its consideration. Reference on the plot plan shall be made to any tree where removal or damage to the root system, trunk or branches is contemplated.
2. Care of a Tree during Development, Construction, Improvement, Excavation and Grading.
a. Trees shall be protected as described in two documents by the International Society of Arboriculture titled "Tree Care Information: Avoiding Damage During Construction" and "Tree Care Information: Treatment of Trees Damaged By Construction."
b. Every effort shall be made to locate structures, driveways, parking areas, swimming pools, streets, sidewalks, water, sewer, gas, electrical and telephone lines, or any other improvement, when a tree is involved, in such a manner so as to minimize the removal, cutting or damaging of it.
c. If a change in the grade level of a property is necessary and the removal or addition of soil is needed, then the root system of the tree shall be protected by an acceptable tree well or retaining wall. Reference must be made to this on the construction plans.
3. Tree Removal Necessitated by Construction, Development or Improvement of Land.
a. A tree may be removed within six feet of a proposed permanent building as indicated on a plot plan, but only after considering all alternative building sites on the property. The tree to be removed must be referred to on the site plan and its removal must be approved in advance, in writing, by the Planning Commission or its staff designate.
b. A tree may be removed elsewhere on the lot, but only after consideration of all alternative plans has shown that such removal is necessary for the development of parking areas, driveways, streets and sidewalks and the installation of water, sewer, gas, telephone and electrical lines.
c. When a tree is a safety hazard, it shall be removed in accordance with Chapter 1028 of the Centerville Municipal Code.
d. Any tree removed or seriously damaged shall be replaced by a like tree on that lot at a location suitable to the owner, provided that it does not create or extend a safety hazard.