(a) Screening Along Public Streets. In addition to the requirements of Section 1153.07, whenever a parking area of five (5) spaces or more is adjacent to and within forty (40) feet of a public street, a continuous ten (10) foot wide landscape area shall be provided and maintained between the parking area and the street right of way line. The screening shall be a combination of a berm, ornamental fence or a decorative brick wall and low-level landscaping that provides a visual screen. The requirements of this subsection shall not apply where planting is required for screening pursuant to Section 1153.09(c)(6).
(1) Walls, and fences shall have a minimum height of three (3) feet, measured from the highest finished grade of the parking area and a maximum opaqueness of fifty percent (50%).
(2) Shrubs with a minimum height of thirty (30) inches shall be placed to effectively obscure a minimum of fifty percent (50%) of the parking area.
(3) Landscaping and screening shall be located parallel to and within five (5) feet of the edge of the parking lot.
(b) Perimeter Landscaping Requirements. Whenever the perimeter of a parking area of five (5) or more spaces within forty (40) feet of an abutting property, a landscape strip at least five (5) feet wide shall be provided along the perimeter. One large deciduous or two small deciduous trees for each forty (40) lineal feet shall be planted in the landscape strip. A wall, fence, or walkway may be constructed along the edge of the landscaped strip. This section shall not apply where planting is required for screening pursuant to Section 1153.09 (Buffering and Screening Between Districts and Uses).
(c) Interior Parking Lot Landscaping: Islands, Peninsulas and Bumpouts. Interior landscaping of parking lots shall be provided in accordance with the following requirements.
(1) Parking lots designed to accommodate thirty (30) or more vehicles shall provide a minimum of five percent (5%) of interior landscaping, reasonably distributed throughout the parking lot to define major circulation aisles and driving lanes and to provide visual and climatic relief from broad expanses of pavement.
(2) The area of a parking lot includes the vehicular use area within the perimeter of the parking lot, landscaped islands, parking spaces and circulation aisles. Circulation aisles with no parking spaces or landscaped islands located on either side are not included. See Figure 1153.09, Parking Lot Interior Calculation.
(3) Interior landscaped areas shall be dispersed so as to define aisles and break up the expanse of paving and shall be spaced at intervals of no more than ten (10) consecutive spaces. Landscaped peninsulas and bumpouts that are designed as extensions from the perimeter landscaping areas shall also be considered as interior landscaping area, but shall not count as perimeter landscaping area. See Figure 1153.09.
(4) Each interior landscaped area shall be no less than 100 square feet. The minimum width for each area shall be ten (10) feet. In all cases, the minimum distance from a tree to the back of curb shall be four (4) feet.
(5) Within the landscaped areas, there shall be provided one (1) deciduous tree for every 10 parking spaces, and each interior landscape area shall have at least one (1) deciduous tree. Where a landscape area is equal to the width and length of two (2) parking spaces, a minimum of two large canopy trees shall be provided.
(6) Shrubs or low, spreading plant materials may be planted within the required landscaped islands provided there is no impairment to the visibility of motorists or pedestrians.
(7) To encourage the required landscaped areas to be properly dispersed, an individual landscape area shall not exceed 350 square feet, unless approved by the Zoning Inspector per sub section (8) below or as otherwise permitted for herein. An individual landscape area shall not exceed 1,500 square feet in a vehicular use area over 30,000 square feet.
(8) If the application of the interior landscape requirement significantly limits the function of the building site, the Community Development Administrator has authority to permit consolidation and relocation of the landscaped areas on the building site.
(Ord. 3273. Passed 5-9-24.)