A. Fencing: Fencing is not required; however, if fencing is erected or installed, the following standards apply:
1. Permit Required; Inspection. Any fence exceeding 6 feet (6') in height shall require a building permit and meet International Building Code requirements. A fence permit is not required for maintenance or repair. Total replacement of an existing fence shall require a permit. Fees for fence permits shall be as specified in the Dalton Gardens fee resolution.
2. Materials For Fences And Walls: Fences and walls may be of material commonly used in fence construction (for example: wood, wrought iron, chainlink, vinyl), provided that said fence or wall meets any criteria for sturdiness and construction as established in other City regulations.
3. Fence Height: Fences and walls shall not exceed ten feet (10') in height. The height of fences and walls shall be measured from the top of the fence or wall at its highest point to the finished grade of the lot or parcel adjacent to the fence. If the fence or wall is built on a mound or is otherwise constructed on a level above the average finished grade of the parcel or lot, the height of the mound shall be included in the overall height of the fence or wall. However, where parking, loading or other similar areas are constructed adjacent to a fence or wall and are constructed above the finished grade of the parcel, the height of fences or walls shall be measured from the top of the parking/loading surface.
4. Fence Setbacks:
a. Front yard or yards directly adjacent to public right-of-way: Fences over three feet (3') in height in the front yard shall be set back at least fifteen feet (15') from the front property line.
b. Rear and side yard: Fences are allowed on property lines unless adjacent to a public right-of-way, which then shall follow front yard setbacks in subsection A4a of this section.
c. Fences are subject to vision triangle restrictions as delineated in subsection 5-3-1A3 of this chapter.
B. Landscaping And Buffering:
1. Landscaping Applicability: All properties in the Commercial District shall be required to develop a landscaping plan and add landscaping and buffering. Compliance with the provisions of this section shall be required in the following circumstances:
a. Any building permit for a new structure.
b. Building permits for reconstruction, alteration, remodel or renovation that cumulatively exceeds fifty percent (50%) of the market value of the existing structure within a five (5) year period. In the event of fire or natural disaster, the structure can be reconstructed to the same size and in the same location, regardless of market value without triggering the requirements of landscaping.
c. Any construction, reconstruction, reconfiguration, addition to, or alteration of a parking lot shall be required to include landscaping of any areas adjacent to street rights-of-way, and any vision triangles adjacent to a public right-of-way or driveway.
d. When the use of a building or portion of a building changes to another use which does not involve expansion or remodeling, such use need not provide landscaping except if additional off street parking is required, or the parking area is being modified.
e. In conjunction with any Special Use Permit, compliance with landscaping and buffering requirements will be evaluated and appropriate standards may be imposed as a condition of approval on the permit.
2. Landscaping Plan Required:
a. The landscape plan shall be professionally prepared, drawn to scale and indicate the following:
(1) Boundaries and dimensions of the site.
(2) Trees and any other vegetation that is to be retained.
(3) The location and design of areas to be landscaped.
(4) Type and design of proposed irrigation.
3. Landscaping Required, Additional Standards: The following areas shall be landscaped. These standards are the minimum required:
a. All front, rear and side yards within five feet (5') of street rights-of-way shall be landscaped.
b. All vision triangle corners shall be landscaped.
c. Landscaping within the parking lot equal to ten percent (10%) of the gross parking area used for parking spaces (in addition to the landscaped areas required in subsections B3a and B3b of this section). Traffic aisles and driveways are excluded from this calculation. Such landscaping areas should be dispersed throughout the parking area. Parking lots and the accompanying landscaping shall be configured so that no parking space is more than seventy five feet (75') from a landscaped area.
d. All landscaped areas shall consist of a mix of deciduous and evergreen trees, shrubs and live ground cover. There shall be at least one tree and two (2) shrubs for each three hundred (300) square feet of required landscape area.
e. All buffer yards shall be landscaped in accordance with subsection B4 of this section.
f. No trees or shrubs or landscaping treatment shall obstruct the view between the intersection or the street and the access drives and parking aisles near entries and exits. Plantings within the vision triangle as defined in subsection 5-3-1A3 of this chapter shall not exceed a maximum mature height of thirty inches (30").
g. No ground disturbance as a result of site construction, grading, development or paving shall be left exposed to bare soil at the conclusion of construction.
h. All landscaped areas shall be separated from driveways, drive aisles, loading and parking areas by a six inch (6") concrete curb or similar permanent barrier.
4. Buffer Yard Regulations:
a. Buffer Yard: For purposes of this chapter, a “buffer yard” is part of the required landscaping and is a landscaped area that serves to physically and/or visually separate land uses having incompatible facilities or activities or differing intensities of use. A buffer yard is required along property lines that are adjacent to the residential zone.
b. Minimum Width: The buffer yard shall be a minimum of fifteen feet (15') wide unless adjacent to a public right-of-way. In such cases, the buffer yard may be a minimum of five feet (5') wide. Any buffer adjacent to public right-of-way must meet vision triangle standards.
c. Materials For Buffer Yards:
(1) All buffer yards shall be comprised of, but not limited to, a six foot (6') tall 100% sight obscuring solid fence or wall along the property line (or the line between the residential and commercial use if on the same property); together with a mix of evergreen and deciduous trees ground cover in which evergreen plant materials comprise a minimum of seventy five percent (75%) of the total plant material used. An earthen berm may not be substituted for the fence or wall.
(2) The required buffer yard shall result in an effective barrier within five (5) years and be maintained such that fifty percent (50%) or more of the vertical surface is closed and prevents the passage of vision through it, as determined by the City.
5. Landscaping Development Agreement Option: A landscaping development agreement may be initiated by the property owner. Such an agreement is negotiated with the City to provide flexibility in the implementation of the standards of this chapter while meeting the intent of the requirements. The agreement may allow for the relocation of required landscaping, but does not allow for elimination of required elements.
a. Information: The agreement shall be in a form provided by the City. No agreement shall be accepted without the following information included in the agreement and provided by the applicant:
(1) Legal name, title and addresses of the applicant, property owner and/or others with a direct vested interest in the landscaping development agreement.
(2) A legal description of the property that is subject of the agreement. Such legal description must be acceptable to the City.
(3) Signatures of all applicants, owners, developers, or lawfully authorized agents, shall be notarized, and in the case of lawfully authorized agents, properly executed powers of attorney in a form acceptable to the City’s legal counsel shall be presented to the City and shall be made part of the agreement.
(4) A narrative that states what changes will be made to the landscaping plan and how those changes will continue to meet the intent of the standards for landscaping and buffering.
(5) A site plan indicating proposed and existing landscaping, materials and plants to be used and buildings and other features that will assist in providing an accurate description of the proposed landscaping plan.
(6) A clause that states that once the agreement is signed by both the property owner and the City, the property owner understands and accepts that changes made to the landscaping plan shall need to be reviewed and approved by the City through an amended landscaping development agreement.
b. Termination Of Agreement: A termination of the agreement may be initiated by the City if the property owner fails to comply with any term, condition, obligation or duty of the agreement.
(1) If the City perceives that the property owner has not complied with the agreement, the City shall provide notice to the property owner of a compliance hearing held to determine compliance and possible termination of the agreement.
(2) The compliance hearing is a public hearing and will comply with Idaho Statute 67-6509. The property owner shall provide reasons to the City why compliance has not been implemented and why the City should not terminate the agreement and require the ordinance standards to be met.
6. Installation And Maintenance: The owner/developer shall follow accepted nursery standards and practices in the planting and maintenance of required landscape areas. Soil and slope stabilization must result after landscape installation.
All required landscaping shall be permanently maintained in a healthy growing condition by the property owner or the property owner’s designee. This includes the maintenance of landscape materials within or abutting the public right-of-way adjacent to the subject property. The property owner shall remove and, if required to meet the standards of this chapter, shall replace any unhealthy or dead plant material immediately or as the planting season permits.
7. Completion Time: The City may authorize a delay in the completion of planting outside of the planting season. Should a delay occur, a bond or other sufficient security approved by the City Attorney, equal to one hundred fifty percent (150%) of the costs of landscaping, will be provided by the owner/developer in the form of cash, certified check, irrevocable letter of credit, or bond and held by the City until said landscaping is complete or the guarantee is forfeited for noncompliance. No final certificate of occupancy shall be issued until the required landscaping is complete or a guarantee is posted.
C. Sidewalks: For parcels with frontage on Aqua Circle, a five foot (5') wide concrete sidewalk along the road frontage shall be installed by the property owner as part of the parking lot and landscaping requirements. Sidewalks shall be located immediately adjacent to the property line. If sidewalk exists on the adjacent parcel(s), the new sidewalk shall be configured to meet the existing.
D. Undeveloped Property: Undeveloped lots or parcels shall be weeded, planted with indigenous grasses and maintained in a neat and orderly manner. Under subsection 5-3-12E2e of this chapter, performance standards delineate that a violation occurs if weeds or unkempt landscaping constitute a fire hazard. (Ord. 256, 10-4-2018; amd. Ord. 272, 9-14-2021)