(A) A ten-foot wide landscaped buffer yard shall be provided wherever a multi-family housing development abuts a single-family residential use. This buffer shall include for each 100 lineal feet or fraction thereof at least two canopy trees that will be at least 40 feet high at maturity or three canopy trees with a lower height at maturity and six shrubs with a mature height of two feet or more. If an equivalent landscape buffer exists on the adjacent lot, the width of the required buffer may be reduced by 50 percent.
(B) All exterior mechanical equipment, whether on a roof, on the side of a structure, or located on the ground, shall be screened from public view. Exterior mechanical equipment to be screened includes, without limitation, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration equipment, plumbing lines, ductwork, transformers, smoke exhaust fans, water meters, backflow preventers, service entry section, and similar utility devices.
(C) Screening shall be architecturally integrated into the main structure with regard to materials, color, shape, and size to appear as an integral part of the building or structure.
(D) Equipment shall be screened on all sides, and screening materials shall be opaque. The use of wood, expanded metal lath, and chain link for the purpose of screening is prohibited.
(E) When screening with plants, evergreen types of vegetation shall be planted and maintained. Plant material sizes and types shall be selected and installed so that, at the time of building occupancy, such plants effectively screen their respective equipment.
(F) Whenever feasible, roof-mounted equipment screening shall be constructed as an encompassing monolithic unit or a series of architecturally similar screening units on large roofs, rather than as several individual screens (i.e., multiple equipment screens, or “hats,” surrounding individual elements will not be permitted). The height of the screening element shall equal or exceed the height of the structure's tallest piece of installed equipment.
(G) Ground-mounted equipment that faces a street shall be screened to a height of 12 inches above the equipment, unless such screening conflicts with utility access, in which case reasonable accommodation shall be allowed. Acceptable screening devices consist of decorative walls and/or berms (3:1 maximum slope) with supplemental plant materials, including trees, shrubs, and groundcovers. For screen walls that are three feet high or lower, vegetative materials may be substituted for 50 percent of the screening device. This requirement does not apply to incidental equipment in the interior of a lot that is not visible from a public street.
(H) Wall-mounted equipment, including, without limitation, electrical meters, electrical distribution cabinets, service entry sections, and valves and cabinets that face a public street and are not recessed and/or separated from the street by intervening building(s) or walls or gates, shall be screened. Screening devices shall incorporate elements of the building design (e.g. shape, color, texture and material). For screen walls that are three feet in height or lower, vegetative materials may be substituted for 50 percent of the screening device. This requirement does not apply to fire-related elements.
(Ord. 885, passed 11-1-2023)