The screening required in this section shall consist of a fence, landscaping or earth berm and shall not encroach into public right of way. Natural features such as differences in elevation and tree masses may negate the need for manmade screening in certain areas:
(A) Screening in Residential Districts: Screening shall be required in residential districts where:
1. Any off street parking lot contains more than six (6) parking spaces.
2. Any material and equipment is stored with the exception of recreational equipment or construction material currently being used on the premises.
(B) Screening in Business Districts: A one hundred percent (100%) opaque screen consisting of: 1) a six feet (6') to eight feet (8') opaque maintenance-free fence and landscaping, 2) landscaping and berms, or 3) a combination of both shall be required in business and industrial districts where:
1. Any structure or parking is adjacent to and within one hundred feet (100') of property zoned for residential use.
2. Any side or rear yard of a business that is across the street from a residential zone.
3. All loading docks; commercial facilities with drive-through services; automotive repair and service; car washes; and other similar high activity uses associated with the building, adjacent to residential districts, shall be screened from adjacent property or street right of way by a six foot (6') opaque fence or masonry wall.
(C) Screening in Industrial Districts:
1 Any structure, parking, or outdoor storage area, except for display yards or for those currently being used for construction on the premises, located within one hundred feet (100') of property zoned for residential use requires screening. Any side or rear yard of an industrial property that is across the street from a residential zone also requires screening. Outdoor storage areas shall not be viewed from CSAH 50 or CSAH 31. nor shall any articles, goods, materials, incinerators, storage tanks, refuse containers or like equipment be kept in the open or exposed to CSAH 50 or CSAH 31. Outdoor storage areas do not require screening within any interior lot that is not exposed to CSAH 50 or CSAH 31. Required screening shall include either of the two following options:
(a) A six (6) to eight foot (8') tall opaque maintenance free fence and landscaping. The grade for determining height shall be the grade elevation of the building or use for which the screening is providing protection. The design and materials used in constructing a required landscape screen with fence shall be subject to the approval of the planning division, and shall include the following:
(1) Plant material shall be not located within drainage and utility easement and not closer than five feet (5') from the fence line or property line.
(2) Landscape screen plant material shall be in two (2) or more rows and staggered.
(3) Shrubs shall be arranged to lessen the visual gaps between trees. Deciduous shrubs shall not be planted more than four feet (4') on center, and/or evergreen shrubs shall not be planted more than three feet (3') on center.
(4) Deciduous trees intended for screening shall be planted not more than forty feet (40') apart. Evergreen trees intended for screening shall be planted not more than fifteen feet (15') apart.
(b) Landscaping and minimum six foot (6') tall berms. The landscape screen shall follow the requirements in subsection (C)1 of this section. The slope of the earth berm shall not exceed a three to one (3:1) slope unless approved by the city engineer. The earth berm shall contain no less than four inches (4") of topsoil.
2. Loading dock areas shall be landscaped and/or screened so that the visual and acoustic impacts of their function is fully contained and out of view of adjacent properties and public streets. The required width for a landscaped yard along a local collector/industrial or local street is ten feet (10').
3. Trash containers or trash compactors shall not be located within twenty feet (20') of any street, sidewalk or internal pedestrianway and shall be screened by a six foot (6') masonry wall on three (3) sides of the trash unit.
(D) Screening in Mixed Use Districts: Screening of service yards, refuse, and waste removal areas, loading docks, truck parking areas, and other areas which tend to be unsightly, shall be accomplished by use of a fence, wall, landscaping, or any combination of these elements-Screening shall block views from public rights of way, private street, and off street parking areas, and shall be equally effective in winter and summer. Chain link and slatted fencing are prohibited.
(E) Screening of Stored Waste Material: Screening shall be required in all districts where waste material is stored other than in an enclosed building. (Ord. 002-469, 2-19-2002)
(F) Screening of Roof Mounted Equipment: All new construction in the R-1 (nonresidential uses only), R-2 (nonresidential uses only), R-3 (nonresidential uses only), R-5, B, I-1, IP, SSC, business/commercial flex, and mixed use zoning districts shall require rooftop equipment to be centrally located, except in cases where the property owner can show that this is not feasible, in which case the most unobtrusive feasible rooftop location shall be used. Screening shall consist of either a parapet wall along the roof edge or an opaque screen constructed of the same material as the building's primary vertical exposed exterior finish. Equipment shall be painted a neutral color. The site plan shall indicate all mechanical rooftop equipment and shall include elevations.
(G) Screening of Double Frontage Lots Adjacent to Collector and Minor Arterial Roadways: All subdivided land, included in all districts, which backs up to a collector or minor arterial street, either at right angles or parallel to the collector or arterial, shall provide for each double frontage lot an additional twenty feet (20') from the edge of the right of way line toward the property in order to allow space for buffering/screening along the back lot line. The developer shall be required to install the screening and this area may be screened by either a six foot (6') high wood fence with landscaping located between the fence and the property line, a berm with landscaping, a hedgerow, or an opaque landscaped screen. The plantings should be installed in order to provide one hundred percent (100%) screening of rear buildings from the collector or minor arterial street. (Ord. 005-545, 10-17-2005; amd. Ord. 009-613, 10-19-2009; Ord. 021-761, 8-16-2021)