(A) Purpose. The intent of this section is to provide minimum landscaping, screening and buffering standards to protect and improve community appearance, mitigate the environmental and aesthetic impacts of new development, prevent the creation of nuisances and health hazards, and improve quality of life in the city.
(B) How to use this section.
(1) This section contains the standards which govern the amount, size, type, installation and maintenance of required landscaping. This section recognizes the important and diverse benefits which landscaping provides in terms of protecting the health, safety, and general welfare of the community, and implementing the adopted Comprehensive Plan.
(2) The landscaping requirements described in this section are cumulative in nature and are required for all development, except one- and two-family dwelling units and agricultural uses, in the following locations: around building foundations, in developed lots, along street frontages, in or around paved areas, and in bufferyards.
(3) In each instance, a "landscaping point" concept is used to provide a maximum amount of flexibility in terms of the selection of plant materials. Appendix B provides a listing of plant species fitting into the various plant categories used by this section, although other species may be permitted with the approval of the Zoning Administrator.
(C) Landscaping points and specifications. All landscaping requirements are stated in terms of the number of landscaping points required. The required number of landscaping points is dependent upon the type of land use, zoning district, and the size of the development. A different number of points are awarded for each plant, depending upon its typical growth rate, its mature height, and whether it is a deciduous or evergreen species. A minimum installation size is required for each of these plant categories. These requirements are specified on Table 154.605.1.
PLANT CATEGORY (1) |
LANDSCAPING POINTS PER PLANT | MINIMUM PERMITTED INSTALLATION SIZE |
PLANT CATEGORY (1) |
LANDSCAPING POINTS PER PLANT | MINIMUM PERMITTED INSTALLATION SIZE |
Climax Tree | 75 | 2" Caliper |
Tall Deciduous Tree | 30 | 1½" Caliper |
Medium Deciduous Tree | 15 | 6' Tall |
Low Deciduous Tree | 10 | 4' Tall |
Tall Evergreen Tree | 40 | 5' Tall |
Medium Evergreen Tree | 20 | 4' Tall |
Low Evergreen Tree | 12 | 3' Tall |
Tall Deciduous Shrub | 5 | 36" Tall |
Medium Deciduous Shrub | 3 | 24" Tall |
Low Deciduous Shrub | 1 | 18" Tall |
Medium Evergreen Shrub | 5 | 18" Tall/Wide |
Low Evergreen Shrub | 3 | 12" Tall/Wide |
Non-contributory Plants | 0 | N/A |
Footnotes: | ||
(1) See Appendix B for a detailed list of example plant species within these categories. | ||
(D) Measurement for landscaping requirements.
(1) Depending upon the specific land use and/or zoning district, a minimum amount of landscaping points may be required for:
(a) The linear feet building foundations.
(b) The gross floor area of buildings on developed lots.
(c) The linear feet of street frontage, and
(d) The total combined area of paved areas.
(2) Figure 154.605.1 illustrates the measurement techniques used to determine these requirements.
(E) Minimum landscaping requirements. Table 154.605.2 lists the minimum landscaping requirements for each zoning district, subject to the following:
(2) All principal agricultural land uses are exempt, except agricultural services land use located in a zoning district other than Limited Agriculture.
(3) The requirements listed on Table 154.605.2 are in addition to all applicable:
(b) Bufferyard requirements contained in division (F) below;
Note: See §§ 154.605(E) for exemptions and exceptions to these provisions. | BUILDING FOUNDATION (1) |
STREET FRONTAGES | PAVED AREAS (2)(3)(4) | DEVELOPED LOTS (1) |
Note: See §§ 154.605(E) for exemptions and exceptions to these provisions. | BUILDING FOUNDATION (1) |
STREET FRONTAGES | PAVED AREAS (2)(3)(4) | DEVELOPED LOTS (1) |
Types of Landscaping | Climax trees and tall trees shall not be used to meet this requirement | Shrubs not allowed; a minimum of 50% of points devoted to climax/tall trees and 30% to medium trees | A minimum of 30% of points devoted to climax/tall trees and 40% to shrubs | All plant categories can be used to meet requirements |
Placement of Landscaping | Located so that at maturity the plant's drip line is located within 10' of building foundation | Located within 10' of the public right-of-way but not on the right-of-way | Within paved area or within 10' feet of the paved area | Located away from areas that meet other landscaping requirements (i.e., building foundation, street frontage, paved areas) |
CALCULATION OF LANDSCAPING POINTS | POINTS PER 100 FEET OF BUILDING FOUNDATION | POINTS PER 100 LINEAR FEET OF STREET FRONTAGE | GREATER OF: POINTS PER 20 PARKING STALLS OR 10,000 SQ. FT. OF PARKING AREA | POINTS PER 1,000 SQ. FT, OF BUILDING FOOTPRINT |
ZONING DISTRICT | ||||
All zoning districts other than Downtown Commercial, Light Industrial and Heavy Industrial | 40 | 40 | 60 | 20 |
Downtown Commercial | -- | -- | 60 | -- |
Light Industrial and Heavy Industrial | -- | 40 | 60 | -- |
Footnotes: | ||||
(1) The intent of these provisions is to require a visual break in the mass of buildings and to require a visual screen of a minimum of 6 feet in height for all exterior perimeter appurtenances (such as HVAC/utility boxes, standpipes, stormwater, discharge pipes and other pipes). | ||||
(2) The intent of these requirements is to provide a continuous visual screen of parking areas from public rights-of-way at a minimum height of 40 inches. | ||||
(3) A minimum of 360 square feet of landscaped area, which shall be located within 10 feet of the paved area, is required for the placement of every 100 landscaping points. Said area does not have to be provided in one contiguous area. Plants used to fulfill this requirement shall visually screen parking, loading and circulation areas from view from public streets. | ||||
(4) Parking lot design shall employ interior landscaped islands with a minimum of 400 square feet at all parking isle ends, and in addition shall provide a minimum of one landscaped island of a minimum of 400 square feet in each parking isle for every 20 cars in that aisle. Aisle-end islands shall count toward meeting this requirement. Landscaped medians shall be used to break large parking areas into distinct pods, with a maximum of 100 spaces in any one pod. | ||||
(F) Bufferyard requirements.
(1) Purpose. The provisions of this division are intended to provide specific landscape screening and bufferyard requirements to reduce the incompatibility between zoning districts of different intensity and type. These bufferyards will lessen the adverse impact of more intense land uses upon residential areas and/or other areas of less intense use be reducing notice, visual and other environmental impacts.
(2) Requirements. In addition to the minimum landscaping and screening requirements contained in division (E) above, these bufferyard standards will apply to all developments, other than one- and two-family dwellings. The bufferyard requirement is determined by the difference between the zoning district of the subject property and the zoning district of adjacent properties. The specific requirements are identified in Table 154.605.3. Bufferyards are required along only interior property lines that abut another property and not along streets or rights-of-way.
Adjacent Property's Zoning District | Subject Property's Zoning District | |||||||||||||
LA | CSR | LDR | MDR | HDR | NO | PO | NC | PC | GC | DC | PI | LI | HI | |
Adjacent Property's Zoning District | Subject Property's Zoning District | |||||||||||||
LA | CSR | LDR | MDR | HDR | NO | PO | NC | PC | GC | DC | PI | LI | HI | |
LA | ||||||||||||||
CSR | I | I | II | III | II | III | III | III | IV | IV | IV | |||
LDR | I | I | II | III | II | III | III | III | IV | IV | IV | |||
HDR | I | I | III | II | III | III | III | IV | IV | IV | ||||
NO | I | III | II | III | III | III | IV | IV | IV | |||||
PO | II | II | I | I | I | IV | IV | IV | ||||||
NC | I | I | I | I | IV | IV | IV | |||||||
PC | I | I | I | IV | IV | IV | ||||||||
GC | I | I | IV | IV | IV | |||||||||
DC | IV | IV | IV | |||||||||||
PI | I | IV | IV | IV | ||||||||||
LI | III | III | ||||||||||||
HI | I | |||||||||||||
I = Type I bufferyard | ||||||||||||||
II = Type II bufferyard | ||||||||||||||
III = Type III bufferyard | ||||||||||||||
IV = Type IV bufferyard | ||||||||||||||
(3) Bufferyard types. Table 154.605.4 describes the requirements for each bufferyard type.
Bufferyard Type | Solid 6-foot High Fence or Wall Required | Minimum Bufferyard Width in feet | Minimum Landscape Points Per 100 Lineal Feet (1) |
Bufferyard Type | Solid 6-foot High Fence or Wall Required | Minimum Bufferyard Width in feet | Minimum Landscape Points Per 100 Lineal Feet (1) |
I | No | 20 | 320 |
I | Yes | 10 | 0 |
II | No | 25 | 440 |
II | Yes | 10 | 55 |
III | No | 30 | 565 |
III | Yes | 15 | 135 |
IV | No | 65 | 1085 |
IV | Yes | 40 | 635 |
Footnotes: | |||
(1) The intent of these provisions is to provide a visual break between zoning districts and to buffer the less intensive district from various visual, noise, odor, and other impacts potentially generated by the more intensive district. Accordingly, the types of plant materials used and their locations should be carefully chosen to mitigate these impacts on a year round basis. | |||
(G) General landscaping and bufferyard requirements.
(1) Required landscape plan. All development required to provide landscape or bufferyard areas under the provisions of this code shall provide a detailed landscape plan showing the location and types of all proposed landscaping and buffering materials. In addition, the plan should include calculations for the landscaping plant types and points as required by this section and calculations for those proposed.
(2) Cumulative requirements. All of the landscaping and bufferyard requirements of this section shall be counted toward meeting the minimum landscape surface area ratios of each zoning district. However, all minimum landscaping and bufferyards shall be provided as required herein even if such requirements exceed the minimum landscape surface area ratio of the applicable zoning district.
(3) Calculating landscaping and bufferyard requirements. In calculating the number of required landscaping points under the provisions of this section, all areas and distances on which required calculations are based shall be rounded up to the nearest whole number of square feet or linear feet. Any partial plant derived from the required calculations of this section (for example 23.3 shrubs) shall be rounded up to the nearest whole plant (24 shrubs).
(4) Overlapping provisions. In the event that the provisions of this section specify two or more types of landscaping requirements for the same area of a property (e.g. paved area requirement and bufferyard requirement) the requirement specifying the greater number of plant materials and points shall apply.
(5) Installation. Any and all landscaping and bufferyard material required by the provisions of this code shall be installed on the subject property in accordance with the approved plan within 180 days of the issuance of a certificate of occupancy for any building on the subject property.
(6) Surety.
(a) If the subject property is to be occupied prior to the installation of all required landscaping and bufferyard material, the property owner shall sign an agreement stating the intent to install the landscaping within the 180-day period. This agreement shall also contain a statement indicating that there are fines associated with not complying with this agreement.
(b) If a phase of development is approved per the requirements of this code, required landscaping may be split into amounts which are applicable to each phase.
(c) Governmental units to which these bond and guarantee provisions apply may, in lieu of said contract or instrument of guarantee, file a resolution or letter from officers authorized to act in its behalf agreeing to comply with the provisions of this section.
(7) Existing plant material which meets the requirements of this section and which will be preserved on the subject property following the completion of development, may be counted as contributing to the landscaping requirements.
(8) All required landscaping and bufferyard areas shall be covered with a minimum of 75% of living plant material. In addition to the tree and shrub requirements, areas shall be covered with lawn or native ground cover.
(9) The exact placement of required plants and structures as depicted on the required detailed landscaping plan shall be the decision of each property owner within the requirements of this section, except that the following requirements shall be met:
(a) Evergreen shrubs shall be planted in clusters in order to maximize their chance for survival.
(b) Where a combination of plant materials, and/or berming and/or fencing is used in a bufferyard, the fence and/or berm shall be located toward the interior of the subject property and the plant material shall be located toward the exterior of the subject property.
(c) A property owner may establish through a written agreement, recorded with the Jo Daviess County Recorder's Office, that states an adjacent property owner shall agree to provide a partial or full portion of the required bufferyard on an immediately adjacent portion of their land, thereby exempting the developer from providing all or a portion of the bufferyard on his property.
(d) In no manner shall landscaping or bufferyard materials be selected and/or located in a manner that results in the creation of a safety or visibility hazard.
(e) The restrictions on types of plants listed in this section shall apply.
(10) Maintenance. The continued and continual maintenance of all required landscaping and bufferyard materials shall be a requirement of this code and shall be the responsibility of the owner of the property on which said materials are required. This requirement shall run with the property and is binding upon all future property owners. Development of any and all property following the effective date of this code shall constitute an agreement by the property owner to comply with the provisions of this section. Failure to comply with this requirement shall be considered a violation of this code, and shall be subject to any and all applicable enforcement procedures and penalties.
(11) Use of required bufferyard and landscaped areas. Any and all required bufferyards or landscaped areas may be used for passive recreation activities. Said areas may contain pedestrian, bike or equestrian trails provided that: no required material is eliminated; the total width of the required bufferyard, or the total area of required landscaping, is maintained; and all other regulations of this code are met. In no event, however, shall swimming pools, tennis courts, sports fields, golf courses, or other such active recreation used be permitted in such areas. Furthermore, in no instance shall any parking be permitted in such areas, nor shall any outdoor display of storage of materials be permitted in such areas. Paving in such areas shall be limited to that required for necessary access to, through, or across the subject property.
(12) Location in utility easements. Planting in utility easements is at the risk of the property owner. Any plants that must be removed because of utility work within such easements shall be replaced by the property owner at his or her cost.
(H) Fence and wall requirements. The following requirements shall apply to all fences and walls erected after the adoption of this code, whether or not the fence or wall is required to be installed as per the provisions of this section or elsewhere in this code:
(1) All walls and fences shall be durable, weather resistant, rust proof, and easily maintained. Acceptable materials include: wrought iron, plastic, wood, brick, stone, stucco, chain link and other materials with a similar look. Unacceptable materials that are visible from adjoining properties, streets or right-of-ways include glass, tires, unfinished concrete blocks, recovered salvaged materials, or similar materials. Except for fences in the Limited Agricultural, Light Industrial and Heavy Industrial zoning districts, all chain link fences located in front of the principal structure shall be screened from view from streets and right-of-ways with landscaping, except those securing public service and utility uses.
(2) All walls and fences shall be kept in good condition, plumb, and true, and without damage. All walls and fences shall be designed and constructed to withstand winds during typical Illinois storm events.
(3) All fences with two sides of different quality and/or with posts on one side shall be erected such that the higher quality and/or side without posts faces the adjoining property.
(I) Visibility triangle requirements. In order to provide a clear view of intersecting streets to motorists there shall be a triangular area of clear vision formed by two intersecting public street right-of-way lines and a third line joining a point along each right-of-way line as indicated in Table 154.605.5.
(1) No signs, parking spaces, structures, walls, fences, or earthwork shall be permitted which materially impedes vision above the height of two and one-half feet; and
(2) No vegetation shall be permitted which materially impedes vision between the height of two and one-half feet and eight feet.
Right-of-Way Width | Distance from R-O-W Intersection |