The purpose of this section is to provide for visual screening or landscape buffers to remove, reduce, lessen or absorb the shock impact between one incompatible use or zone; breakup and lessen impact of large parking areas; provide interest and lessen the monotony of the streetscape; and obscure the view of outdoor rubbish areas, dumpsters and loading areas. In addition to any required screening or landscaping, all pervious areas of the sites that are subject to this section shall be permanently protected from soil erosion with grass or other suitable ground cover.
(a) Definitions. Terms relative to landscaping and screening shall have the following meanings:
(1) “Standard Screening” means a fence, masonry wall or evergreen hedge which is eighty percent (80%) or more solid and either six (6) feet high or of a height adequate to screen the view from a person six (6) feet tall standing on a public street on adjacent property.
(2) “Standard Plant” means a plant that is nursery grown in a climate similar to or more severe than that of the city, typical of its species in branch structure; free of cultural or mechanical injury, insect eggs or their larvae and plant diseases; and is accompanied by certification of inspection from authorities having jurisdiction over use and shipment. Sizes, grading, root spread, dimensions of earth balls and measurement shall conform to American Standards for Nursery Stock of the American Association of Nurserymen, Inc. hereinafter referred to as “AAN”.
(3) “Standard Shrub” means a standard plant that is deciduous or evergreen with a busy habit of growth. Sizes, or sizes and spread, shall conform to the AAN's standards for types of their categories of deciduous shrubs, evergreens and evergreen broadleaf.
A. Deciduous – 2 to 3 feet.
B. Evergreens, coniferous – spreading 18 to 24 inches
Upright 2.5 to 3 feet.
C. Evergreens, broadleaf – height 2 to 2.5 inches
16 inch spread
(4) “Standard Tree” means a standard plant that is a deciduous hardwood species or named variety thereof with a minimum caliper of 2 to 2 ½ inches, measured height conforming to the AAN’s type run (standard shade trees) or Type 2 (slower growing shade trees). The tree species selected shall have a normal spread of twenty (20) feet in twenty (20) years growth.
(b) Required Buffer Zone. In addition to any other landscaping requirements that may be set forth in this Planning and Zoning Code, all conditional uses in non- residential districts, and all uses that are adjacent to Residential Districts shall be required to provide a buffer zone along the entire length of the common boundary between the commercial use and the residential use, and shall be maintained not less than 10 feet in depth. This buffer zone shall be landscaped with grass, Standard Shrubs and Standard Trees, and shall contain a solid brick wall three (3) feet in height from the building line of the adjacent residential use or district to the street and six (6) feet in height from the building line to the rear yard line of the abutting residential use or district, which ever is greater.
(c) Required Landscaping for Parking Lots, Parking Decks and Parking Garages. Landscape planting shall be installed on all parking lots. Said planting shall consist of at least one (1) standard tree for each ten (10) parking spaces in the lot. Whenever parking areas, including parking lots, parking decks and parking garages consist of five (5) spaces or more and are located such that the parked cars will be visible from a public street, landscaping shall be required between the street and the parking lot, or parking deck or parking garage. Such landscaping shall be a minimum height of three and one-half (3.5) feet at the time of planting, located adjacent to the parking lot and shall be placed to effectively obscure a minimum of fifty percent (50%) of the parking area but shall not obstruct vision at a driveway or street intersection within the triangle formed by the curb lines of two (2) intersecting streets, and a line drawn between two (2) points, one (1) on each such curb line, each twenty (20) feet from the point of intersection of such curb lines, or the triangle formed by the two (2) right-of-way lines and a line drawn between two (2) points, one (1) on each such right-of-way line, each ten (10) feet from the point of intersecting of such right-of-way lines, whichever is less or the intersecting boundary of the driveway and the curb line of the street and a line between two (2) points, one (1) on such driveway boundary and one (1) on such curb line of the street, each twenty (20) feet from their point of intersection, or the triangle formed by the intersecting boundary of such driveway and the right-of-way line, and a line drawn between two (2) points, one (1) on such driveway boundary and one (1) on such right-of-way line, each ten (10) feet from their point of intersection, whichever is less.
(d) Required Front Yard Landscaping. In all districts, each part of a front yard shall be opened to the sky, unobstructed except for parking areas and signs as permitted and regulated in the district regulations and sign regulations, and shall be landscaped to be permanently protected from soil erosion with grass, trees and shrubs.
(e) Screening Requirements for Objectionable Features. All multiple family, conditional uses and non-residential uses shall provide the following required screening for loading areas, recycling and trash receptacles, and outdoor storage when permitted in a district:
(1) Standard Screening, as defined in Subsection (a), shall be provided for loading area or storage area when adjacent to residential districts or visible from a public street.
(2) Recycling and trash receptacles shall be screened on all sides from any residential district, parking area or public right-of-way by a vision obscuring fence or plant material.
(3) Whenever outdoor storage is permitted, the storage area shall be totally enclosed by fencing in compliance with this Planning and Zoning Code. Whenever rubbish areas or dumpsters or similar structures are stored outside, they shall be screened with Standard Screening, in compliance with this Planning and Zoning Code, except that the height of such fence, wall or hedge shall be at least one foot higher than the structure or material being stored unless the Planning Commission determines that such screening is not necessary due to other site conditions on the property where the storage will occur or the existing or foreseeable uses of surrounding properties. The Planning Commission may permit the fence to be substituted by a masonry wall or evergreen hedge, or other landscaping, when it determines that such wall or landscaping will provide at least as good a screen as fencing would provide for surrounding property.
(f) Maintenance of Approved Landscaping. For uses that require an approved landscaping plan, landscaped areas shall be maintained in a fully landscaped condition essentially matching the approved landscaping plan on file with the City, with dead plants being promptly replaced. Any non-residential property for which no landscaping plan has been approved, as a result of being used before this section was adopted, or any other section requiring landscaping, shall continue to maintain existing trees, shrubs and other landscaping to fulfill the purposes of this section as specified hereinabove.