(A) Measurements; location of bufferyards. Bufferyard setbacks shall be measured from lot boundary lines except as further provided.
(B) Thoroughfares. Where a lot is located in proximity of an existing or future thoroughfare, as shown on the officially adopted Highway Map of the Comprehensive Transportation Plan, all bufferyard setbacks shall be measured from the ultimate future thoroughfare right-of-way line or property line, which yields the greatest setback.
(C) Overlapping bufferyards. Whenever two or more bufferyard requirements are applicable to the same use or combination of uses, then the more stringent of the bufferyard requirements shall apply, except as further provided.
(D) Planned center. In the case of planned centers containing multiple principal uses, such as shopping centers, office/commercial unit ownership type developments and the like, the initial bufferyard requirement shall be based on the anticipated primary occupancy of the center and the requirement shall apply to all subsequent uses absent any change in zoning for the planned center.
(E) Shopping centers, condominium/townhouse, multi-family group and planned center type developments. Bufferyards are required only along exterior property lines of the project.
(F) Easement. No fence, evergreen hedge or berm optioned or required by this article shall be located on property subject to utility or drainage easements without the written consent of the city and easement holder. Site plan approval from the respective easement holder shall be construed as approval of all noted encroachments.
(G) Drainage ditch. No fence, evergreen hedge or berm optioned or required by this article shall be located within five feet of the outer edge of a drainage ditch. Stormwater detention structures having a slope of two feet horizontal for each one foot vertical or steeper shall be considered a drainage ditch for purposes of this section.
(H) Encroachments.
(1) Bufferyards for adjacent public and/or private streets may only be encroached upon by driveways, signage and general (public/customer) pedestrian access walkways, provided the walkways comply with subsection (H)(3) below.
(2) Bufferyards for peripheral lot boundaries shall not be encroached upon by vehicular areas (except common access drives and parking lots), service access walkways, exterior storage, mechanical equipment, principal and/or accessory structures, garbage/trash container pads and the like unless otherwise provided. Encroachments by stormwater detention structures may be allowed subject to the approval of the City Engineer. Exterior lighting may encroach three feet into required bufferyards. General (public/customer) pedestrian access walkways may encroach into required bufferyards provided the walkways comply with subsection (H)(3) below.
(3) General (public/customer) pedestrian access walkways shall be subject to compliance with all of the following requirements:
(a) Such walkways shall be designed to provide direct access to and from adjacent public and/or private streets, designated common property, public access easements and lot lines;
(b) Encroachment zone. Walkways are allowed to cross individual or abutting bufferyards within an area equal in width to the minimum bufferyard as measured perpendicular to the property line;
(c) Maximum width of each individual walkway shall not exceed six feet; and
(d) Within the minimum bufferyard area two or more walkways providing access to a lot along any single property line shall be separated by not less than 50 feet as measured from center of walkway to center of walkway.
(4) Aboveground public utility apparatus, structures or covers including transmission lines, poles and support wires, transformers, meters, pumps, regulators, catch basins, manholes, vents, switching or control boxes and the like may encroach into any bufferyard setback provided the use does not constitute a public utility building or use as defined under Article B of this chapter.
(I) Recreational use of bufferyards. A bufferyard may be used for passive recreation; it may contain pedestrian, bike or equestrian trails, provided that:
(1) The total width of the bufferyard is increased in direct proportion to the width of any encroachment(s) except as further provided;
(2) Public dedicated greenway improvements shall be exempt from subsection (I)(1) above; and
(3) All other regulations of this article and Article P of this chapter are met. In no event, however, shall the following uses be permitted in bufferyards: playground equipment, playfields, stables, swimming pools and ball courts.
(J) Maintenance of on-site fences. To ensure that fencing will be maintained in a safe and aesthetic manner, the following maintenance requirements shall be observed for all fencing required by this article:
(1) No fence shall have more than 20% of its surface area covered with disfigured, cracked or missing materials or peeling paint for a period of more than 30 successive days.
(2) No fence shall be allowed to remain with bent or broken supports, or be allowed to stand more than 15 degrees away from perpendicular for a period of more than 30 successive days.
(Ord. No. 95-111, § 1, passed 11-9-1995; Ord. No. 96-78, § 1, passed 8-8-1996; Ord. No. 23-040, § 1, passed 5-11-2023)