A. Purpose: The landscape requirements in this section are intended to ensure that abutting land uses are adequately protected and are provided an appropriate amount of land separation to conduct permitted uses without causing adverse impacts.
B. Applicability: The landscape buffer is required for all nonresidential uses sharing a lot line with an abutting residential zone or residential land use or by requirement of an approval granted by a land use authority under provisions of this title.
C. Standards:
1. The width of the buffer is determined by the requirements of section 13.77.050 of this chapter unless modified by the land use authority as part of a site plan approval as allowed by other provisions of this title, however, no landscaped buffer shall be smaller than that required for the health and growth of the plants and trees contained within the required buffer area.
2. The materials within the required buffer between abutting land uses are regulated as follows:
a. All buffer areas shall be comprised of materials such as, a mix of evergreens and deciduous trees, water efficient shrubs or vegetative ground cover or up to fifty percent (50%) nonvegetative mulch or other hardscape as defined by section 13.77.040 of this chapter.
b. Fences, walls and berms may also be incorporated in the buffer areas where they will not create a public safety hazard.
3. Where trees are incorporated, the required buffer area shall result in a barrier where trees touch at the time of the tree maturity.
4. Where existing or proposed abutting land uses cannot be adequately buffered with plant materials, the land use authority may require inclusion of a wall, fence or other type of screen that mitigates noise, and/or unsightly uses. All fences, walls, or other screens must comply with the regulations of section 13.76.710 of this title.
5. Chainlink fencing with or without slats does not qualify as screening material.
6. All buffers between different land uses may include any required perimeter parking lot landscape buffers. (Ord. 2013-22, 9-5-2013; amd. Ord. 2015-02, 2-5-2015; Ord. 2022-14, 6-16-2022)