Loading...
(A) Planting within property perimeter landscape buffer areas will serve a number of functions including screening, naturalizing, softening edges, and unifying architectural elements. Planting density requirements, as outlined in the Planting Density and Screening table in § 155.143(A)(5), have been established to allow for flexible design solutions while reinforcing the site design standards of each form district.
(B) In situations where a property perimeter landscape buffer area slopes, the required plantings shall be located where the staff of the Planning Commission determines they will most effectively screen the more intensive uses.
(C) Existing landscape material which is proposed to be used to fulfill landscape requirements shall be shown on the required plan, and any plant material in satisfactory condition may be used to satisfy these requirements in whole or in part when, as determined by the staff of the Planning Commission or the agency to whom it delegates authority, such materials meet the requirements and achieves the objectives of this section. Existing healthy trees may be substituted for trees required for property or vehicular use area perimeter landscaping, or for interior landscaping by using the following criteria: a six-inch to 12-inch caliper tree surrounded by a minimum of 150 square feet of landscape area may be substituted for two new trees of the required minimum size; a 12-inch to 24-inch caliper tree surrounded by a minimum of 250 square feet of landscape area may be substituted for three new trees of the required minimum size; a 24-inch or greater caliper tree surrounded by a minimum of 300 square feet of landscape area may be substituted for four new trees of the required minimum size.
(LDC § 10.2.5)
(A) Screening shall be provided around all service structures (for example, propane tanks, dumpsters, heating/air conditioning units, electrical transformers, telecommunications boxes) that exceed 42 inches in height and 42 inches in width or are visible from adjoining property when located on roofs. Loading docks and outdoor storage or maintenance yards shall also be screened when adjacent to any right-of-way or residential use or zone.
(B) No landscape material shall be planted closer than five feet from the sides of any electric transformer box and all landscape material shall be planted a minimum of ten feet from the door of such boxes.
(C) Screening shall consist of a continuous fence, wall, berm, evergreen planting, or combination thereof designed to blend in with the architecture (when roof mounted) or character of the area. (Evergreen plantings are not permitted for dumpster screening.) Planting beds, when provided for screening material, shall be at least six feet wide. The mature height of the screening material shall be one foot greater than the height of the enclosed service structure, but shall not be required to exceed eight feet in height.
(LDC § 10.2.6)
Buffers have been established to protect and enhance visual quality and to reduce the impacts from high traffic/high speed roadways and railroads. Right-of-way buffer areas shall be provided for each zoning intensity class as indicated in the table below.
Right-of-Way Landscape Buffer Area Requirements
(See § 155.143(A)(5) for Zoning Intensity Classes, Planting Density, and Buffer Standards tables)
Zoning Intensity Classes | |||||
Roadway Classes | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Expressway | D.4 | D.4 | C.3 | B.3 | B.3 |
Railroads | C.4 | C.4 | B.2 | N/A | N/A |
(LDC § 10.2.7)
(A) Mandatory.
(1) Street trees are required for residentially zoned property along collector and arterial level roadways, as specified in the applicable form district. Street trees shall be provided in the public right-of-way, with permission of the agency having jurisdiction over the right-of-way. If the Public Works Department or state’s Transportation Cabinet refuses to allow plantings in the right-of way, street trees shall be provided adjacent to the right-of-way, in a minimum six foot wide planting area. All street trees shall conform to the minimum requirements of the Streetscape Master Plan Manual. If a streetscape master plan has been approved for a specific street, all street trees shall be planted in accordance with the approved master plan. Street trees shall be regularly spaced and planted at a ratio of no less than one large (Type A) tree per 50 lineal feet of right-of-way or one medium (Type B) tree per 40 lineal feet or one small (Type C) tree per 30 lineal feet. Small trees are permitted only where utility lines or other site constraints will not allow installation of large or medium trees.
(2) Note: See § 155.178 for listing of Type A, B, and C trees.
(B) Voluntary. Street trees may be provided adjacent to non-residentially zoned property, as well as residential sites abutting local streets or private access easements providing the principal means of access.
(C) Tree canopy bonus. Street tree plantings shall qualify for a 25% bonus in calculating compliance with tree canopy requirements; refer to § 155.124(D).
(LDC § 10.2.8)
(A) Landscape buffer areas have been established to reduce the visual impact of vehicular use areas including parking lots, loading docks, and service areas. VUA landscape buffer area requirements have been established for each form district based on intensity. These landscape buffer areas shall be provided between any lot containing a VUA and a roadway; and between any lot containing a VUA and any lot zoned for residential use. A five-foot LBA shall be provided (containing a six-foot continuous screen and one Type A tree per 50 feet of lineal distance) between any lot containing a VUA and a non-residentially zoned lot with a first floor residential use.
VUA Landscape Buffer Area Requirements
Area of VUA (sf) | Form District | Form District |
Downtown, Village, Traditional Neighborhood, Traditional Marketplace Corridor, Traditional Workplace | Regional Center, Town Center, Suburban Marketplace Corridor, Neighborhood, Suburban Workplace, Campus | |
Up to 10,000 | 5 feet | 5 feet |
10,001 - 30,000 | 5 feet | 10 feet |
>30,000 | 10 feet | 15 feet |
(B) Loading areas/docks are not required to be screened from adjacent industrial uses.
(C) Landscape buffer areas shall be placed at the edge of pavement (or back of curb if present) when the elevation of the VUA is equal to or higher than the adjacent property. When the VUA is constructed at a lower elevation than the adjacent property, the buffer shall be placed at the common property line.
(LDC § 10.2.9)
(A) The equivalent of one large (Type A) tree per 50 linear feet of boundary (or fraction thereof) shall be provided in all VUA perimeter landscape buffer areas. Tree requirements may be deferred, if an equivalent number of street trees are present in the right-of-way, until such time that the street trees are removed to allow for roadway widening or other improvements. Additional landscape requirements shall vary relative to adjacent land uses and proximity to common property lines as follows:
Distance From Property Line | |||
Land Use | Less than or equal to 30 feet | Greater than 30 feet and less than 50 feet | Greater than or equal to 50 feet |
VUA (except loading area) adjacent to any residential use | 6-foot continuous screen | 3-foot continuous screen | 3-foot screen for at least 50% of VUA |
VUA is a loading area adjacent to any residential use | 8-foot continuous screen | 6-foot continuous screen | 6-foot continuous screen if adjacent to residential |
VUA adjacent to a ROW | 3-foot continuous screen | 3-foot continuous screen | N/A |
(B) The three-foot or six-foot screen requirement can be met using shrubs, evergreen trees, berms, or fencing individually or in combination. Continuous screens may be broken and staggered for visual interest; provided the result is a visually continuous screen. The three-foot screen requirement may be reduced to 18 inches when adjacent to financial institutions, nursing homes, or other uses where security is determined to be a factor.
(D) Landscape material in buffer areas shall be protected by the use of curbs, wheel stops, fencing, or planted at least four feet from the edge of pavement when sufficient buffer area exists.
(LDC § 10.2.10)
(A) Landscape areas shall be provided within all vehicular use areas to break up large impervious areas and allow for a greater distribution of tree canopy coverage. Dimensional requirements have been established to ensure that interior landscape areas serve the intended goals and provide enough ground area to support required plant material, interior landscape areas shall not be required for enclosed VUAs that are secured from access by a fence, wall, or similar barrier at least three in width and one-half feet in height and used for storage, loading docks, or their associated maneuvering areas, or for loading, unloading, and storage areas in an industrial zone PD (industrial uses), C-M, M-1, M-2, M-3, PEC, and EZ-1 or in loading dock and truck maneuvering areas in commercial and office zones.
(B) ILA shall be provided that in total area equals or exceeds the applicable minimum percentage of the vehicular use area, as specified in the following table:
VUA Size | ILA Area |
Under 6,00 square feet or containing < 10 parking spaces | 0% |
6,000 - 12,000 square feet or up to 20 parking space - If in a traditional or downtown form district | 5% (2.5%) |
12,000 - 30,000 square feet or up to 100 parking spaces - If in a traditional or downtown form district | 7.5% (5%) |
Over 30,000 square feet or 100 parking spaces | 7.5% |
(C) Any landscape area surrounded by or projecting into a vehicular use area can be used to meet interior landscape area requirements; provided they are no less than 133 square feet in area and no less than eight feet in either dimension. Smaller interior landscape areas are not prohibited, but will not count toward interior landscape area requirements.
(D) The maximum distance between interior landscape areas shall apply as follows:
(1) VUAs under 12,000 square feet or less than 20 parking spaces: no maximum; and
(2) VUAs of 12,000 square feet or over or 20 or more parking spaces: 120 feet.
(E) The maximum distance shall be determined by measuring both:
(1) Radially from the closest perimeter landscaping area curb edge; and
(2) Lineally in each row of parking spaces from the closest curb edge of each ILA.
(LDC § 10.2.11)
(A) When interior landscape areas are required, one medium or large deciduous tree shall be provided for every 4,000 square feet of vehicular use area. The ground plane of all interior landscape areas shall be planted using either shrubs, ground cover, or turf. All plant material used to satisfy these requirements shall conform to the standards found in §§ 155.165 through 155.179.
(B) Light poles, sidewalks, benches, or other landscape design elements are permitted in the interior landscape areas; provided, they do not occupy more than 25% of any one interior landscape area or reduce the width of any planted area to less than four feet. Provisions of such facilities does not reduce the number of required trees.
(C) Note: The following requirement of Chapter 9, Part 1 may require additional interior landscape area.
(D) Developments that provide more than 50 off-street parking spaces and exceed the minimum number of parking spaces required by this subchapter shall either:
(1) Surface a portion of its total parking area proportional to the extent to which the minimum number of parking spaces is exceeded using concrete;
(2) Surface the parking spaces in excess of the minimum using semi-pervious paving systems, or locate those parking spaces in excess of the minimum within parking structures or elevator parking systems; or
(3) (a) Provide 25% more trees within the required interior landscape area (ILA) than is otherwise required by §§ 155.120 through 155.127, 155.140 through 155.154, and 155.165 through 155.179 for the site’s entire parking area. The trees provided shall be Type A trees that maximize the amount of shade that is provided within the parking area. Additionally, the ILA’s shall be designed to maximize their ability to absorb the site’s stormwater runoff in an effort to improve the water quality of the stormwater runoff and to provide an adequate water supply to ensure the long term health of the canopy trees.
(b) The Planning Commission may modify this requirement if the applicant demonstrates that an alternative site design, surfacing material, or facility type offers greater environmental benefits.
(LDC § 10.2.12)
It is not the intent of this subchapter to discourage innovative, aesthetically pleasing landscaping design. Thus, the developer may, at his or her option, submit a landscape plan which conforms to the spirit and intent of this subchapter while varying from its specific requirements. The plan presented must be deemed a substantial improvement over the minimum requirements of this subchapter by the Planning Commission or the agency responsible for plan review.
(LDC § 10.2.13)
Loading...