(A) Applicability. Unless expressly exempted, the landscaping, screening, and buffering standards of this section shall apply to all nonresidential development and all new major roadways that serve residential major subdivisions (four or more lots). Minor subdivisions (those with fewer than ten lots) may be required to provide landscaping, screening, or buffering on major roadways when the Zoning Administrator determines that such landscaping, screening, or buffering is necessary to ensure that the purposes of this chapter are met. When modifications or additions are being made to an existing nonresidential building or site, the standards of this section shall apply to those portions of the subject parcel that are directly affected by the proposed improvements as determined by the Zoning Administrator, provided that when modifications or additions are proposed that would increase the number of parking spaces, the area of vehicular use areas or gross floor area of buildings by more than 25% (above existing), then the entire parcel shall be brought into compliance with all applicable standards of this section. Before calculating the percentage of area for re-development and improvement, any proposed demolition of structures and parking is subtracted from the existing gross floor area of buildings and number of parking spaces.
(B) Exhibits. Drawings included as exhibits § 153.343 are meant to compliment the language of the chapter. In the event of a conflict with the text of the chapter, the text shall apply.
(C) Parking, loading, and vehicular use area landscaping.
(1) Parking, loading, and vehicular area perimeters. Unless otherwise expressly stated, perimeter landscaping shall be required around the outer perimeter of all off-street, surface parking, loading, and vehicular use areas. Parking areas for the exclusive use of single-family or agricultural uses shall be exempt from these requirements. Any off-street parking, loading, or vehicular use area that will be entirely screened from view by an intervening building or structure or by a buffer provided to satisfy the standards of this subchapter shall also be exempt from these (parking, loading, and vehicular use area) perimeter landscaping requirements.
(a) A perimeter landscape area at least eight feet in depth shall be provided at the perimeter of all off-street parking, loading, and vehicular use areas, except when permitted driveway openings are to be provided. Where drainage or other utility easements exist along property lines, the perimeter landscape area shall be located adjacent to the easement.
(b) Required perimeter landscape areas shall be planted in accordance with the following minimum standards:
1. One canopy tree shall be provided for each 50 linear feet of parking, loading, or vehicular use area perimeter. These trees may be used to satisfy the interior parking lot landscaping requirements;
2. A hedge or other landscape material of at least three feet in height, at maturity, shall be planted within the perimeter landscape area to provide a continuous landscape element or a combination of trees, hedge, other durable landscape material or approved wall, fence, or earth berm may be used to form the continuous landscape element;
3. All portions of the perimeter landscape area not planted with shrubs or trees or covered by a wall or fence barrier shall be planted in grass or ground cover; and
4. Parked vehicles may overhang a landscaped area if curbing or wheel stops are installed to prevent any damage to plants within the required perimeter landscape area. Landscaping, walls, fences, and earth berms will be so located as to prevent their damage and/or destruction by overhanging vehicles.
(2) Interior areas. The following interior parking lot landscaping requirements shall apply to all parking lots except those exclusively serving single- family residential or agricultural uses:
(a) A minimum of one landscape island shall be provided for each ten parking spaces within an off-street parking area. Required landscape islands shall have a minimum of 325 square feet, variably dependent upon the species of the canopy tree proposed by the designer. Each parking lot bay must terminate with a tree island.
(b) Each required landscaping island shall contain at least one canopy tree and there shall be no more than ten parking spaces in a row between tree islands. Interior parking landscape islands that separate double loaded parking bays shall be a minimum of nine feet wide. Canopy trees planted in these islands must be planted in line with the parking stripes (between vehicles) and may be used to satisfy the parking lot tree requirements; however, all parking lot bays must terminate with a tree island. Example shown in § 153.343.
(c) Curbs, wheel stops, or other approved protective barriers shall be installed around all required landscape islands, as approved the Zoning Administrator.
(d) Landscaping provided to meet the right-of-way buffer standards of division (D) below may not be used to satisfy interior parking lot landscaping requirements. Canopy trees provided to meet perimeter adjacent use buffer landscaping requirements may be counted to satisfy interior parking lot landscaping requirements.
(D) Landscape buffers.
(1) Right-of-way buffers.
(a) Applicability. Right-of-way buffers shall be required adjacent to road rights-of-way for all uses except for the agricultural and existing residential uses. Minor subdivisions may not have to comply with the requirements of this section if the Zoning Administrator determines that compliance is not necessary to satisfy the purposes of this chapter.
(b) Buffer reductions. The Zoning Administrator shall be authorized to reduce the depth of a required right-of-way buffer as follows:
1. General. A required right-of- way buffer may be reduced by up to one-third its depth when the following circumstances exist:
a. The parcel is located on a corner lot with required right-of-way buffers of 35 feet or more; or
b. The area of all the required buffers, including land use buffers and tree protection area, exceeds 30% of the site.
2. Folly Road. A required right- of-way buffer not located within the Folly Road Overlay District may be reduced as follows.
a. When no parking or vehicular use area is located between the building and the right-of-way, the required buffer may be reduced to no less than eight feet (type A land use buffer) provided there is a direct connection with the street and the front entrance with a pedestrian way.
b. When no more than ten parking spaces are located between the building and the right-of-way, the required buffer may be reduced to no less than 15 feet (S2 buffer) provided there is a direct connection with the street and the front entrance with a pedestrian way.
c. Buffers required on parcels that are part of redevelopment that preserves existing structures may be reduced up to a depth no less than ten feet (type A land use buffer) in order to meet the parking and tree preservation requirements of this chapter.
(c) Buffer types by roadway. Landscape buffers shall be required along roadways in accordance with the following table. Streets and roads not indicated in the table shall comply with the S2 buffer requirements. This division (D) describes buffer types and planting requirements.
(d) Development within buffer areas.
1. No development may occur within required buffer areas; with the exception of sidewalks, bus stops, and permitted drives and signs;
2. All buffer areas shall accommodate required plant material within the buffer;
3. Drainage swales and stormwater detention ponds may be placed in the buffer only when trees are not endangered and only when they meander through the buffer in a natural manner; and
4. Stormwater detention ponds may not occupy more than 25% of the buffer area.
Roadway Buffer | Type |
Roadway Buffer | Type |
Central Park Road | S3 |
Folly Road | S3 |
Fort Johnson Road [1] | S4 |
Grimball Road (Folly Road to Riverland Drive) | S3 |
Harborview Road | S1 |
James Island Connector | S4 |
Maybank Highway (James Island) | S1 |
Riverland Drive [1] | S4 |
[1] Denotes scenic road designation that shall require protection under the provisions of this chapter of all trees six inches or greater in diameter breast height (DBH) which are located within rights-of-way. | |
(e) Buffer depth and planting standards.
Buffer Type | ||||||
Standard | S1 | S2 | S3 | S4 | S5 | S6 |
Buffer Type | ||||||
Standard | S1 | S2 | S3 | S4 | S5 | S6 |
Min. buffer depth (feet from right-of-way) [1] | 15 | 20 | 25 | 50 | 75 | 200 |
Min. buffer landscaping (plants per 100 linear feet) [2] [3] | ||||||
Canopy trees [4] | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 21 |
Shrubs | 30 | 35 | 40 | 50 | 60 | 75 |
Street trees (may be counted toward canopy tree req.) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | NA |
Understory trees (at least 50% evergreen) | 3 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 12 | 20 |
All trees with a diameter breast height (DBH) of six inches or greater within buffers shall be preserved. | ||||||
[1] Buffers may be traversed by permitted driveways and pedestrian ways. | ||||||
[2] The retention of natural buffers shall be required along designated scenic roadways and encouraged along all other roadways. The Zoning Administrator shall be authorized to waive/modify minimum buffer planting requirements when an undisturbed natural buffer exists that is the same depth as that which is required. | ||||||
[3] Bradford pears cannot be used to fulfill any of the tree requirements of this chapter. Any exotic species which are proposed by the designer are subject to the approval of the Zoning Administrator. | ||||||
[4] When existing overhead utility lines are located such that they may pose interference with required canopy trees, Palmetto trees may be substituted to fulfill the canopy tree requirement. These trees are to be planted at a ratio of three Palmetto trees to one canopy tree and are to be planted in groupings of three. | ||||||
Note: The Zoning Administrator shall be authorized to require the installation of berms within required buffers where deemed necessary to protect the visual quality of a road corridor or ensure land use compatibility. | ||||||
(2) Land use buffers.
(a) Applicability.
1. Land use buffers shall be provided in accordance with the standards of this section, provided that the Zoning Administrator shall be authorized to modify or waive buffer or landscape planting requirements if it is determined that:
a. Buffers will not serve any useful purpose due to the fact that fences, walls, berms, or landscaping of at least equivalent height, opacity, and maintenance already exist on the adjacent parcel;
b. Buffers will not serve any useful purpose due to the location of uses, vehicles, buildings, structures, or storage, loading, display, or service areas; or
c. The area of required buffers would exceed 25% of the site proposed for development.
2. When landscape buffer requirements are modified or waived, the Zoning Administrator may require that additional plant material be added within remaining buffers or elsewhere on the site.
(b) Exemptions. Single-family development on individual lots shall be exempt from the land use buffer requirements of this section.
(c) Determination of required buffers. The following procedure shall be used in determining which of the buffer types in the land use buffer table in division (D)(2)(d) below apply:
1. Determine the type of use proposed for the site that is being developed. This is the “proposed use” (column 1);
2. Determine the residential use type that exists on the adjacent parcel (if residential) or the zoning district classification that applies to the adjacent parcel. This is the “adjacent site’s use or zoning;”
3. Identify the type of landscape buffer required along the developing site’s boundary (A, B, C, D, E, or F); and
4. Refer to division (D)(2)(e) below to identify the buffer depth and landscaping standards for the required buffer type.
(d) Land use buffer table. Land use buffers shall be provided alongside and rear yards in accordance with the following minimum requirements.
Use or Zoning of Adjacent Site | ||||||||||
Residential Type | Zoning District | Agricultural Use | ||||||||
Proposed Use | 1 | 2 | 3 | R [1] |
OR | OG | CN | CC | I | |
Use or Zoning of Adjacent Site | ||||||||||
Residential Type | Zoning District | Agricultural Use | ||||||||
Proposed Use | 1 | 2 | 3 | R [1] |
OR | OG | CN | CC | I | |
Residential Type 1 | - | A | B | - | A | B | B | C | D | F |
Residential Type 2 | A | - | A | - | A | B | B | C | D | F |
Residential Type 3 | B | A | - | - | A | A | B | C | D | F |
Civic/Institutional | B | B | A | A | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Commercial Type 1 | B | B | B | B | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Commercial Type 2 | C | C | C | C | C | B | B | - | - | - |
Industrial Type 1 | E | E | D | D | D | D | C | B | - | - |
Industrial Type 2 | F | F | F | F | E | E | D | C | A | - |
[1] Applies to undeveloped (vacant) R and AGR zoned property. | ||||||||||
Residential use types: Type 1 = single-family detached; Type 2 = duplex and single-family attached; Type 3 = multi-family and all other residential use types, including manufactured housing parks. | ||||||||||
Commercial use types: Type 1 = any commercial use allowed by right in an OR, OG, or CN District; Type 2 = all other commercial uses that are allowed in Commercial (C) Zoning Districts (Commercial uses are those listed in the “commercial” rows of Use Table 153.110). | ||||||||||
Industrial use types: Type 1 = any industrial or commercial use that is first allowed in an Industrial (I) Zoning District; Type 2 = waste-related uses, resource extraction uses, and recycling centers. | ||||||||||
(e) Buffer depth and landscaping standards.
Buffer Type | ||||||
Standard | A | B | C | D | E | F |
Buffer Type | ||||||
Standard | A | B | C | D | E | F |
Min. buffer depth (feet from property line) | 10 | 15 | 25 | 40 | 60 | 100 |
Minimum land use buffer landscaping (plants per 100 linear feet) [1] [2] | ||||||
Canopy trees | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 |
Shrubs | 20 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 40 | 50 |
Understory trees (at least 50% evergreen) | 3 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 11 |
[1] The Zoning Administrator shall be authorized to require the installation of fences, walls, or berms within required buffers where deemed necessary to ensure land use compatibility or otherwise protect the visual quality of an area. | ||||||
[2] All trees with a diameter breast height (DBH) eight inches or greater within buffers shall be preserved. | ||||||
(3) General.
(a) Location of buffers. Buffers shall be located along the perimeter of a lot or parcel and shall extend to the boundary of the lot or parcel. They shall not be located on any portion of public right-of-way. Where drainage or other utility easements exist along property lines, required landscape buffers shall be located adjacent to the easement and may be reduced in width by the width of the easement, but in no case shall the buffer be less than ten feet. Required buffers shall be noted on all plats, plans, and permit requests submitted for review and approval under this chapter.
(b) Use of buffers. The Zoning Administrator shall be authorized to allow on-premises signs, fences, walls, berms, mailboxes, access to community boat ramps, permitted driveways, and sidewalks within required buffers. Other improvements maybe allowed within buffers if the Zoning Administrator determines that such improvements will not detract from the intended purpose and function of the buffer or have any adverse effect on adjacent property.
(c) Plant material within buffers. Plant material within required buffers shall be selected and spaced properly to allow plant material to thrive considering site specific conditions. Plant material to be located adjacent to public drainage easements and rights-of-way shall be selected and placed to not create future access or maintenance impediments including low lying lateral branches. Additionally, plant material within required buffers that contain utility easements shall be selected and sited to minimize pruning for future maintenance and clearance of such utilities. The Zoning Administrator must approve all selections and may require modifications (substitutions and relocation) of plant material on proposed landscape plans when necessary to ensure access and ease of maintenance to any easements and rights-of-way and to preserve the public health, safety, and welfare.
(E) Landscape plans. Landscape and planting plans submitted to meet the requirements of the chapter are to be drawn to the same scale as the site plan depicting proposed shrubs and trees at maturity. It is strongly encouraged that all landscape plans be prepared by a licensed registered landscape architect or landscape designer familiar with the growth habits and characteristics of plant material available in the town’s area. Landscape plans shall be prepared by a licensed, registered landscape architect whenever the area of land disturbance or
development activity exceeds one acre or when the total area of proposed building footprint exceeds 5,000 square feet.
(F) Landscape material standards. Landscape and plant material used to satisfy the standards of this chapter shall comply with the minimum standards of this section.
(1) Plant material.
(a) Existing plant material. Vegetation and plant material that exists on a parcel prior to its development may be used to satisfy the landscaping standards of this division (F) provided that it meets the size and locational requirements of this section.
(b) Size. Unless otherwise expressly stated, all plant materials used to satisfy the requirements of this chapter shall meet the following minimum size standards:
Plant Type | Minimum Size |
Canopy tree | 2-1/2 inches caliper and 12 feet in height |
Evergreen/conifer tree | 5 feet (height) |
Shrubs | 3 gallon and 18 to 24 inches in height or spread |
Understory/ ornamental trees | 8 feet (height) |
Note: At least 50% of required understory trees shall be evergreens. Any plant material that grows to an ultimate height of less than 18 inches shall be considered a groundcover and cannot be used to fulfill any of the shrub requirements of this chapter. | |
(c) Species. Species of plant material used to satisfy the requirements of this section shall be indigenous to the town’s area or are cultivated to survive in the climate of this area. No single plant species shall represent more than 40% of total landscape plantings, except for projects whose landscape requirements for canopy trees are lower than ten.
(d) Quality. Plants installed to satisfy the requirements of this division (F) shall meet or exceed the plant quality standards of the most recent edition of American Standard for Nursery Stock, published by the American Association of Nurserymen. Plants shall be nursery-grown and balled and burlapped or container-grown.
(e) Additional landscape treatment. All required landscape areas, including drainage ways and detention/retention ponds, and buffers not dedicated to trees, shrubs, or preservation of existing vegetation shall be landscaped with grass, ground cover, or other landscape treatment, not including sand, rock, or pavement. All grass areas are to be installed using proper and accepted landscape methods to ensure germination and erosion control.
(2) Berms and landscape structures. Berms and landscape structures shall comply with the following minimum standards:
(a) Fences and walls. Fences and walls used as a screen shall be at least 95% opaque with a minimum height of six feet.
(b) Berms. Earthen berms shall have a minimum height of three feet with a slope not to exceed 3:1, variable dependent upon the plant materials and soil type used. The toe of any berm shall be located at least three feet from the ultimate right-of-way or property line.
(G) Installation, maintenance, and replacement.
(1) Installation. All landscaping shall be installed according to American Association of Nurserymen Standards and sound nursery practices in a manner designed to encourage vigorous growth. Site for plant material shall be repaired or improved in accordance with American Association of Nurserymen Standards for soil preparation and drainage. Subsurface drainage shall be provided where berms, elevated planting areas, or other suitable means for providing proper drainage do not exist.
(2) Irrigation. The Zoning Administrator shall be authorized to require the installation of automatic irrigation (sprinkler) systems when deemed necessary to ensure plant survival and proper growth.
(3) Maintenance and replacement. Required trees, shrubs, walls, and other landscape features shall be considered as elements of the project in the same manner as parking, building materials, and other details are elements of the plan.
(a) The land owner or successors in interest shall be jointly and severally responsible for the following:
1. Regular maintenance of all landscaping in good condition and in a way that presents a healthy, neat, and orderly appearance. All landscaping shall be maintained free from disease, pests, weeds, and litter. This maintenance shall include weeding, watering, fertilizing, pruning, mowing, edging, mulching, or other maintenance, as needed and in accordance with acceptable horticultural practices, including ANSI Standards for Tree Care Operations and American Association of Nurserymen Standards;
2. The repair or replacement of required landscape structures (e.g., fences) to a structurally sound condition;
3. The regular maintenance, repair, or replacement, where necessary, of any landscaping required by this section; and
4. Continuous maintenance of the site as a whole.
(b) When replacement of trees, plant material, or other landscape features is required, such replacement shall be accomplished within one growing season, one year or such time-frame as required by the Zoning Administrator, whichever is shorter.
(Ord. 2012-06, § 9.5, passed 10-18-2012; Ord. 2013-07, passed 10-17-2013)