(a) Frontage Landscaping. Where the site abuts a public road right-of-way, the following frontage landscaping must be provided in the 20-foot landscape strip abutting the road right-of-way, as described in Section 1107.12:
Type of Landscaping | Minimum Required Landscaping |
Deciduous or Evergreen Tree | 1 per 40 linear feet of road frontage or fraction thereof |
Ornamental (Flowering) Tree | 1 per 100 linear feet of road frontage or fraction thereof |
Shrubs | 8 per 40 linear feet of road frontage or fraction thereof |
The 20-foot landscape strip must be sufficient to contain the required landscaping and ensure the survivability of plant material. For the purposes of computing length of road frontage, openings for driveways and sidewalks must not be counted. Trees and shrubs may be planted at uniform intervals, at random, or in groupings. However, the Planning Commission or Community Development Director may require the planting design to use massing or groupings of materials to create a stronger visual impact from the public right-of-way.
Example of Frontage Landscaping | |
Length of Road Frontage: 250 linear feet minus 24-foot driveway = 226 feet | |
Required Number of Plants | |
Deciduous or evergreen trees | 226 ft./40 ft. = 6 deciduous or evergreen trees |
Ornamental trees | 226 ft./100 ft. = 3 ornamental trees |
Shrubs | (226 ft./40 ft.) x 8 = 48 shrubs |
TOTAL | 6 deciduous or evergreen trees, 3 ornamental trees, and 48 shrubs |
(b) Parking Lot Landscaping. All parking areas and other paved ground surface areas used for vehicular parking must have perimeter and internal landscaping to provide visual and climatic relief from broad expanses of pavement and to channelize and define logical areas for pedestrian and vehicular circulation. The following requirements in this section may be modified at the discretion of the Planning Commission in the C-D Zoning District only.
(1) Parking lot screening adjoining to a parking lot is not required if the paved area is completely screened from the public right-of-way by an intervening building or structure.
(2) If the paved area is not completely screened from the public right-of-way by an intervening building or structure, then one or a combination of the following is required:
A. Parking Lot Screening Landscaping. Landscaping must include a vegetative strip at least five (5) feet in width containing an opaque screen of landscaping (evergreen or deciduous hedge) at least three (3) feet in height. The landscaping must be planted in a manner where the landscaping can be expected to provide an unbroken visual screen within three (3) years. The landscaping must be located at least two (2) feet from the front of a parking space curb so as to account for vehicle overhang. Existing landscaping may be used to fulfill or supplement the parking lot screening landscaping requirement.
B. Parking Lot Screening Berm. Berms must be at least three (3) feet in height (measured above the elevation of the adjacent parking surface) and meet the requirements of Section 1108.05
(e).
C. Parking Lot Screening Wall. Walls must be at least three (3) feet in height and constructed of the same or compatible material and colors as the principal building in terms of texture and quality.
(3) Interior Parking Lot Landscaping. All off-street parking areas of fifty (50) parking spaces or more must have internal landscaping. See Figure 18 .
A. Size of Interior Parking Lot Landscaping Areas. Interior landscaping must account for a minimum of five percent (5%) of all paved parking areas, including parking and loading spaces, driveways, and aisles. Each separate interior landscaped area must be a minimum of three hundred sixty (360) square feet in area and must have a minimum width of ten (10) feet.
B. Minimum Number of Deciduous Trees. Each interior landscape area must contain at least one (1) deciduous tree. One (1) deciduous tree must be planted for each three hundred (300) square feet of interior landscaping.
C. Location of Landscaping. All required interior parking lot landscaping must be planted within the landscaped islands or in landscaped areas within twenty (20) feet of the perimeter of the parking lot, provided that such landscaping is not also counted toward other landscape or screening requirements.
D. Groundcover. Interior parking lot landscape areas must include groundcover of grass, perennials, shrubs, and/or hardwood mulch.
E. Protection with Curbing or Wheel Stops. All interior parking lot landscaping must be protected from vehicular encroachment by six (6) inch high concrete curbing or wheel stops, unless utilized for stormwater management.
F. Maximum Number of Parking Spaces in a row. Landscaping islands with or without walkways must be used to subdivide parking areas into parking rows with no more than twenty (20) spaces (see Figure 19).
G. Maintenance. The internal landscaping must be installed and maintained so that, when mature, it does not obscure traffic signs, fire hydrants, lighting drainage patterns, or vision for safety.
(c) Display Area Screening. Screening of display areas may, at the discretion of the Planning Commission, be accomplished by plants, fences, walls, berms, or any combination thereof to meet the requirements of this Section. The Planning Commission must base its discretion on the material being displayed and the visual impact on surrounding areas. The Planning Commission may modify or waive these requirements where the outdoor display is integral to the principal use of the property (e.g., outdoor vehicle sales).
(d) Greenspace. The purpose of greenspace is to reserve an appropriate area of a lot to screen and buffer the lot and its use(s) based on its zoning district and the zoning district of the adjacent lots, regardless of whether the adjacent lots are developed. A greenspace as specified in the table below must be provided for all uses requiring site plan review.
Adjacent To | |||||
Developing Zoning District | O-R, R-1 and R-2 Districts | R-3, R-3A and R-4 Districts | R-C, C-R, IC-R, C, C-D, N-C and U Districts | R-T-O District | I District, and Railroad and Utility rights-of-way |
O-R, R-1 and R-2 Districts | a | b | b | b | b |
R-3, R-3A and R-4 Districts | b | a | b | b | b |
R-C, C-R, IC-R, C, C-D, N-C and U Districts | b | b | a | b | b |
R-T-O District | c | c | b | a | b |
I District | c | c | c | b | a |
• A ten (10) foot wide buffer, with one (1) tree per thirty (30) linear feet. For proposed single-family residential uses, the greenspace requirements apply only to subdivision, apartment, and multifamily developments.
• A twenty (20) foot wide buffer, with one (1) tree per twenty (20) linear feet (minimum of fifty percent (50%) evergreen trees). A six (6) foot high masonry wall or opaque fence may be installed in lieu of the required trees, subject to Planning Commission or Community Development Director review and approval.
• A sixty (60) foot wide buffer, with a staggered double row of evergreen trees spaced fifteen (15) feet apart (see Figure 20) on a six (6) foot high berm (see Section 1108.05
(e)) with a flat horizontal area at the crest to be at least three (3) feet in width. The planting must be in a manner where the evergreen trees provide eighty percent (80%) opacity within three (3) years of planting, measured from the top of the berm. After three (3) years, if this opacity is not achieved then additional evergreen trees and/or shrubs must be planted to achieve eighty percent (80%) opacity at the time of their planting. A six (6) foot high masonry wall or opaque fence may be installed in lieu of the required berm and trees.
Figure 20. Sixty (60) foot wide buffer
(1) Planting Setback. Trees and shrubs must not be placed closer than four (4) feet to the fence line or property line. Single family uses are excluded from this requirement.
(2) City Review. All landscape plans must be submitted to the Planning Commission for Site Plan approval in accordance with Section 1111.02 or, if no such site plan review is required, to the Community Development Director for approval as to suitability of planting materials and arrangement thereof in accordance with the provision of Section 1111.02. The approving authority may modify the greenspace to allow less buffering or require additional buffering based on the proposed use's impact on adjacent lots.
(3) Timing of Greenspace Planting. Whenever a greenspace is required in this Code, it must be planted and maintained in accordance with Section 1108.07. Phased installation may be required by the City to ensure protection of adjacent uses.
(4) Greenspace Lawn. The remainder of the greenspace area which is not planted with the aforementioned stock must be kept in lawn or another approved native vegetation. All plant materials must be maintained in a healthy growing condition and in a neat and orderly appearance as required in this Chapter.
(5) Existing Buffering. If an existing wall, fence, or vegetation exists on the site that meets the greenspace buffering standards of this Code, the approving authority may accept the existing screening or require only supplemental screening to meet the purpose of this Chapter.
(e) Berms. Where required, berms must conform to the following standards:
(1) The berm must be at least constructed with slopes no steeper than one (1) foot vertical for each three (3) feet horizontal with at least a two (2) foot flat area on the top unless a different size is required in this Code.
(2) The berm must be planted with grass or other suitable ground cover to ensure that it withstands wind, weather, and erosion, and retains its height and shape.
(3) Unless a specific planting pattern is required by the Code or the Planning Commission, required trees and shrubs may be planted at uniform intervals, at random or in groupings.
(4) Berm height must be measured as elevation above grade.
(f) Garbage, Refuse, and Recycling Collection Areas. All garbage, refuse, and recycling collection areas (i.e., dumpsters) must meet the following requirements:
(1) An enclosure of sufficient height to completely screen the dumpster is required on three sides of the waste receptacle with a solid gate on the fourth side. The height of the enclosure must be not less than six (6) feet or at least one (1) foot above the height of the dumpster, whichever is greater. This requirement specifically supersedes the maximum height requirement of a fence in Section 1106.12
.
(2) The enclosure must be constructed of the same or compatible material and colors of the principal building in terms of texture and quality. For good cause shown, the Planning Commission may waive this requirement.
(3) Enclosures must be set back a minimum of ten (10) feet from any property line, excluding the C-D District.
(g) Mechanical and Utility Equipment Screening. All mechanical equipment, utility meters, storage tanks, air conditioning equipment, transformers, or similar equipment, incidental to any building, must be screened from view off-site and must be an integral part of the architectural or landscape design of the building and site. This requirement does not apply to equipment serving a single-family or two-family unit.
(Ord. 2021-057. Passed 6-16-21.)