The landscaping materials shall consist of the following, and are described in more detail in the Planting Manual and Plant Materials List available at the Division of Planning and the Division of Environmental Services.
(a) Walls and Fences. Walls shall be constructed of natural stone, brick or other weatherproof materials arranged in a linear, serpentine, or other alignment; while fences shall be constructed of wood or other weatherproof, durable materials generally used in the exterior construction of buildings. Fence posts shall be structurally stable based on the material used, and shall have a maximum spacing of 8 feet on center (o.c.). If wood is used, the posts shall be 4 inches × 4 inches minimum. Posts shall be set in or anchored to crowned concrete footers at least six (6) inches larger in each direction than the post it supports. The base of the footer shall be at least twenty-four (24) inches below finished grade. If wood is used for any member, it shall be softwood treated with water-borne preservative to the American Wood Preservers Institute standard LP-2 for above ground use or LP-22 for ground contact use, or all heart redwood, or all heart cedar. All cut surfaces of pressure treated lumber shall be waterproofed. If another material is used, it shall be weatherproof. Slats are to be minimum one-half (½) inch in thickness and are to be placed on the outside of the fence unless the design is two-sided (shadow-box, etc.). All hardware is to be galvanized or otherwise rust-proofed. Wood horizontal members shall be installed bark-side up. Chain link fencing may not be used to meet the requirements of this Article. Chain link fencing may be installed in the required landscape area only if it is in addition to the required continuous planting, hedge, fence, wall or earth mound. All walls or fences shall have a minimum opacity of eighty (80) percent. Walls and fences allowed to meet the requirements of this Article shall not be used for the erection or display of any sign or other advertising device. Height limitations for walls and fences are regulated by zone and land use in Article 15-4(b).
(b) Earth Mounds. Earth mounds shall be physical barriers which block or screen the view similar to a hedge, fence, or wall. Mounds shall be constructed with proper and adequate plant material to prevent erosion. A difference in elevation between areas requiring screening does not constitute an earth mound.
(c) Plants. All plant materials shall be living plants (artificial plants are prohibited) and shall meet the following requirements:
(1) Quality. Plant materials used in conformance with provision of this Zoning Ordinance shall conform to the standards of the American Association of Nurserymen and shall have passed any inspections required under State regulations. Bare root plants, with the exception of shrubs and hedges, vines and ground covers shall be prohibited.
(2) Deciduous Trees. (Trees which normally shed their leaves in the Fall) - Shall be species having an average mature crown spread of greater than fifteen (15) feet in Fayette County and having trunk(s) which can be maintained with over five (5) feet of clear wood in areas which have visibility requirements. Trees having an average mature spread of crown less than fifteen (15) feet may be substituted by grouping of the same so as to create the equivalent of a fifteen (15) crown spread. A minimum of ten (10) feet overall height or a minimum caliper (trunk diameter, measured 6 inches above ground for trees up to 4 inches caliper) of at least one and three-fourths (1¾) inches immediately after planting shall be required. Trees of species whose roots are known to cause damage to public roadways or other public works shall not be planted closer than fifteen (15) feet to such public works, unless the tree root system is completely contained within a barrier for which the minimum interior container dimensions shall be five feet square and five feet deep and for which the construction requirements shall be four (4) inches thick, reinforced concrete. Columnar variety trees of any species may only be permitted upon the express approval of the Division of Environmental Services in accordance with Section 18-6. Any columnar variety tree shall be shall be considered as a small tree and be granted new canopy credit of 100 square feet according to Article 26-5(e).
(3) Evergreen Trees. Evergreen trees shall be a minimum of five (5) feet high with a minimum caliper of one and one-half (1½) inches immediately after planting.
(4) Shrubs and Hedges. Shall be at least twelve (12) inches with three (3) canes for Section 18-3(a)(2), lines 3 and 5, at least two (2) feet with three (3) canes for all other lines of Section 18-3(a)(2), and three (3) feet with four (4) canes for Section 18-3(a)(1) in average height when installed. After approval by the Division of Environmental Services and with the exception of the 12-inch plants, shrubs and hedges may be pruned to one-half (½) the height in accordance with accepted horticultural practices. All plants shall conform to opacity, mature height, and other requirements within four (4) years after the date of the final approval of each planting or replanting. Privet (Ligustrum species) cannot meet the opacity requirements and may not be used to satisfy the requirements of this Article. The height of the planting shall be measured from the level of the surface of the vehicular use area at the edge closest to the screening.
(5) Vines. Shall be at least twelve (12) or fifteen (15) inches high at planting, and are generally used in conjunction with walls or fences.
(6) Grass or Ground Cover. Grass of the fescus (Gramineak) or Bluegrass (Poaceae) family shall be planted in species normally grown as permanent lawns in Fayette County, and may be sodded, plugged, sprigged, or seeded; except in swales or other areas subject to erosion, where solid sod, erosion reducing net, or suitable mulch shall be used, nurse-grass seed shall be sown for immediate protection until complete coverage otherwise is achieved. Grass sod shall be clean and free of weeds and noxious pests or diseases. Ground cover such as organic material shall be planted not more than fifteen (15) inches on center and in such a manner as to present a finished appearance and have seventy-five (75) percent of complete coverage after two (2) complete growing seasons. In certain cases, ground cover also may consist of rocks, pebbles, sand, and similar approved materials.
(d) Maintenance and Installation. All landscaping required by this Article shall be installed and maintained by the owner in compliance with the standards specified in Section 4 of the Planting Manual and the American National Standards (ANSI A300) and, as applicable, the requirements specified in Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government Ordinances No. 1-91 and No. 34-92 (Man o' War Boulevard), No. 134-89 (Old Frankfort Pike), No. 133-89 (Georgetown Road), No. 213-83 and No. 266-87 (Richmond Road), No. 42-98 (Downtown Street Trees), and No. 85-2008 (Newtown Pike), all available in the offices of the Division of Environmental Services; or any other future amendments to these ordinances. Any landscape material that fails to meet the minimum requirements of this Article at the time of installation shall be removed and replaced with acceptable materials. The person in charge of, or in control of, the property, whether as owner, lessee, tenant, occupant, or otherwise, shall be responsible for the continued proper maintenance of all landscaping materials and shall keep them in a proper, neat and orderly appearance, free from refuse and debris, at all times. All unhealthy or dead plant materials shall be replaced within one (1) year, or by the next planting period, whichever comes first; while other defective landscape material shall be replaced or repaired within three (3) months. Sizes for the above-mentioned replacements shall be as provided in Subsection (c)(2) of this section. Topping trees or the severe cutting of limbs to stubs larger than three (3) inches in diameter within the tree crown to such a degree as to remove the normal canopy shall not be considered proper or permitted for the maintenance of trees as required by this Article. Except as provided above, the removal of landscape materials requires the approval of the Division of Environmental Services. When trees are removed, other than as permitted above, such trees shall either be replaced with the necessary number two and one-half (2½)-inch caliper trees to equal the total caliper of trees removed, or with trees of the same caliper as those that were removed. All replacement trees shall be planted in the original location unless an alternate location is approved by the Division of Environmental Services. Violation of these installation and maintenance provisions shall be grounds for the Division of Building Inspection to refuse a building occupancy permit, or for the Division of Environmental Services to require replacement of landscape material or institute legal proceedings to enforce the provisions of this Article.
(Code 1983, § 18-4; Ord. No. 201-86 , § 1, 10-2-1986; Ord. No. 198-87 , § 1, 8-27-1987; Ord. No. 100-96 , § 1, 6-27-1996; Ord. No. 11-2011 , § 1, 2-3-2011; Ord. No. 124-2017 , § 4, 8-31-2017; Ord. No. 45-2019 , § § 1, 2, 7-2-2019; Ord. No. 113-2022, § 12, 10-27-2022)
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