(a) It is the intent of this chapter to establish minimum standards for the preservation, installation, and maintenance of landscaping within all districts in order to provide for the orderly, safe, and environmentally sound development and redevelopment of land located within the corporate limits, thereby promoting the health, safety, and general welfare of the community.
(b) Landscape planting and/or vegetation greatly enhance the visual appearance of the community, stabilize and enhance property values, and has beneficial impacts on the community’s overall quality of life.
(c) Vegetation along stream corridors provides riparian buffers, which are storm water practices recognized by the U.S. EPA, that filter and trap sediments, salts, chemicals and other pollutants thus protecting surface and groundwater quality.
(d) The use of trees and other plants to reduce erosion by binding of soil particles with their roots thus holding the soil together against the effects of wind and water.
(e) To promote the preservation and replacement of trees and other vegetation.
(f) To require screening and buffering of incompatible land uses through the use of plantings, fences, masonry walls and earthen mounds in order to minimize the harmful impact of noise, dust, motor vehicle headlight glare or artificial light intrusion on adjoining land uses.
(g) To require landscape islands with shade trees in the interior of parking lots in order to provide shade reducing heat gain on paved surfaces, approve the appearance of the parking lots by reducing the massing of the pavement, and to provide for the delineation of parking aisles, access drives and ring roads to enhance the safety of traffic circulation within the parking lot.
(h) The provisions of this chapter shall be held to be minimum requirements, adopted for the protection and promotion of the public health, safety and general welfare. Whenever the requirements of this chapter are at a variance with the requirements of any other lawfully adopted rules, regulations, ordinances, deed restrictions, or covenants, the most restrictive of that imposing the higher standards shall govern.
(Ord. 09-0-24. Passed 5-19-09.)