1162.06 SCREENING.
   (a)    Screening shall be provided around all service structures (including, but not necessarily limited to, tanks, mechanical equipment, transformers, utility vaults, and such other equipment or elements providing service to the building, whether ground or wall-mounted) and loading dock facilities.
      (1)   The screening shall fully shield such service structures and loading dock facilities from the view of neighboring properties and any public right-of-way.
       (2)   The screening shall consist of plantings, hedge, fence, wall, earthen mound, or a combination of same. In all cases, the primary method shall be the use of evergreen and conifer plantings with the use of man made-made materials or earthen mounds to be relied on secondarily in order to effect the requirements of this section.
      (3)   The height of the screening shall be one foot more than the height of the service structure except in instances where evergreen or conifer plant material is used, in which case the height of the plant material at installation must be equal to or greater than two-thirds of the height of the service structure.
      (4)   No screening shall conflict with any duly promulgated governmental or public utility regulations which may be applicable to the service structure.
   (b)   Trash and refuse containers, collection bins, and all such other containers shall be fully shielded from view by opaque, matching masonry walls or solid fences of a material and color compatible with the principal structure located on the parcel (exclusive of the minimum area needed for accessibility to the container or bin).
      (1)   An opaque gate shall be installed where accessibility is required and shall remain closed at all times the container or bin is not presently being accessed.
      (2)   All such walls, fences, and gates shall be a minimum of six (6) feet in height or one foot higher than the container or bin, whichever is greater.
      (3)   Additional landscaping, where space permits, shall be installed along any side, exclusive of the gate, when it is visible from a public right-of-way or neighboring parcel. Landscape materials shall provide a minimum of seventy-five (75%) percent coverage of the side when the planting has reached maturity. Evergreen or conifers shall be the primary plant materials used. The height of the plant material at installation shall be equal to or greater than two-thirds of the height of the walls or fence.
(Ord. 09-0-24. Passed 5-19-09.)