(a) Screening of Service Areas. In addition to the other forms of required landscaping, screening shall be required to conceal specific areas of high visual or auditory impact or hazardous areas from adjacent, less intensive uses and from views from public rights-of-way. Such areas shall be screened at all times, unless otherwise specified, regardless of adjacent uses, districts, or other proximate landscaping material.
(1) The following areas shall be screened in accordance with this section:
A. Large waste receptacles (e.g., dumpsters and cardboard recycling containers) and refuse collection areas;
B. Accessory outdoor storage and bulk sales;
C. Pipes, conduit, and cables associated with the building or use;
D. Outdoor service areas that are necessary to support common business operations (e.g., outdoor freezer or refrigeration units, storage units, etc.);
E. Ground-level or facade-mounted mechanical equipment; and
F. Rooftop equipment that is not otherwise hidden by the roofline, parapet wall, or other similar features.
(2) Screening shall not be required if any of the above items are not visible from adjacent rights-of-way or from adjacent lots in residential zoning districts.
(3) All sides of the item shall be screened with the exception that one side of the item may be screened with a gate or other similar feature to allow access while screening the item when access is not necessary.
(4) Screening Methods.
A. The following items are permitted for use as screening materials, and more than one method may be used on a lot or site.
i. Vegetative materials that provide a fully opaque screen to the minimum height necessary to fully screen the facility from off-site views (See Figure 1117-B.); or
iii. Integration into the building design (e.g., false walls or other architectural screening) that utilizes the same building materials and colors as the principal building.
Figure 1117-B: The above image illustrates a vegetative screen that
hides HVAC equipment and a dumpster.
B. The required screening shall have a height sufficient enough to screen the applicable item(s), provided it is in accordance with any other applicable sections of this code.
C. To the maximum extent feasible, pipes, conduit, and cables should be located along the rear facade of buildings if conditions do not allow for them to be enclosed within the building itself. Pipes, conduit, and cables shall be located as far away from public view as practical and shall be painted a similar color as the building facade to further reduce visibility.
D. In all cases, fences and walls are limited to the heights allowed by Section 1113.05 unless the wall used for screening is an extension of the principal building, in which case, the wall may be the same height as the principal building wall from which it is extended. See Figure 1117-C.
Figure 1117-C: The above image illustrates a wall and fence that is an extension of the principal building that is designed to screen outdoor storage areas.
(b) Street Frontage Screening. Within the front yard area required in the M-1, C-2, C-3, C-4, I-1, and P-I Districts, the following minimum plant material shall be provided to provide a decorative screening along any street frontage:
(1) One (1) tree with a caliper of at least two (2) inches for every fifty (50) lineal feet of street frontage or a fraction thereof, not including access driveways; or
(2) One (1) shrub, at least thirty (30) inches in height, for every ten (10) lineal feet of lot frontage or a fraction thereof, not including access driveways.
(3) The planted material required above may be placed in varying intervals or clustered in groups of plantings, provided that the total number required for the lot frontage is accomplished. The Planning Commission may make a determination that existing trees satisfy the minimum plant material requirement.
(c) Screening between Land Uses. Where a development on a lot in the M-1, C-2, C-3, C-4, I-1, and P-I Districts has a rear or side lot line that is adjacent to a residential zoning district, the following screening shall be required along such front or side lot line adjacent to the residential district:
(1) The screening material shall include one or a combination of the following:
A. Dense vegetative planting incorporating trees and/or shrubs of a variety that will be effective all year round and which shall be placed a maximum of eight (8) feet apart.
B. Non-living opaque structure such as a solid decorative masonry wall, solidly constructed decorated fence, or louvered fence; or
C. Landscaped mound or berm.
(2) The height of screening required in paragraphs A through C above shall be in accordance with the following:
A. Visual screening, walls, fences, or mounds and fences in combination shall be a minimum of six (6) feet high in order to accomplish the desired screening effect.
B. The required landscaping shall be maintained in healthy condition by the current owner and replaced when necessary. Replacement material shall conform to the original intent of the landscape plan.
(Ord. 2879. Passed 10-23-23.)