Mechanical Equipment Screening: Mechanical equipment including but not limited to heating, air conditioning, ventilation, and other similar equipment shall be screened as follows.
A. For new construction, rooftop equipment must be screened as follows:
1. The parapet wall, false roof, or other building element shall provide one hundred percent (100%) screening of mechanical equipment from the adjacent roadways, adjacent properties, adjacent waterways, and the site itself.
2. The parapet wall, false roof, or building element shall be constructed of the same materials used in the construction of the principal building or structure and shall be designed to be architecturally integrated with the building's overall design.
3. If, due to exceptional circumstances, one of these options cannot effectively screen the mechanical equipment, the use of a rooftop screen may be considered at the discretion of the Zoning Officer.
B. For building additions and for new mechanical equipment installed on existing buildings, a parapet wall or false roof which meets the requirements of Section 10-3-35A shall be used to screen rooftop mechanical equipment whenever practical. When these options are not practical due to the architecture of the existing building, a rooftop screen may be used as follows:
1. The rooftop screen shall be permanently attached to the building.
2. The rooftop screen shall be located so as not to interfere with access to or operation of the equipment.
3. The rooftop screen shall be as tall as the equipment which it is screening.
4. The rooftop screen shall provide at least eighty-five percent (85%) screening of mechanical equipment from the adjacent roadways, adjacent properties, adjacent waterways, and the site itself.
5. The rooftop screen shall be designed to be architecturally integrated with the building's overall design in terms of materials, color, scale, and architectural details.
6. Louvered, slatted, and perforated screening systems may be used. Multiple offset sheets or walls may be needed in order to maintain airflow but to achieve the required screening.
7. In certain circumstances, such as when the adjacent roadway is raised, a fully-enclosed screening system with a roof may need to be used.
C. All ground-mounted mechanical equipment over thirty inches (30") in height must be screened from view by a fence, wall, dense hedge, or combination of such features providing at least eighty five percent (85%) direct view blocking. The hedge, fence or wall must be at least as tall as the tallest part of the equipment. The hedge, if used, must be this tall at the time of planting.
D. The following are exempt from the requirements of this section:
1. Solar panels, wind energy or similar renewable energy devices.
2. Rooftop mechanical equipment less than one-foot (1') in height.
3. Taller equipment, such as chimneys, that cannot be practically screened with parapet walls, false roofs, other building elements, or rooftop screens when they are framed out in like-kind building materials or otherwise integrated into the architectural design of the building at the discretion of the Zoning Officer.
4. Mechanical equipment incidental to single family detached and single family attached residential structures.
5. Communication devices in accordance with all applicable state or federal law and FCC regulations. (Ord. 20-1988, 9- 22-2020)