When required, a landscape plan shall conform to the following standards:
(a) A landscape plan is required for each proposed development. The landscape plan may be prepared by a landscape design professional or nurseryman experienced in landscape design and the installation and care of plant materials. The City Landscape Architect may require the landscape plan(s) to be sealed by an Ohio Registered Landscape Architect.
(b) Preservation of Existing Features. Existing trees and shrubs shall be preserved wherever feasible.
(1) When existing healthy trees or significant natural landscape features impede strict compliance with the standards, the submittal of an alternative landscape plan, which incorporates such existing features into the overall site design is encouraged.
(2) Existing trees may be used to fulfill landscape requirements if such trees are in a healthy and growing condition and not of a species listed in Section § 771.50, Table H: Non-Qualifying Trees. Existing trees used to fulfill requirements of this chapter must be identified on the plan with genus, species and caliper size.
(3) Existing trees to remain shall be protected from construction activities through the use of construction fences, barricades, or other applicable methods during site preparation and construction. Protection measures shall be placed outside of the critical root area (CRA) of the plant material to be retained. The CRA shall be defined as the area under tree branches from the drip line to the trunk or a circular area under the tree that is twenty-four times greater than the trunk of the tree at four and a half feet (4'-6") above the ground and the center of that circular area including the trunk of the tree. These barricades shall remain in place during construction, and no vehicle, machinery, tools, chemicals, construction materials, or temporary soil deposits may be permitted within the barriers, nor may any notice or other object be nailed or stapled to protected trees. Proposed tree protection barriers shall be delineated and clearly labeled on the Site Grading and Demolition Plans.
(4) A minimum of seventy-five percent of the protected area shall be maintained as permanently as permeable landscape area, preserved at grades existing prior to site development.
(5) Tree wells, tree walls, or specialized fill and pavement designs shall be required in cut and fill situations and shall be fully detailed on the Landscape Plan.
(c) All landscape plans submitted for approval as a component of a required development plan shall be prepared to a legible scale and shall contain the following information:
(1) The location and dimensions of all existing and proposed structures, parking lots and drives, roadways and right-of-way, sidewalks, refuse disposal areas, utility lines and easements, freestanding structural features, signs, and other site improvements, such as earth berms, walls, fences, screens and paved areas;
(2) The names and addresses of the owner, developer, and plan preparer, the date the plan was prepared, scale, and north arrow;
(3) The placement, quantity, size, and name - both botanical and common - of all proposed planting materials;
(4) The location, size, and common name of existing trees and individual shrubs, areas of dense trees or shrubs, and other natural features, indicating which are to be preserved and which are to be removed;
(5) The placement of barriers and protection measures as required by Section 771.02 (b) (3) to be placed at the trees to be preserved, and the type of material to be used for the barrier;
(6) Details indicating specific grading measures or other protective devices where trees are to be preserved in areas of cut and fill; and
(7) Planting and installation details as necessary to ensure conformance with all required standards.
(8) Cost estimate of installed landscape plan.
(Ord. 41-10. Passed 9-26-11.)