(a) Buffers and screening may be required help mitigate impacts associated when different land use types are located next to each other and to eliminate or minimize potential nuisances such as dirt, litter, noise, glare of lights, signs, and unsightly buildings or parking areas, or to provide spacing to reduce adverse impacts of noise, odor, or danger from fires or explosions. Physical buffers and visual screens between different, adjoining land uses are critical design elements that should be utilized to reduce undesirable visual impacts. In highly developed urban areas, visual screens should be a combination of structural elements (walls and fences) and non-structural, natural elements (berms and plantings). Structural screens should appear as extensions of a building's design repeating architectural features including building materials, textures and colors. Screening walls should not be painted, but constructed from high quality, long-lasting materials (such as brick, stone, and decorative block). A combination of structural screens and natural landscape plant materials should be provided between parking lots and sidewalks or other pedestrian use areas.
(b) Screening shall be required when nonresidential buildings or incompatible uses are proposed to be located next to land that is zoned with a residential category.