(A) Whenever a greenbelt or planting screen is required under the provisions of this chapter, such greenbelt or planting screen shall be subject to the following conditions.
(1) The required greenbelt or planting screen shall be planted with permanent living plant materials within six months from the date of occupancy and shall thereafter be maintained in presentable condition and shall be kept free from refuse and debris; provided further that plant materials shall be continuously maintained in a sound, healthy and vigorous growing condition, and shall be kept free of plant diseases and insect pests.
(2) The selection, spacing and size of plant material shall be such as to create, within a five-year period from the date of planting, a horizontal obscuring effect for the entire length of the required greenbelt area, and a vertical obscuring effect of such height as is determined adequate by the Zoning Board for proper screening between land uses.
(3) The minimum horizontal dimensions of required greenbelt shall be as set forth under the provisions of this chapter for the respective land uses and districts indicated.
(4) In no instance shall the minimum dimensions of plant materials at initial planting be less than the following:
(a) Deciduous shrubs: two feet in height;
(b) Deciduous trees: 114 inches in caliper;
(c) Evergreen shrubs: two feet in height;
(d) Evergreen trees: four feet in height; and
(e) Where under the provisions of this chapter, an option is provided to the developer relative to the substitution of a greenbelt for a required wall or berm, the minimum starting height of plant materials in the greenbelt shall be equivalent to the required wall or berm height.
(B) (1) Whenever a greenbelt or planting screen is required under the provisions of this chapter, a site plan of the parcel to be developed, together with a detailed planting plan of the greenbelt, shall be submitted to the Zoning Board for approval prior to the issuance of a building permit. The site plan shall indicate, to scale, the proposed location and height of buildings and other structures, the location of public walks, roadways and utilities, and the proposed location of off-street parking, loading, service, and outside storage areas and points of ingress-egress to the site. The planting plan shall indicate, to scale, the locations, spacing, starting size and description for each unit of plant material proposed for use within the required greenbelt area, together with the finished grade elevations proposed therein.
(2) The Zoning Board shall review said planting plan relative to:
(a) The proper spacing, placement, and location of plant materials relative to the length and width of greenbelt so to ensure that the required horizontal and vertical obscuring effect of proposed land uses will be achieved;
(b) The choice and selection of plant materials to ensure that root systems will not interfere with public utilities and that fruit and other debris (other than leaves) will not constitute a nuisance within public rights-of-way, or to abutting property owners;
(c) The proposed relationship between deciduous and evergreen plant materials to ensure that a maximum obscuring effect will be maintained throughout the various seasonal periods; and
(d) The size of plant material (both starting and ultimate) to ensure adequate maturity and optimum screening effect of proposed plant materials.
Suggested Plant Materials
| ||||
Evergreen Trees (5-foot minimum height) | Narrow Evergreens (3-foot minimum height) | Tree-Like Shrubs (4-foot minimum height) | Large Deciduous Shrubs (6-foot minimum height) | Large Deciduous Trees (8-foot minimum height) |
Suggested Plant Materials
| ||||
Evergreen Trees (5-foot minimum height) | Narrow Evergreens (3-foot minimum height) | Tree-Like Shrubs (4-foot minimum height) | Large Deciduous Shrubs (6-foot minimum height) | Large Deciduous Trees (8-foot minimum height) |
Douglas-Fir | Blue Columnar Chinese Juniper | Dogwood | Buckthorn | Beech |
Fir | Column Hinoki Cypress | Flowering Crab | Cotoneaster | Birch |
Hemlock | Columnar Giant Arbor-Vitae | Hawthorn | Euonymus | Ginkgo |
Juniper | Douglas Arbor-Vitae | Hornbeam | Forsythia | Hackberry |
Pine | Irish Yew | Magnolia | Hazelnut | Hard Maple |
Spruce | Pyramidal Red- Cedar | Mountain Ash | Honeysuckle | Honey locust |
Pyramidal White Pine | Redbud | Lilac | Hop Hornbeam | |
Swiss Stone Pine | Rose of Sharon | Mock-Orange | Linden | |
Russian Olive | Privet | Planetree (Sycamore) | ||
Sumac | Oak | |||
Viburnum | Sweet-Gum | |||
(Ord. 18-108, passed 5-7-2018)
Cross-reference:
Greenbelts Planting Screen Illustrations; Transition Details, See Appendix A, Illustration 10