(a) Manufacturing-Industrial Zones (M-1) that adjoin residential zones (R-8, R-12, R-12A). A planted buffer shall reach a minimum height of eight (8) feet. Plants used on a buffer shall be a species that forms a continuous year-round opaque screen within three (3) years after planting. The planted buffer shall be composed of two (2) rows of plants no more than ten (10) feet apart in each row. One of the plant types listed in Section 9-3046.1.4 shall be used, and the plants shall be located no further apart than the distance indicated for each plant type. The planted buffer area shall be at least ten (10) feet wide.
(b) Commercial or Business Zones (B-1, B-2, O-I) that adjoin residential zones (R-8, R-12, R-12A) and non-residential uses in residential zones (R-8, R-12, R-12A). A planted buffer shall reach a minimum height of six (6) feet. Plants used on a buffer shall be a species that forms a continuous year-round opaque screen within three (3) years after planting. The planted buffer shall be composed of one (1) row of plants no more than ten (10) feet apart in the row. One of the plant types listed in Section 9-3046.1.4 shall be used, and the plants shall be located no further apart than the distance indicated for each plant type. The planted buffer area shall be at least ten (10) feet wide.
(c) Required buffer heights and topographic considerations. The required height of the planted buffer shall be measured with the elevation of the edge of the adjacent area to be screened. In such cases, as the ground elevation of the location at which the screen is to be planted is less than the elevation of the proposed building site, the required height of the screen shall be increased in an amount equal to the said difference in elevation.
(d) Plant types and spacing. Below are listed the types of plants that shall be used in planted buffers and the maximum distance each plant type shall be planted apart. Substitution for another plant type not listed is to be made in writing to the zoning administrator and is subject to verification that the proposed plant will thrive and provide adequate screening. No more than thirty (30) percent of the total plantings in a buffer shall be deciduous plants.
Plant | Distance Apart (in feet) |
Plant | Distance Apart (in feet) |
Arbor Vitae | 4 |
Ligustrum Japonicum and varieties | 5 |
Photinia | 5 |
Holly | 5 |
a. Nellie R. Stevens | 5 |
b. Fosters #2 | 4 |
c. Savannah | 4 |
d. Bufordi | 5 |
Eleangnus Pungens | 5 |
Osmanthus Varieties | 4 |
Pfitzer Juniper | 4 |
Doublefle Viburnum | 5 |
Forsythia | 3 |
White Pine | 8 to 10 |
Scotch Pine | 5 to 6 |
Deodara Cedar | 8 to 10 |
Dogwood | 8 to 10 |
Flowering Cherry | 8 to 10 |
Flowering Crabapple | 8 to 10 |
Bradford Pear | 8 to 10 |
Oak | 8 to 10 |
Linden | 8 to 10 |
Leyland Cypress | 8 to 10 |
(Ord. of 1/10/05; Ord. of 12/6/10; Ord. of 6/28/21)