All landscaping must comply with the following minimum standards:
(a) Site Trees. One tree per 1,000 square feet of non-paved surface must be provided, in addition to other trees required elsewhere.
(b) Frontage Landscaping. When a site abuts a road right-of-way, frontage landscaping must be provided in the front yard area adjacent to or within the right-of-way per the table below. For the purposes of computing length of road frontage, openings for driveways and sidewalks are not counted towards the total linear frontage. Trees and shrubs may be planted at uniform intervals, at random, or in groupings.
Type of Frontage Landscaping | Min. Required per Linear Foot of Road Frontage (or fraction thereof) |
Deciduous Trees | 1 per 20 linear ft. |
Ornamental (Flowering) Trees | 1 per 50 linear ft. |
Shrubs | 8 per 40 linear ft. |
(c) Parking Lot Landscaping. To improve the safety of pedestrian and vehicular traffic, guide traffic movement, and improve the appearance of parking lots, off-street parking lots (with twenty or more parking spaces) must dedicate at least five percent of the total parking lot area to interior landscape islands: each island must be a minimum size of 150 square feet, contain at least one deciduous tree, and covered with mulch, grasses, or groundcover.
(d) Parking Lot Screening. Screening adjacent to a parking lot is not required if the parking surface area is completely screened from the right-of-way by an intervening building or structure. Where a parking lot is located adjacent to sidewalks, streets, and other rights-of-way, screening must be provided within ten-feet of the parking lot with the following (or a combination thereof):
(1) Vegetative buffer. A ten-foot-wide greenbelt with an evergreen or deciduous hedge, at least three-feet in height. The landscaping must be planted to provide an unbroken visual screen within three-years and no plant material may be located within two-feet from the front of a parking space curb (to account for vehicle overhang).
(2) Screen wall/fence. A decorative masonry wall or black aluminum fencing, at least three-feet in height. Walls must contain a stone or masonry cap and fences must incorporate stone or masonry piers at regular intervals.
(e) Screening from Residential Uses. All non-residential uses that abut a residentially used property must provide screening by one or a combination of the following:
(1) A reinforced, decorative masonry wall, six-feet in height above grade, with a stone cap.
(2) A ten-foot-wide greenbelt with evergreen trees forming a continuous screen (trees planted 10-15 feet apart (on center) in two staggered rows).
(3) A six-foot in height earth berm, with a slope (measured on the cross-section) no greater than 1:3 and at least a two-foot-wide planting area at its crest, and landscaped.
(f) Landscaping Adjacent to Buildings. All building walls visible from a right-of-way or publicly accessible area must have a three-foot-wide landscape area adjacent to them for at least twenty-five percent of their total width. This area may include inground landscaping, raised landscape beds, decorative landscape containers, or a combination thereof.
(g) Dumpster/Refuse Containers. Unless otherwise required in this Code, such containers and permitted outdoor storage must be screened by:
(1) A decorative masonry or composite wall, at least six-feet in height above grade, or one-foot above the object which it is screening, whichever is greater.
(2) An opaque gate (constructed from metal or wood) is required; chain link fencing with obscuring fabric or slats is prohibited.
(h) Loading Zone Screening. Loading zones (including service areas, staging areas, truck docks, etc.), must be screened from adjacent residentially used land and rights-of-way with a decorative masonry wall, building wing wall, or densely planted landscape buffer, or other means acceptable to the Planning Commission.
(i) Mechanical and Utility Equipment Screening. Transformers, mechanical equipment, and other above ground utility cabinets must be screened with evergreen plantings or a decorative opaque fence at least one-foot taller than the height of the cabinet/equipment. This requirement does not apply to equipment serving one- or two-family dwelling units.
(Ord. 2023-01. Passed 2-7-23.)