(a) All off street parking areas, off street loading areas, outdoor storage areas, refuse and recycling areas, and utility improvements such as transformer(s), external heating and cooling equipment shall be effectively screened.
(b) Such screening shall be a permanently maintained landscape of trees and shrubs. The landscaping shall be designed to minimize erosion and stormwater runoff, and to protect neighboring residential properties from the view of uses and parking areas on the site. For landscaping requirements, see Section 1355.05.
(c) The screening shall be along the lot lines that adjoin, abut, or are adjacent to or face premises situated in any residential zone or institutional buildings. It shall be of evergreen planting of such type, height, and spacing, as in the judgment of the Planning Administrator or Planning Commission, will effectively screen the activities on the lot from the view of persons standing on adjoining properties. The plan and specifications for such planting shall be filed with the approved plan for the use of the lot.
(d) A wall or fence, of location, height, and design approved by the Planning Administrator or Planning Commission, may be substituted for the required planting.
(e) Modifications. Where the existing topography and/or landscaping provides adequate screening or would render the normally required screening inadequate, the Planning Administrator or Planning Commission may modify the planting and/or buffer requirements by, respectively, decreasing or increasing the requirements.