(a) Buffering of Nonresidential Uses; Protective Screen Wall or Landscape Buffer Required Adjacent to Residential Property. The owner of property which is used for business, semipublic, public or other nonresidential purposes shall install and maintain in good condition along the entire edge of said property adjacent to property which is used or zoned for residential purposes either a protective screen wall or, upon Planning Commission determination, a landscape buffer strip. Protective screen walls and buffer strips required hereby shall have the following specifications:
(1) Protective screen wall:
A. The wall shall be of concrete or masonry construction at least five feet high and eight inches thick, and it shall be reinforced with steel pilasters, or the equivalent.
B. It shall contain no openings whatsoever except for such gates as may be approved by the Planning Commission in the course of site plan review.
C. It shall extend the full length of the nonresidential property where such property is also adjacent to the residential district or property used for residential purposes, except that it shall not be erected within twenty feet of a residential front property line.
(2) Landscape buffer strip:
A. The buffer strip shall be a minimum of twelve feet in depth.
B. It shall be graded with a continuous berm at least three feet above the grade elevation at the common property line. A three-foot high concrete or masonry screen wall may be substituted for the berm.
C. All portions of the buffer strip shall be planted with grass, ground cover, shrubbery, or other suitable live plant material.
D. A minimum of one deciduous tree plus one additional deciduous tree shall be planted for each thirty linear feet of required buffer strip length. Required deciduous trees shall be planted at approximately thirty foot intervals, or shall be clustered if the Planning Commission determines that a cluster configuration will provide a more effective buffer.
(3) Fence:
A. The fence shall be constructed of natural materials at least five feet in height. This provision includes landscape fences comprised of living material, such as a hedge, but not a landscape buffer strip, as described in division (2) above. Landscape fences shall meet the minimum height of five feet upon planting, and shall achieve an opaque screen within three years after planting. Constructed fences shall be no taller than six feet in height. Landscape fences shall be allowed to grow beyond the six foot maximum height.
B. The fence or landscape fence shall contain no openings whatsoever except for such gates as may be approved by the Planning Commission in the course of site plan review.
C. The fence or landscape fence shall extend the full length of the nonresidential property where such property is also adjacent to the residential district or property used for residential purposes, except that it shall be reduced in height to thirty inches within twenty feet of a residential front property line.
(b) Buffering of Business, Semipublic, Public, or Other Nonresidential Uses Adjacent to a Public Thoroughfare. The owner of property used for business, semipublic, public or other nonresidential uses shall install and maintain in good condition a landscape buffer strip along the entire edge of said property adjacent to a public thoroughfare right-of-way. The buffer strip shall be designed and landscaped as follows:
(1) The buffer strip shall be a minimum of six feet in depth.
(2) It may be interrupted at not more than fifteen percent of its required length to provide for vehicular access, except that the buffer strip may be interrupted at more than fifteen percent of its required length if necessary to provide for one vehicular access and one egress lane.
(3) Grass, ground cover, or other suitable live plant material shall be planted over the entire buffer strip area, except that paving may be used in areas of intensive pedestrian circulation.
(4) A minimum of one deciduous tree, plus one additional deciduous tree shall be planted for each thirty linear feet of required buffer strip length. Paved areas used for pedestrian circulation and vehicular access shall be counted in measuring the length of the buffer strip for the purpose of determining the required number of trees. Trees shall be planted at thirty-foot intervals, or shall be clustered if the Planning Commission determines that a cluster configuration will provide a more effective buffer.
(5) Brick or other decorative paving material shall be utilized over ten percent of the pedestrian circulation area incorporated in the site plan.
(c) Screening and Landscaping of Parking Areas Adjacent to or Visible From Public Thoroughfares and Residential Districts. The owner of an off-street parking area adjacent to or visible from a public right-of-way or residential area shall install and maintain in good condition the following landscaping:
(1) Off-street parking areas shall be screened from public thoroughfares and Residential Districts by a thirty-six inch high brick wall around the periphery of the parking area. Other masonry may be substituted with Planning Commission approval. The wall may be interrupted at not more than twenty percent of its required length if necessary to provide for vehicular access, except that the wall may be interrupted at more than twenty percent of its required length if necessary to provide for one vehicular access and one egress lane. The wall may be omitted along the portion of the parking and vehicular-use area periphery which lies adjacent to a protective screen wall or landscape buffer strip of the type required in subsection (a) hereof, and along the portion of the parking and vehicular use area periphery which lies adjacent to a building on the same lot as the parking area. The thirty-six inch high berm completely covered with live landscape material may be substituted for the wall with Planning Commission approval.
(2) Off-street parking areas shall have a minimum of one deciduous tree for every ten parking spaces.
(d) Buffering of Multiple Dwellings Adjacent to Streets and Single-Family Residential Areas. The owner of property used for multiple-dwelling purposes shall install and maintain in good condition a landscape buffer at least twenty feet in depth along the entire edge of said property adjacent to a public right-of-way line or a single-family residential area.
The buffer strip shall be designed and landscaped as follows:
(1) The buffer strip may be interrupted at not more than twenty percent of its required length to provide for vehicular access, except that it may be interrupted at more than twenty percent of its required length if necessary to provide for one vehicular access and one egress lane.
(2) All portions of the buffer strip shall be planted with grass, ground cover, shrubbery, or other suitable plant material.
(3) A minimum of one deciduous tree plus one additional deciduous tree shall be planted for each thirty linear feet of required buffer strip length. Required trees need not be planted at thirty foot intervals, but may be located along the buffer strip as desired by the complying property owner.
(4) Paved areas used for pedestrian circulation and vehicular access shall be counted in measuring the length of the buffer strip for the purpose of determining the required number of trees. Trees need not be planted at uniform intervals, but may be grouped at certain locations along the buffer strip.
(e) Landscape Open-Space Area. Whenever in this Zoning Code a landscaped open-space area is required, it shall be landscaped according with the following standards:
(1) All portions of the landscaped open-space area shall be planted with grass, ground cover, shrubbery, or other suitable plant material, except that paved active recreation areas, patios, terraces, pedestrian circulation areas, swimming pools, and other similar site components may be incorporated with the approval of the Planning Commission. Where paved patios, terraces, pedestrian circulation areas, and decks adjacent to swimming pools, spas, hot tubs and similar facilities are used, at least 10% of these areas shall be paved with brick or other decorative paving material.
(2) A minimum of one deciduous tree plus one additional deciduous tree shall be planted for each 1,000 square feet of required landscaped open-space area. Required trees may be planted at uniform intervals, at random or in groupings.
(3) The total landscaped open-space area required shall be the basis for determining the number of trees irrespective of the portion of the required landscaped open-space area which is devoted to active recreational purposes, patios, terraces, or pedestrian circulation.
(f) Landscaping of Rights-of-Way and Other Adjacent Public Open-Space Areas. Public rights-of-way and other public open-space areas adjacent to required buffer strips and landscaped open-space areas shall be planted with grass or other suitable ground cover and maintained by the owner of the adjacent property as if they were part of required buffer strips and landscaped open-space areas.
(g) Regulations Pertaining to Landscaping Areas Used for Sight Distance. When a driveway intersects a public right-of-way or when the subject property abuts the intersection of public rights-of-way, all landscaping within the corner triangular areas described below shall permit unobstructed cross-visibility. Shrubs located in the triangular areas shall not be permitted to grow to a height of more than thirty inches above the pavement grade at the edge of the pavement. Required protective screen walls must be installed outside sight distance triangular areas. Portions of required berms located within sight distance triangular areas shall not exceed a height of thirty inches above the pavement grade at the edge of the pavement. Trees may be planted and maintained in this area, provided that all branches are trimmed to maintain a clear vision for a vertical height of eight feet above the roadway surface. Landscaping, except grass or ground cover, shall not be located closer than three feet from the edge of an accessway pavement.
The triangular areas referred to above are:
(1) The area formed at a corner intersection of a public right-of way and a driveway, two sides of the triangle area being ten feet in length measured along the right-of-way line and driveway line and the third side being a line connecting these two sides.
(2) The area formed at a corner intersection of two public right-of-way lines, the two sides of the triangular area being thirty feet in length measured along the abutting public right-of-way line and the third side being a line connecting these two sides.
(Ord. 106. Passed 12-9-81; Ord. 106A-116. Passed 11-9-20; Ord. 106A-121. Passed 3-13-24.)