(a) Applicability. The following shall govern the landscaping and screening of parking lots in the Municipality:
(1) Scope. Where new or expanded off- street parking spaces for motor vehicles are created, the regulations and standards of this section shall apply.
(2) Alteration or expansion. Where an existing parking lot containing less than 20 contiguous parking spaces is expanded and thereby contains 20 or more contiguous parking spaces, landscaping and screening for the entire parking area shall be provided and not merely to the extent of its expansion.
(3) Maintenance. The duty to provide and maintain landscaping or screening for all such areas shall be the responsibility of the owner or agent of public record of the use for which parking lots are required. Landscaped areas shall be healthy, maintained in good condition and free of all trash, weeds and other rubbish.
The Municipality reserves the right to maintain the landscaping or screen if the owner or his or her agent fails to do so within six months of notification by the Zoning Officer. The Municipality reserves the right to assess the cost of maintenance to the property tax bill for the subject property.
(b) Total landscaping required. The total landscaping and screening required for parking lots is 22 square feet per parking and stacking space. Interior and streetscape landscaping count toward the minimum square feet of landscaping required per parking space.
(c) Screening and interior landscaping standards. Screening and interior landscaping shall comply with the following standards:
(1) Design.
A. Interior landscape areas shall be peninsular or island types. This shall include landscaped parking islands or peninsulas, natural or landscaped detention basins located in the front or side yards, and the required streetscape landscaping area.
B. Boundary screening areas shall not be counted as landscape areas for purposes of this section.
C. Screening for off-street parking lots shall be required when the parking lot is located within the front yard in order to soften the visual impact of the parking lot and parked vehicles. Screening shall follow the requirements of Sections 1295.05, Landscaping and Screen Standards and 1295.06, Screening and Buffering Required. With the exception of trees, screening materials are recommended to be between three and one-half and four and one-half feet in height.
(2) Location. All parking spaces must be at least within 125 feet of a landscaped area.
(3) Minimum area. The minimum landscape area shall be 100 square feet with a minimum width and length of ten feet.
(4) Surface. Any landscape area provided for under this section shall not contain bare soil. Any ground area shall be covered with stones, mulch, vegetative ground cover, or other surface permeable by water.
(5) Retention basins. Natural or landscaped detention basins may count toward minimum square footage landscaping requirements when the basins are in the front or side yards. Retention basins are encouraged to be designed as rain gardens which naturally filter surface runoff water prior to transmitting it into the ground. Rain gardens shall follow the general design guidelines established in the handbook, Rain Garden Guidelines for Southwest Ohio published by the Ohio State University Extension Office and shall be reviewed and approved by the Municipal Engineer.
(6) Traffic visibility. No landscaping shall obscure visibility at vehicular intersections with the parking area or other areas where clear visibility is necessary to assure safe circulation. Where safe visibility is impaired, canopy trees shall have branches removed from the trunk at least five feet above the ground and shrubs or ground cover shall not exceed two feet in height. Evergreen trees and understory trees that would impair visibility for safe circulation shall not be planted in these areas.
(d) Determination of interior landscape requirements. The landscape requirements shall be computed as follows:
(1) Interior landscape area requirement. Determine the landscape area by multiplying the landscape area requirement of 22 sq. ft. per parking and stacking space by the total number of parking spaces on the lot.
(2) Planting requirements. To determine the minimum number of canopy trees, use the rate of one canopy tree for each ten parking spaces for retail uses and two canopy trees for each ten parking spaces for non-retail uses. Any fractional number of trees shall be calculated to the next highest whole number. To determine the total number of required shrubs, multiply the total number of required canopy trees by three. One canopy tree may substitute for three shrubs. Trees and shrubs do not have to be equally spaced, but may be grouped.
(e) Overlap. When any portion of the parcel is subject to more than one set of landscape or buffer requirements as set forth in this or any other chapter, the most stringent requirement shall control. The most stringent requirements shall be defined as those which require the highest fence, wall or screen or, if no fence, wall or screen is required, the requirements with the greatest quantity of landscaping.
(f) Credit. Existing trees and shrubs, fences, walls or berms on a parcel may be used to meet the requirements if they meet the standards established in this chapter and are approved as credit by the Planning Commission.
(g) Plant installation and maintenance standards. All new plant material as part of the requirements for this chapter shall be in accordance with Chapter 1295 Screening and Landscaping.
(h) Modifications. In the event that the unusual topography or elevation of a development site, the size of the parcel to be developed, the extent of expansion or redevelopment of the site or parking area is deemed to be insignificant, or the presence of existing buffers on adjacent developed property would make strict adherence to the requirements of this chapter serve no meaningful purpose or would make it physically impossible to install and maintain the required landscaping, the Planning Commission may, upon proper application by the property owner, and upon making findings of fact, modify the requirements of this chapter provided the existing or resulting landscape features of the development site comply with the spirit and intent of this chapter, Chapter 1295 and other related chapters.
(i) Authority. The Planning Commission has the authority to review and approve any proposed landscape modifications.
(Ord. 17-2013, passed 9-24-2013)