§ 137-815. Landscaping and screening regulations.

Landscaping and screening shall be provided for all development in all commercial districts in accordance with the following regulations:

(1)

Landscaping and screening in yards.

a.

All required yards shall be landscaped. The landscaping of these yards shall, at a minimum, consist of a combination of living vegetation, such as trees and shrubs as specified in this section and grasses or ground cover materials, planted or transplanted and maintained, or preserved as existing natural vegetation areas.

b.

Landscaping and screening of the front yard, or in the case of a through lot, all front yards, shall consist of trees planted in accordance with one of the two following alternatives:

1.

If deciduous shade (overstory) trees are used:

(i)

There shall be a minimum of one tree planted at every 40 feet on center of linear distance within all front yards.

(ii)

These required trees may be grouped together in the required front yard; however, in no case shall spacing between the trees exceed 40 feet.

2.

If deciduous ornamental (under-story) trees are used:

(i)

There shall be one tree planted at a minimum of every 25 feet on center of linear distance within the required front yard.

(ii)

These required trees may be grouped together in the required front yard; however, in no case shall spacing between the trees exceed 25 feet.

(iii)

Deciduous shade trees and deciduous ornamental trees may be grouped together in the required yards; however, in no case shall spacing between a deciduous shade tree and a deciduous ornamental tree exceed 25 feet.

c.

Screening in the front yard or in the case of a through lot, all front yards, of the project shall consist of one or a combination of the following three alternatives:

1.

An ornamental or decorative fence of not more than 48 inches in height may be used in conjunction with the required landscaping.

2.

An earthen berm may be used in conjunction with the required landscaping. The berm shall be a maximum height of 48 inches, have a side-slope of no greater than 3:1, and shall be planted and covered with live vegetation.

3.

A plant material screen composed of a compact hedge of evergreen or densely twigged deciduous shrubs may be used in conjunction with the required landscaping.

d.

For all parking areas located in the front yard, there shall be provided and maintained along the front of the parking area, a screen of a minimum height of 36 inches along a minimum of 75 percent of the linear distance of the parking area, excluding the linear width of driveways, with a decorative fence, earthen berm, or plant material screen.

e.

The ground area between such decorative fence, earthen berm, or plant material screen and the property line shall be planted and maintained in grass or other suitable ground cover.

f.

A minimum of one-half of the required trees shall also be planted between the property line and the decorative fence, earthen berm, or plant material screen.

g.

Landscaping and screening in the required side and rear yards shall be provided and maintained according to the following minimum standards:

1.

Landscaping in the required side and rear yards shall consist of trees planted in accordance with one of the three following alternatives:

(i)

If deciduous shade (over-story) trees are used there shall be one tree planted at a minimum of every 60 feet on center of linear distance along all required side and rear yards. These required trees may be grouped together in the side and rear yards; however in no case shall be spacing between the trees exceed 60 feet.

(ii)

If deciduous ornamental (understory) trees are used there shall be one tree planted at a minimum of every 40 feet on center of linear distance along all required side and rear yards. These required trees may be grouped together in the side and rear yards; however, in no case shall spacing between the trees exceed 40 feet.

(iii)

Deciduous shade trees and deciduous ornamental trees may be grouped together in the required yards; however, in no case shall the spacing between a deciduous shade tree and a deciduous ornamental tree exceed 40 feet.

2.

Screening in the required interior side yard and rear yard of the project may include:

(i)

An ornamental or decorative fence of up to a maximum height of seven feet may be used in conjunction with required landscaping.

(ii)

An earthen berm may be used in conjunction with the required landscaping. It shall have a maximum height of seven feet, have a minimum crown width of two feet, a side-slope of no greater than 3:1, and shall be planted and covered with live vegetation.

(iii)

A plant material screen consisting of a compact hedge of evergreen or densely twigged deciduous shrubs may used in conjunction with the required landscaping.

h.

All ornamental or decorative fencing, earthen berms, plant material screens, shrubs, trees, structures or other objects shall permit completely unobstructed visibility within the vision clearance area.

i.

Barbed wire, razor wire, and electrified fences shall not be permitted on any property within any commercial district.

j.

The minimum size of all required landscape plant materials, at the time of planting, including replacement trees and shrubs, shall be as follows:

1.

Deciduous shade (overstory) trees shall be 2½-inch caliper at six inches above the ground.

2.

Deciduous ornamental (under-story) trees shall be 1½-inch caliper at six inches above the ground.

3.

Multistemmed trees shall be at least eight feet in height.

4.

Evergreen trees shall be at least six feet in height.

5.

Deciduous or evergreen shrubs shall be at least two feet in height. Shrubs shall be planted at a maximum of four feet on center of linear distance along the property line.

6.

Shrubs used to screen parking lots shall be a minimum of 18 inches in height.

k.

All trees and shrubs shall be planted or transplanted in accordance with the standards contained in American Standard for Nursery Stock, copyrighted in 1986 by the American Association of Nurserymen and approved May 2, 1986, by the American National Standards Institute, Inc. or as hereafter may subsequently be amended. All trees and shrubs shall be mulched and maintained to give a clean and weed free appearance.

l.

Existing trees already located on the property may fulfill the requirements for tree planting in required yards as long as the standards specified above are met.

m.

The removal of any existing live tree of over four-inch caliper measured at 4½ feet above the ground or any existing shrub or evergreen tree over six feet in height shall be prohibited except to facilitate the placement of utilities or to provide for necessary easements or drainage improvements. Removal of said tree shall require the replanting of replacement tree so the total number of trees replanted equals the total number of trees removed. Replanting of replacement trees shall occur within six months of removal, or the next planting season, whichever occurs first.

n.

All existing trees which are to be preserved shall be maintained without injury and with sufficient area for the root system to sustain the tree. Protective care and physical restraint barriers at the drip line, such as temporary protective fencing, shall be provided to prevent alteration, compaction, or increased depth of the soil in the root system area prior to and during groundwork and construction. Heavy equipment traffic and the storage of construction equipment or materials shall not occur within the drip line of the tree.

(2)

Landscaping requirements for interior of parking lots.

a.

The purpose of parking lot interior landscaping is to help reduce glare and heat buildup; to promote interior islands for pedestrian safety and traffic separation; to visually break up large expanses of pavement; and to reduce surface runoff.

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b.

The interior of any parking lot shall be landscaped based on the following minimum standards:

Total Number of Parking Spaces	Required Interior Landscape Area
Less than 50 spaces required	None required
50 or more spaces required	Minimum 15 square feet per parking space

 

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c.

The minimum size of a required interior landscaping area shall be 108 square feet. No planting area shall be less than six feet in dimension, measured from the inside of the permanent barrier to inside of permanent barrier, except those portions created by turning radii or angles of parking spaces.

d.

Required interior landscaped areas shall be in the ground and not be placed upon a pavement surface.

e.

A permanent barrier, such as curbing or wheel stops, shall enclose each interior landscaped area in order to minimize damage from vehicles and pedestrians, and improve parking lot maintenance.

f.

Regardless of any language elsewhere in this section, there shall be at least one tree provided for each 20 parking spaces.

g.

Trees located at the end of a parking bay shall be deciduous shade (overstory) or deciduous ornamental (understory).

h.

Trees located in any other portion of the interior landscaped area may be deciduous shade (overstory), deciduous ornamental (understory) or evergreen.

i.

The minimum size for trees shall be:

1.

Two and one-half-inch calipers at six inches above the ground for deciduous shade (overstory);

2.

Two and one-half-inch caliper at six inches above the ground at the time of planting for deciduous ornamental (understory); and

3.

Six feet in height for evergreen trees.

j.

Each tree shall be a minimum of 2½ feet from the outside of any permanent barrier of a landscaped area or edge of the parking area.

k.

Hardy ground cover or grasses shall be planted to cover each interior landscaped area completely within three years. All ground cover shall have a mature height of not more than 2½ feet.

l.

Fifty percent of the required interior landscaped areas shall be installed at the end of parking bays. The balance of the required interior landscaped area may be installed anywhere within the parking lot outside of the parking lot setback areas.

m.

These requirements do not apply to parking garages or parking decks.

n.

These requirements shall apply to parking lots legally established after adoption of the ordinance from which this section is derived. If an existing parking lot is expanded after adoption of this section, then the entire parking lot shall meet all of the requirements of this section.

(3)

Landscape plan requirements.

a.

All landscape plans shall be drawn on, or as a part of the final site plan, show dimensions and detailed elevation or section drawings of fences, show all existing elevations and proposed land contour lines having at least one foot intervals.

b.

Include a tree survey of required yards indicating the exact location of all trees, shrubs, and evergreens.

c.

Show all proposed planting by labeling the species, size, and spacing on center.

(4)

Grounds maintenance. The project owner or management shall:

a.

Maintain the landscaping by keeping lawns mowed, all plants maintained as disease free, and planting beds groomed, except in naturally occurring vegetation areas; and

b.

Replace any required plantings, which are removed or die after the date of planting. Such replacement shall occur not later then the next planting season.

(Code 1985, § 159.270; Ord. No. 3836, 6-20-1994; Ord. No. 4020, 2-20-1996)