Township of Marple, PA Buffers

§ 300-65 Intent.

Buffers are intended to augment required setbacks from streets and from the perimeter of a tract where it adjoins a district boundary line by providing additional means of physical, visual and acoustical separation between uses. Landscaped strips, screening and shade trees required by this article are also intended to promote:

Harmony between land uses.

Reduction of glare, noise and pollution levels.

Reduction of stormwater runoff volume.

Areas of shade that reduce temperature and energy costs during hot weather.

Natural windscreens that protect from exposure and reduce energy costs during cold weather.

Protection of environmentally sensitive areas.

Maintenance of some land on most tracts in a landscaped state to help offset the monotony of widespread pavement and buildings and to improve the general environmental quality of a mostly urbanized municipality.

Privacy and property rights.

Attractive, shaded streets that contribute to the maintenance of an appealing community in which to live, work and visit.

Safer means of controlling access to and from public streets.

§ 300-66 Applicability and scope.

This article regulates the circumstances in which buffers are required. Buffers may be required either as part of setbacks from the perimeter of a tract where it adjoins a district boundary line, as specified in § 300-68 or as part of setbacks from street ultimate rights-of-way, as specified in § 300-69. Classification of buffers is specified in § 300-67. Recommended trees and hedges are specified in § 300-74.

§ 300-67 Classification of buffers.

Required buffers shall be one or more of the following types, in accordance with §§ 300-68 and 300-69:

Type A.

(1)

One canopy tree per 40 linear feet (Type A1).

Type B.

(1)

One canopy tree per 40 linear feet, plus one flowering tree per 60 linear feet, plus one evergreen per 60 linear feet (Type B1).

(2)

One canopy tree per 40 linear feet, plus one hedge (three-foot centers) (Type B2).

(3)

One canopy tree per 40 linear feet, plus one evergreen per 30 linear feet (Type B3).

Type C.

(1)

One evergreen per 30 linear feet, plus one hedge (three-foot centers) (Type C1).

(2)

One evergreen per 25 linear feet, plus one linear berm four feet high (Type C2).

(3)

One evergreen per 25 linear feet, plus one shrub per eight linear feet (Type C3).

(4)

One evergreen per 20 linear feet, plus one shrub. two per four linear feet (Type C4).

Type D.

(1)

One hedgerow (three-foot centers) (Type D1).

(2)

Six-foot high solid cedar or spruce fencing (Type D2).

(3)

Six-foot high twelve-gauge plastic-coated chain link fence (Type D3).

§ 300-68 Required buffer types for setbacks adjoining district boundary lines.

Adjoining Tract
Subject Tract		Low-Impact Districts	Medium-Impact Districts	High-Impact Districts
Low-Impact Districts		None	None	None
	Open Space — all
Residential — all,		None	None	None
	except PRD, RMHD, RHD
Medium-Impact Districts
	Residentia — PRD, RMHD, RHD	C1	None	None
	Commercia l— NC, OLM	D2	C1	None
	Institutional — NS, C	C1	C3	None
High-Impact Districts
	Commercial — all, except NC, OLM	D2, B1	D1, B3	A1
	Industrial — all	D3, C1	D3, C3	A1
	Institutional — all, except NS, C	D1, B3	B1	A1

§ 300-69 Required buffer types for setbacks from streets.

Adjoining Ultimate Right-of-Way
Subject Tract		Arterial Street	Collector Street	Local Street
Low-Impact Districts
	Open Space — all	None	None	None
	Residential — all, except PRD, RMHD, RHD	None	None	None
Medium-Impact Districts
	Residential — PRD,	C3	A1	A1
	RMHD, RHD
	Commercial — NC, OLM	None	A1	A1
	Institutional — NS, C	C3	A1	A1
High-Impact Districts
	Commercial — all, except NC, OLM	None	A1	B1
	Industrial — all	C3	A1	B1
	Institutional — all, except NS, C	C3	A1	B1

§ 300-70 Retention of existing natural buffers.

Wherever buffers are required, every effort shall be made to retain existing natural buffers, such as vegetation and topographic features.

§ 300-71 Landscaping of setbacks.

All required setbacks, whether or not planted with trees, shrubs or hedges required by § 300-68 and/or § 300-69 shall as a minimum consist of grass, ground cover and/or similar vegetative material or other natural landscaping materials.

§ 300-72 Alternative buffers.

As an alternative to the potential for an excessively linear appearance brought about by strict conformance to the minimum requirements of § 300-68 and/or § 300-69, innovative, free-form buffers that may, in some cases, not be located entirely within the minimum required setback, are encouraged. Such alternative buffers may be authorized as special exceptions by the Zoning Hearing Board, subject to a recommendation of the Planning Commission, which may seek the advice of technical experts in the review of the alternative plans.

§ 300-73 Maintenance required.

All buffers shall be maintained by the property owner at his expense, assuring that required trees, plantings and vegetative materials are kept in good condition. Any such materials that die shall be replaced within one year.

§ 300-74 Recommended buffer plantings.

The following planted materials are recommended for inclusion in buffers. Other plantings may be authorized as special exceptions by the Zoning Hearing Board, subject to a recommendation of the Planning Commission, which may seek the advice of technical experts in their review:

Canopy trees (two-inch-caliper minimum):

	Acer ginnala - amur maple
	Acer rubrum - red maple
	Acer saccharum - sugar maple
	Betular alba - European white birch
	Cercidiphyllum japonica - katsura tree
	Fagus grandifolia - American beech
	Fagus sylvatica - European beech
	Fraxinus americana - white ash
	Fraxinus pennnsylvanica lanceolata - green ash
	Ginkgo biloba - ginkgo (male only)
	Gleditsia tracanthos inermis - thornless honey locust
	Gymnocladus dioica - Kentucky coffee-tree
	Nyssa sylvatica - sour-gum
	Phellodendron amurense - amur corktree
	Platanus acerifolia - London plane-tree
	Quercus alba - white oak
	Quercus borealis - red oak
	Quercus coccinea - scarlet oak
	Quercus palustris - pin oak
	Quercus phellos - willow oak
	Robina pseudoacacia inermis - thornless black locust
	Sophora japonica - Japanese pagoda tree
	Tilia - linden - all species hardy to the area
	Zelkova serrata - Japanese zelkova

Flowering trees (two-inch-caliper minimum):

	Amelanchier canadensis - shadblow serviceberry
	Cornus florida - flowering dogwood
	Cornus kousa - kousa dogwood
	Cornus mas - cornelian cherrry
	Crataegus phaenopyrum - Washington hawthorn
	Koelreuteria paniculata - golden rain tree
	Laburnum vossi - goldenchain
	Magnolia soulangeana - saucer magnolia
	Magnolia virginiana - sweetbay magnolia
	Malus baccata - siberian crab
	Malus floribunda - Japanese flowering crab
	Malus hopa - hopa red - flowering crab
	Oxydendrum arboreum - sourwood
	Pyrus calleryana Bradford - callery pear
	Punus kwansan - kwanzan cherry
	Prunus yedoensis - yoshino cherry

Evergreens (four-foot-high minimum):

	Ilex opaca - American holly
	Picea abies - Norway spruce
	Picea omorika - servian spruce
	Picea pungens - Colorado spruce
	Pinus nigra - Austrian pine
	Pseudotsuga menziesii - Douglas fir
	Tsuga canadensis - Canada hemlock

Hedge (four-foot-high minimum):

	Crataegus intricata - thicket hawthorn
	Forsythia intermedia - border forsythia
	Rhamnus frangular columnaris - tallhedge buckthorn
	Syringa chinensis - Chinese lilac
	Syringa vulgaris - common lilac
	Viburnum alatus - viburnum
	Maclura pomifera - osage orange

Hedgerow (four-foot-high minimum):

	Crataegus crus-galli - cockspur thorn
	Crataegus phaenopyrum - Washington hawthorn

Shrubs:

	Hamamelis virginiana - white hazel
	Vaccinium sp. - blueberries
	Lindera benzoin - spice bush
	Rhododendron sp. - azaleas
	Rhododendron sp. - rhododendrons