The following standards are intended to implement the City's
long-term planning goals by assuring an acceptable degree of buffering
between land uses, particularly between residential and nonresidential
uses, providing a balance between developed uses and open space, enhancing
the visual and aesthetic appearance of the community and encouraging
preservation of existing natural features. Specifically, these regulations
are intended to:
A. Provide natural visual screening of parking areas and along property
boundaries to protect the existing visual quality of adjacent lands.
B. Reduce surface runoff and minimize soil erosion through the natural
filtering capability of landscaped areas.
C. Provide natural buffers that reduce glare and noise, provide wildlife
corridors and protect wildlife habitats, wetlands, stream corridors
and other significant environmental features.
D. Moderate the microclimate of parking areas by providing shade, absorbing
reflected heat from paved surfaces and creating natural wind breaks.
E. Enhance the overall visual quality of the community by surrounding
developed areas with a variety of plant materials that are consistent
and compatible with the existing natural vegetation of the area.
F. Provide sidewalks and multi-use paths to be included with parking
areas.
These landscaping regulations shall apply to all uses in all
districts. More specifically, requirements and procedures shall be
as follows:
A. Building permits for construction of new single-family or two-family
dwelling major subdivisions shall require preservation of existing
vegetation or plantings to provide two shade trees of a minimum two-inch
caliper, measured in accordance with American Standards for Nursery
Stock (ANSI), for each dwelling. Such tree(s) shall be located outside
the public right-of-way in the front yard.
B. Major residential subdivisions shall be required to submit landscaping plans in accordance with §
285-80 of this article indicating appropriate landscaping of entrances, common open spaces and recreation areas and perimeter buffer areas.
C. Development activities requiring site plan approval shall submit, as part of such approval, a landscaping plan in accordance with §
285-80 of this article. Whenever possible, landscaped areas in a site plan, including parking lots, shall be lowered and incorporate curb cuts or other diversion devices to divert stormwater to the landscaped areas as part of a stormwater management plan.