The purpose of this article is to establish standards for general landscaping, green space and required screening applicable to all districts. When landscape material is used for screening it shall incorporate plant types and sizes that will promote healthy landscapes. These standards are intended and designed to assure compatibility of uses and to enhance the health, safety and general welfare of the residents of the Borough.
The requirements in this article are minimum requirements, and under no circumstances shall they preclude the ability of the property owner and the Borough from agreeing to more extensive landscaping.
A. 
Except as may be required or permitted in this article, provided by development contract or approval by the Borough Council, the site area remaining after providing for off-street parking, off-street loading, sidewalks, driveways, building site and/or other requirements shall be landscaped using ground cover such as mulch or landscape rock, turf grass, ornamental grass, shrubs, trees other acceptable vegetation or treatment generally used in landscaping prior to the date of building occupancy. Fences, walls or trees placed upon utility easements are subject to removal at the cost of the property owner if required for the maintenance or improvement of the utility.
B. 
Except for single-family and two-family lots and parcels developed prior to the adoption of this chapter, new development shall have a mixture of evergreen and deciduous trees planted at the rate of one tree per 3,000 square feet or portion thereof of any unpaved open area remaining after development for which specific landscaping requirements do not appear in this article. Required trees may be planted at uniform intervals, at random or in groupings. Newly planted trees shall comply with the requirements of this chapter. Trees retained on site following development can be subtracted from the total required plantings.
A. 
Nonresidential site development and nonresidential site redevelopment. New developments shall designate a minimum of 15% of the total site area for green space. A minimum of 50% of the required green space shall be located along the street frontage with the most traffic and visibility. The fifty-percent requirement shall be located across the street from or adjacent to residentially zoned or used property. Stormwater retention areas when designed as rain gardens may be used to meet the green space requirement. When development or redevelopment occurs on existing sites the required green space may be reduced to 10% of the total site and the fifty-percent distribution requirements remain in effect.
B. 
Incentives for additional green space. In addition to the fifteen-percent minimum green space requirement, incentives are available for creating additional green space and/or adding landscaping to the site. For every five-percent increase in green space area, off-street parking requirements can be reduced by 10%. Thirty percent or greater green space provisions will allow up to a thirty-percent reduction in total parking spaces required.
A. 
Landscaping plan. Prior to approval of a building permit, a landscape plan and specification requirements shall be approved, including size of plantings, species and site location, as follows. Said landscape plan shall be developed with an emphasis upon the following areas:
(1) 
The boundary or perimeter of the proposed site adjoining other property.
(2) 
The immediate perimeter of the structure.
(3) 
The perimeter of parking and loading areas.
B. 
All landscaping incorporated in said plan shall conform to the following standards and criteria.
(1) 
All plants must at least equal the following minimum size:
(a) 
Evergreen tree: six feet in height.
(b) 
Canopy tree: 2 to 2 1/2 inches in caliper.
(c) 
Understory tree: six feet in height, 1 1/2 inches in caliper.
(d) 
Evergreen and deciduous shrubs: 18 inches in height; four feet at maturity.
(2) 
Spacing.
(a) 
Landscape material used for required screening shall consist of two rows of closely spaced, staggered evergreen plantings planted no more than 15 feet on center, which can be reasonably expected to form the required visual barrier measured at least six feet above ground level within three years of planting. A single row of evergreen screening planted 10 feet on center may be substituted if documentation is provided that insufficient room exists to plant a staggered double row. A single row of evergreen material shall provide a visual barrier measured at least six feet above ground level within three years of planting.
(b) 
Deciduous plant materials may be used, provided that the minimum required year-around opacity visual screen is maintained. Wherever screening is required adjacent to residentially zoned or used property, the screening shall be installed prior to the beginning of site grading and general construction, except where such activity would result in damage to the screening.
(3) 
Design.
(a) 
All exterior areas within the property lines (or beyond, if side grading extends beyond), not paved or designated as drives, parking or storage, must be at a minimum established with seed or sod.
(b) 
Newly established or created turf slopes in excess of 3:1 are prohibited unless approved by the Borough.
(c) 
All ground areas under the building roof overhang must be landscaped as described in this chapter.
(4) 
Landscape guarantee. All new plants shall be guaranteed for one full year from the time planting has been completed. All plants shall be alive and in satisfactory growth at the end of the guarantee period or shall be replaced.
Prior to issuance of a certificate of occupancy, one- and two-family dwelling lots shall have all yards started with seed or sod.
A. 
General site landscaping. In addition to the requirement in § 260-126, four shrubs shall be planted per dwelling unit. Shrubs used as required screening shall not be counted in meeting these requirements.
B. 
Privacy screen. Where multiple-family dwellings are designed so that rear open areas or patio areas front onto a public or private street, an eighty-percent opacity six-foot-high landscaped privacy screen shall be provided. The screen shall consist of a combination of trees, shrubs, berms and/or fences (no walls). Screening fences shall not be constructed of corrugated metal, corrugated fiberglass, sheet metal, chain link or wire mesh. Screening fences should be built with material compatible with that of the main building.
A. 
General site landscaping. All developed portions of the site shall conform to the general landscaping requirements in § 260-126 except where screening is required.
B. 
Screening. A six-foot-high fence or landscaped screen, providing eighty-percent year-round opacity, shall be required wherever a nonresidential use abuts directly upon land zoned or used for residential purposes or is across an alley from land used or zoned for residential purposes. Berms may be used as part of the six-foot screen height but shall not be used to achieve more than three feet of the required height. Shrubs are to be planted along the outside of a fence or wall (except when adjacent to an alley) with a maximum spacing of five per 40 lineal feet. Screening fences and walls shall not be constructed of corrugated metal, corrugated fiberglass, sheet metal, chain link or wire mesh. Screening fences and walls should be built with material compatible with that of the main building.
A. 
All exposed parking areas of 10 or more required spaces in a front and side street yard shall be screened with landscaping not less than three feet or more than four feet in height. The landscaping shall maintain a year-round fifty-percent opacity.
B. 
When a parking lot is adjacent to or across an alley from a residential use or zone, the required screen height shall be increased to six feet.
C. 
A berm may be used as part of the screening for off-street parking, in which case the berm shall be no more than two feet in height. Landscaping on a berm shall maintain eighty-percent year-round opacity not less than three or more than four feet in height.
D. 
A four-foot-high wall or fence constructed of masonry, brick, wood or vinyl may be used for required screening. The area between the parking lot and a wall or fence shall be planted with grass or established with landscape material.
E. 
Screening fences and walls shall not be constructed of corrugated metal, corrugated fiberglass, sheet metal, chain link or wire mesh. Screening fences and walls should be built with material compatible with that of the main building. Screening fences and walls shall not be constructed of corrugated metal, corrugated fiberglass, sheet metal, chain link or wire mesh. Screening fences and walls should be built with material compatible with that of the main building.
F. 
Shrubs planted along the outside of a fence will have a maximum spacing of five per 40 lineal feet. Off-street parking facilities with internal parking rows of 20 or more spaces shall have landscaped islands at the ends of the rows. Landscaped islands shall be a minimum of six feet wide and extend the length of the parking row. The islands shall be contained within raised, curbed beds.
G. 
At least 50% of each interior landscaped area shall be covered by living plant material, such as sod, shrubs, ground cover or trees.
H. 
It is not the intent of this section to relieve a project from the installation of islands or peninsulas that are necessary to promote the safe and efficient flow of traffic, regardless of parking lot size.
I. 
No landscaping or screening shall interfere with driver or pedestrian visibility for vehicles entering, circulating or exiting the premises.
Ground-mounted mechanical equipment, such as air compressors, pool pumps, transformers, sprinkler pumps, air conditioners, and similar equipment, shall be screened on all sides except those facing a building. An eighty-percent opacity visual screen shall exceed the vertical height of the equipment being screened by at least six inches. A three-foot open area shall be maintained around such equipment to facilitate repairs. In residential districts, these screening requirements only apply to street-facing ground-mounted equipment.
The following standards shall be observed where installation and maintenance of landscape materials are required:
A. 
Installation. Landscaping shall be installed in the manner recommended by the manufacturer. Wire and rope caging and nondegradable burlap around tree root balls shall be removed during planting. Landscaping along the perimeter shall be installed prior to construction, except where such landscaping would be destroyed during construction.
B. 
Protection from vehicles. Landscaping shall be protected from vehicles through use of curbs or wheel stops in parking lots. Landscape areas shall be elevated above the pavement to a height that is adequate to protect the plants from snow removal, salt and other hazards.
C. 
Seeding or sodding/off-season planting requirements. Lots or parcels shall be established with seed or sod prior to occupancy or property use. If development is completed during the off-season when plants cannot be installed, the owner shall provide a performance guarantee to ensure installation of required landscaping in the next planting season.
D. 
Maintenance. Landscaping required by this chapter shall be maintained in a healthy, neat, and orderly appearance, free from refuse and debris. A healthy, neat and orderly appearance includes proper pruning, regular mowing of lawns, and removal of all litter and the replacement of dead and unhealthy plant material. All unhealthy and dead plant material shall be replaced immediately upon notice from the Borough, unless the season is not appropriate for planting, in which case such plant material shall be replaced at the beginning of the next planting season.
E. 
Landscaping shall be maintained to ensure it does not encroach into adjoining properties or public right-of-ways. Encroachment includes both root systems and any plant material growth to eight feet above grade.
F. 
Maintenance of a required buffer plantings shall be the responsibility of the individual property owners or, if applicable, the homeowner's association.
G. 
All constructed or manufactured landscape elements, such as but not limited to benches, retaining walls, edging, and so forth, shall be maintained in good condition and neat appearance. Rotted, deteriorated, or damaged landscape elements shall be repaired, replaced, or removed. Replacement of landscape materials or plantings in a required buffer shall be consistent with the original screen design. All repair or replacement of plantings in a required buffer shall be done within 10 days of written notification from the Borough.
A. 
All plant materials must meet the minimum standards set forth by the American National Standards Institute. Landscape species shall be indigenous or proven adaptable to the climate, but shall not be invasive species.
B. 
Landscape materials shall be tolerant of specific site conditions, including but not limited to heat, drought and salt.
C. 
Existing healthy plant material may be utilized to satisfy landscaping requirements, provided it meets the minimum plant sizes specified herein.