The intent of this article is to provide minimum screening and buffering between potentially incompatible uses and between specific operations which may create a nuisance for the occupants of adjoining properties. It is also the intent of this article to provide minimum landscaping and planting standards for the purpose of enhancing community appearance.
[Amended 10-10-2006 by Ord. No. A-361]
Whenever development cannot be placed in harmony with its surroundings, adequate screening and distance buffering shall be provided to make it so. Screening shall be an obscuring wall or fence or other method subject to the approval of the Administrator. The table below indicates those conditions which are considered inherently disharmonious, and adequate screening shall be provided at the side of the parcel between conflicting uses by the owner of the potential disharmonious use.
Minimum Screening Requirements
Use or District
Potential Disharmonious Use
Height
Residential
Business districts
6' 0"
Residential
Industrial districts
6' 0"
Residential
Business parking lots
4' 6"
Residential
Loading areas
6' 0"
Residential
Utility substation
6' 0"
A. 
Durable materials. All walls and fences hereafter erected shall be durable, weather-resistant, rustproof, and easily maintained.
B. 
Masonry walls. Masonry walls shall be erected on foundations which are a minimum of 54 inches below grade.
C. 
Limitation on open-grid metal fences. Metallic-cyclone-type or other open-grid fences may not be used as required screening between residential uses and nonresidential uses. Such metallic fences may not be used in front yards, except in industrial districts.
D. 
Fence maintenance. All fences shall be kept in good condition, plumb and true, and without damage.
Landscaped berms or planting strips may be substituted for obscuring walls or fences when approved by the Administrator. Landscaped berms and planting strips shall be landscaped with evergreen plants. Plant materials shall be of such size when planted as to reach the necessary screening height within three years of planting.
Certain uses and activities are inherently incompatible with other uses and activities and are hereby required to be separated as indicated in the table below so as to reduce conflict and to maintain amenity.
Minimum Distance Buffering
Use
Minimum Permitted Distance
Quarrying operation or any stockpile exceeding 15 feet in height
Minimum of 200 feet to any property line except a minimum of 100 feet to street line
Junkyards and salvaging operations
200 feet to residential uses and districts and 100 feet to other uses
Swimming pools
7 1/2 feet to property line
Air conditioners (independently mounted)
15 feet to property line
Loading docks
100 feet to an adjoining lot line of a residence or residential district
[Amended 3-21-2023 by Ord. No. A-561]
For purposes of this section, the term "single-unit housing" means a parcel of land that is either in use as single-unit housing at the time a permit for the development referred to in this section is requested or zoned R-1A, R-1B or R-1C at such time. Where proposed multiunit residential or commercial development abuts existing single-unit detached housing, the following additional setbacks will be required:
Structure
Distance
2-story commercial or multiunit structure
25 feet to property line abutting single-unit housing
3-story and higher commercial or multiunit structure
50 feet to property line abutting single-unit housing
[Amended 3-21-2023 by Ord. No. A-561]
All trash, recyclable and/or garbage collection areas for multiunit dwellings and businesses shall be enclosed on at least three sides by screening at least as high as the height of the refuse container(s). Any open side shall not be visible from a street or abutting properties.
A. 
Permitted outdoor storage and outdoor storage areas in commercial and industrial districts exposed to view from any street adjacent to the property on which the storage area is located shall be screened by a six-foot-high sight-obscuring fence, wall, or landscape berm or planting strip when approved by the Administrator.
B. 
Materials covered by buildings with roofs only, but without any sides, shall be considered outdoor storage and shall be subject to the screening provisions of this section. This provision shall not apply to the display of new or used agricultural implements, motor vehicles, or watercraft where such activities are an integral part of an automobile, agricultural implement, or watercraft dealership or storage facility.
A. 
Unpaved areas of the site and unpaved portions of adjacent rights-of-way shall have one of the following ground covers:
(1) 
Seed or sod.
(2) 
Wood chips or other permanent mulch bordered with timbers or other permanent edging.
(3) 
Other landscaped plant material maintained in a well-tended and aesthetically pleasing manner.
B. 
Street trees shall be planted in adjacent rights-of-way in accordance with Chapter 300, Subdivision of Land, of the City Code.
C. 
The minimum number of plantings required for every 10,000 square feet of lot area which is proposed for new development shall be as follows:
(1) 
Two canopy or deciduous trees at least two inches to 2.5 inches in diameter.
(2) 
Three shrubs, not less than 24 inches in height.
In the event that terrain or other natural features are such that the erection of obscuring berms or planting strips, walls or fences will not serve the intended purpose, the Plan Commission may grant exceptions to the requirements of this section.