City of Seward, NE Landscaping and Screening

The landscaping and screening regulations provide additional guidance on the development of sites within Seward by addressing landscaping and screening requirements. They are designed to improve the appearance of the community, buffer potentially incompatible land uses from one another, and conserve the value of properties within the City of Seward and its extraterritorial jurisdiction. The landscape and screening provisions are further intended to expedite development approval by including predictable, uniform standards for landscaping.

§ 410-33.2 Applicability.

The provisions of this article shall apply to all new development on each lot or site upon application for a building permit, except for the following:

Reconstruction or replacement of a lawfully existing use or structure following a casualty loss.

Remodeling, rehabilitation, or improvements to existing uses or structures which do not substantially change the location of structures, parking, or other site improvements.

Additions or enlargements of existing uses or structures which increase floor area or impervious coverage area by less than 20% of the building established on the site on the effective date of this chapter. Where such cumulative additions or enlargements are 20% or greater, these provisions shall apply only to that portion where the new development occurs.

§ 410-33.3 Landscaping requirements.

Landscaping shall be required adjacent to each street property line and shall extend to a minimum depth inward on private property as set forth in the development regulations and summarized in Table 33A.

Table 33A Required Landscape Depth Adjacent to Street Property Lines
Column 1 Zoning District	Column 2 Minimum Depth of Landscaping Adjacent to Street Property Lines
AG	35 feet
RR	25 feet
R-1	20 feet
R-2	20 feet
R-3	15 feet
R-4	15 feet
R-5	30 feet
UC	10 feet or 10% of street yard for lots less than 120 feet deep
C-1	10 feet or 10% of street yard for lots less than 120 feet deep
C-2	10 feet or 10% of street yard for lots less than 120 feet deep
CBD	No requirement
BP	25 feet
I-1	10 feet or 10% of street yard for lots less than 120 feet deep
I-2	No requirement

§ 410-33.4 Landscaping materials and installation standards.

Official list of recommended and prohibited plant materials. Plantings shall be used in required landscaped areas or bufferyards consistent with the Official List of Recommended and Prohibited Plant Materials, provided through the Office of the Zoning Administrator. All plant materials shall conform in size, species and spacing with this article.

Use of inorganic landscaping materials. No artificial trees, shrubs, plants or turf shall be used to fulfill the minimum requirements for landscaping. Inorganic materials, such as stone or decorative pavers, may be used, provided that such material does not comprise more than 35% of the minimum required landscaped area. Other concrete and/or asphalt pavement surfaces may not be used within the minimum required landscaped area, except for driveways and walkways.

§ 410-33.5 Bufferyard provisions.

These provisions apply when a use is established in a more intensive zoning district (District A) that is adjacent to a less intensive zoning district (District B). The owner, developer, or operator of the use within District A shall install and maintain a landscaped bufferyard on his/her lot or site, as set forth in this section. Bufferyard requirements apply only to those districts indicated in Table 33B. Bufferyards are not required of single-family, two-family, duplex, or townhouse use types in the more intensive zoning district.

Table 33B Bufferyard Requirements (feet)
	District B (Less Intensive Adjacent District)
District A (More Intensive District) (Note 3)	AG, RR (Note 1)	R-1, R-2, R-3 (Note 1)	R-4 (Note 1)
R-4	20	20	—
UC	15 (Note 2)	15 (Note 2)	15 (Note 2)
CBD	—	—	—
C-1	15	20	20
C-2, BP	25	25	20
I-1	40	40	30
I-2	100	100	100

Notes:

Note 1: Applies only to residential uses or preliminary plats previously established in the zoning district.

Note 2: Buffering requirement applies to adjacencies between commercial and office use types and preexisting residential land uses in adjacent districts. Buffering requirement also applies to a commercial or office use type established in a UC District and adjacent to a preexisting residential use in the UC District. Vertical screening may also be required as set forth in Article 33.

Note 3: Buffer requirements do not apply to single-family, duplex, or townhouse residential uses established in District A.

The bufferyard dimensions set forth in Table 33B apply to zoning districts which share a common lot line or are adjacent but separated by an intervening alley.

When a street separates adjacent zoning districts requiring a bufferyard, the size of the bufferyard shall be one-half the required bufferyard set forth in Table 33B.

Each required bufferyard must be entirely landscaped and free of paved areas, accessways, storage, or other disturbances.

§ 410-33.6 Screening standards.

Application. Screening is required between adjacent zoning districts indicated in Table 33B when one or more of the following conditions in the more intensive zoning district is directly visible from and faces toward the boundary of the less intensive zoning district:

(1)

Outdoor storage areas or storage tanks, unless otherwise screened.

(2)

Loading docks, refuse collection points, and other service areas.

(3)

Major machinery or areas housing a manufacturing process.

(4)

Major on-site traffic circulation areas or truck and/or trailer parking.

(5)

Sources of glare, noise, or other environmental effects.

(6)

Bailing or stockpiling of cardboard or other shipping or packaging materials.

(7)

Surface parking lots with 150 or more stalls directly adjacent to less intensive districts.

Opaque barrier. A six-foot opaque barrier shall be provided which visually screens the conditions listed in Subsection A from less intensive uses as follows:

(1)

A solid wood, PVC, and/or masonry fence or wall at least six feet in height.

(2)

A landscaping screen, using evergreen or deciduous materials, capable of providing a substantially opaque, hedge-like barrier and attaining a minimum height of six feet within three years of planting.

(3)

A landscaped earth berm with a maximum slope of three to one, rising no less than six feet above the existing grade of the lot line separating the zoning districts.

(4)

Any combination of these methods that achieves a cumulative height of six feet.

Effect on drainage. Screening shall not adversely affect surface water drainage.

Permitted interruptions of screening. Screening may be interrupted to provide access drives to service areas or for loading purposes to buildings. Such breaks or interruptions shall not exceed 20% of the length of the required screened area.

§ 410-33.7 Screening in place of bufferyards.

[Added 12-16-2003 by Ord. No. 39-09]

On lots of record with a width less than 60 feet, screening consistent with § 410-33.6 and approved by the Zoning Administrator may be substituted for bufferyards and requirements set forth in § 410-33.5.

§ 410-33.8 Parking lot landscaping and screening.

Unless otherwise noted, each unenclosed parking facility with a paved surface of 6,000 square feet or more shall comply with the following regulations:

Each unenclosed parking facility shall provide a minimum landscaped buffer of 10 feet along any street property line.

Each parking facility that abuts a residential district shall provide a ten-foot landscaped buffer along its common property line with the residential district.

Any parking facility which abuts property in a residential district shall provide a fence, wall, landscape screen, or earth berm not less than four feet in height for the length of the common boundary. A grade change, terrace, or other site feature which blocks the sight line of headlights into a residential property may satisfy this requirement, subject to the determination of the Zoning Administrator.

Each unenclosed parking facility of over 6,000 square feet within any street yard shall provide interior landscaped area equal to no less than 5% of the total paved area of the parking facility. Parking facilities within the I-1 and I-2 Districts shall be exempt from this requirement.

Interior landscaping shall be credited toward the satisfaction of overall landscaping requirements set forth in this section.

Landscaping or screening installed in any required landscaped area shall not obstruct the view from the off-street parking facility to any driveway approach, street, alley, or sidewalk. Landscaping shall further not obstruct any views among parking spaces and circulation ways, or visibility between vehicles and pedestrians.

§ 410-33.9 Tree plantings.

In any landscaped area for commercial uses only required by the minimum depth requirements, the bufferyard requirements, or the parking lot interior landscaping requirements, one tree of an approved species with a minimum caliper size of two inches shall be planted and maintained for each 500 square feet of required landscaped area. Existing trees approved for preservation shall be counted toward satisfaction of this requirement.

Any tree of an approved species planted or maintained with a caliper of three inches or above shall count as 1.5 trees toward the satisfaction of the requirements of this section. An approved existing tree with a caliper of eight inches or above preserved on a site shall count as 2.00 trees toward the satisfaction of the requirements of this section.

§ 410-33.10 Applicability; maintenance; administration.

Time of application. The provisions contained in this article shall be applied for each individual lot or site when an application for a building permit on such lot is made. A landscape plan shall be submitted with each application for a building permit. Such plan shall be reviewed by the Zoning Administrator for compliance with the provisions of this article.

Maintenance of required landscaping.

(1)

Upon installation of required landscape materials, each owner shall take appropriate actions to ensure their continued health and maintenance. Required landscaping that does not remain healthy shall be replaced consistent with this article and the approved landscaping plan for the project.

(2)

Underground irrigation shall be provided for all required landscaped areas in multifamily, commercial, or office developments.

Obstruction of view. Landscaping or screening installed in any landscaped area shall not obstruct the view from or to any driveway approach, street, alley, or sidewalk, and shall be consistent with the provisions of the City's vision clearance triangle regulations.[1]

[1]

Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).

Earth berm locations. All earth berm locations shall be reviewed by the Zoning Administrator or his/her designee to determine how the berms shall relate to drainage and public utilities.

Exceptions. A development may continue to comply with the bufferyard and screening requirements in effect at the time of issuance of its original permit, regardless of whether an adjacent lot or site is subsequently rezoned to a less intensive district which would otherwise require compliance with bufferyard or screening provisions.