The intent of this article is to promote practical and attractive development within North Codorus Township by:
A. 
Minimizing erosion and sedimentation, and stimulating groundwater recharge.
B. 
Minimizing glare and heat on proposed hard surfaces, and reducing noise pollution.
C. 
Stimulating air purification and oxygen regeneration.
D. 
Preserving and protecting existing vegetation.
E. 
Providing screened buffers on properties adjacent to incongruous zoning districts or uses.
A. 
A landscape plan shall be required for each nonresidential land development plan, multi-family or townhouse residential development, or residential subdivision plan with greater than five lots at both the preliminary and final plan submittals. Landscaping requirements for single-family residential subdivisions shall be applicable to all areas held in common ownership, buffer areas, rights-of-way, and easements. This section shall not be construed to be regulating landscaping on lots for individual single-family residential units.
B. 
In addition to other plan requirements set forth in this chapter, the following is required for submission:
(1) 
Preliminary landscape plan. The preliminary landscape plan shall be drawn to the standards specified in § 165-29, shall be coordinated with the overall site plan, and shall contain the following:
(a) 
Complete topographic conditions on-site and immediately adjacent to the site, including existing and proposed buildings, roads, paved areas, etc.
(b) 
Location of all outside storage and trash receptacle areas.
(c) 
Existing and proposed underground and aboveground utilities, such as site lighting, transformers, hydrants, manholes, etc., and any rights-of-way or easements associated with such facilities.
(d) 
Fences and walls.
(e) 
Existing wooded areas; existing wooded areas to remain; and existing and proposed water bodies.
(f) 
Common names of proposed trees, shrubs, groundcover and grass.
(g) 
Areas to be planted with proposed species other than grass.
(2) 
Final landscape plan. The final landscape plan shall also be drawn to the standards in § 165-33 and shall contain the following:
(a) 
All plan elements required for the preliminary plan.
(b) 
Plant schedule, indicating the botanical and common names, height or spread at planting, cultural conditions, caliper, and quantity of all proposed plant material.
(c) 
Details for the planting and staking of trees.
(d) 
Existing trees with trunks 18 inches in diameter or greater (measured 12 inches above existing ground level), existing wooded areas and existing and proposed water bodies.
(e) 
Location and spacing of all proposed plant material with arbitrary plant symbols indicating expected mature spread.
(f) 
Final landscape plans shall be certified by a landscape architect registered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. These plans shall be reviewed and approved by the Board of Supervisors.
A. 
The locations, dimensions and spacing of required plantings should be adequate for their proper growth and maintenance, taking into account the sizes of such plantings at maturity and their present and future environmental requirements, such as wind, moisture, and sunlight.
B. 
The type(s) of plantings shall be limited to species that will not disturb or contribute to conditions hazardous to the public safety within critical locations. Such locations include, but shall not be limited to, public street rights-of-way; underground and aboveground utilities; and sight triangle areas required for unobstructed views at street intersections.
C. 
Tree obstructions and trimming. No bushes or shrubs exceeding three feet in height, or at such lesser height which due to ground elevations would obstruct the vision of motorists, shall be permitted within any required clear sight triangle or within 10 feet of the right-of-way line adjacent to access drives. All street trees shall be kept free of branches and foliage that obstruct vehicle sight distance up to 10 feet in height and up to eight feet in height that obstruct sidewalks. Tree branches that extend into street cartways shall have branches trimmed to result in a fourteen-foot minimum clearance. The adjacent landowner is required to keep street trees properly trimmed and to remove a tree that has become dangerous or that has died.
D. 
All plant materials used shall, at the time of planting, meet minimum size requirements as stated in § 165-63.
E. 
Street trees.
(1) 
Street trees shall be planted for any subdivision or land development where suitable street trees do not exist, as part of the design and construction of new or extended streets.
(2) 
Spacing. Street trees shall be planted no closer than 40 feet on center nor further than 60 feet on center for each side of the street, spaced at intervals equal to 80% to 90% of expected mature spread of trees proposed, or an equivalent number may be planted in an informal arrangement approved by the Board of Supervisors.
(3) 
Setback. Street trees shall be planted a minimum distance of five feet outside and parallel to the right-of-way line, unless otherwise approved by the Board of Supervisors. Trees located at intersections shall respect the clear sight triangles.
(4) 
Existing healthy trees along a street which would be suitable as street trees can be counted toward the street tree requirement, provided they are preserved and are over four inches in caliper and are within 25 feet of the curb or road edge.
F. 
Plants shall not be placed where they might interfere with the construction, use, or maintenance of any public or private sewage disposal system, water supply or other utility/facility, including sidewalks.
G. 
All required trees and shrubs shall be healthy and free of disease when planted.
H. 
All street and shade trees shall have a minimum trunk diameter of 2.5 inches at a height of six inches above finished grade.
I. 
All plantings shall be performed in conformance with good nursery and landscape practices, and to any other standards that are established by the Township.
J. 
Requirements for the measurement, branching, grading, quality and burlapping of required plantings shall follow the standards of the American Association of Nurserymen, as amended.
K. 
Screen buffer. Wherever vegetative screening is being provided to meet a screening requirement of the Township Zoning Ordinance[1] or this chapter, the following landscape requirements must be adhered to:
(1) 
Buffer requirements.
(a) 
A buffer area with a minimum width of 20 feet shall be used for screening. A wider buffer width may be required by other sections of this chapter or as a condition of a variance, conditional use or special exception use. Trees and shrubs used for screening shall consist of at least 75% evergreen trees and shrubs and shall be so arranged as to provide visual screening of various intensities depending upon the adjoining district or use. The following types of buffer planting strip shall be required in the following situations:
Situation
Required Type of Buffer Area
Adjacent lot is permanently preserved and there is no dwelling within 200 feet of the lot line
No buffer required
New or expanded industrial use or area routinely used for the overnight parking of 2 or more tractor-trailer trucks is adjacent to an existing or approved residential lot or a residential district
Buffer D
New or expanded commercial use is adjacent to an existing or approved residential lot or a residential district
Buffer C
New or expanded multifamily/apartment use or manufactured/mobile home park is adjacent to an existing or approved single family detached residential lot
Buffer B
New or expanded place of worship, school or institutional use is adjacent to an existing or approved lot occupied by a dwelling
Buffer A
(b) 
Evergreen trees shall be at least six feet in height at the time of planting. When additional height is deemed necessary, an additional row of deciduous trees with calipers of not less than 2.5 inches shall be planted within the screening area at intervals of not more than 40 feet on center.
(c) 
The type of buffer planting strips shown in the above table have been designed to provide different levels of screening and are illustrated in the Appendix as an attachment to this chapter. The intent of each type of strip is as follows, based upon expected growth within three years after planting:
[1] 
Buffer Planting Strip A is not intended to provide full screening but instead filters the view from the adjoining use.
[2] 
Buffer Planting Strip B shall be designed to block 50% of the view at eye level through use of trees and shrubs.
[3] 
Buffer Planting Strip C shall be designed to block 75% of the adjoining use through the use of shrubs and trees/or other structural elements.
[4] 
Buffer Planting Strip D will provide 100% opaqueness of the adjoining use through the use of dense planting of trees and shrubs or other structural elements.
(d) 
The minimum number of plant units required per 100 linear feet of planting strip is specified. The required plant material shall be distributed over the entire length and width of the buffer area. Buffer plant material may be arranged symmetrically (formal) or asymmetrically (informal) and may be grouped to form plant clusters. However, informal groupings that reflect the natural character of the region are encouraged. Plants shall be spaced to provide optimum growing conditions. Additional plants may be required, at the Township Engineer's discretion, to fulfill the intent of the required buffer planting strip.
(2) 
Walls, ornamental structures, fences and berms, appropriate vegetative material, or a combination of these, not less than six feet in height may be used with respect to a specific land use, or as approved by the Board of Supervisors. When a mostly solid fence or architectural wall is used, 50% of the required vegetative material may be eliminated. The remaining required vegetative material shall be placed on the outside (typically residential) side of the wall or fence.
(3) 
Innovative means of screening are encouraged; however, as a guideline to quantity of materials required, a minimum of one plant shall be provided 12 feet on center along the property line. Straight rows of trees are discouraged.
(4) 
Windbreaks. The use of planting rows to serve as windbreaks to control the drifting of snow across public and private thoroughfares is encouraged.
(5) 
The buffer yard shall not be used for parking, storage, trash dumpsters or similar features. A pedestrian pathway may be approved to be placed in a buffer yard, provided that it does not interfere with the required plant screening.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 195, Zoning.
L. 
Off-street parking areas.
(1) 
Off-street parking lots shall be screened in accordance with the above regulations relating to buffers. Further, any parking lot within 100 feet of a public street or intersection shall be screened with a hedge, berm or other measure to prevent distraction or confusion from parking cars' headlights.
(2) 
No parking lot shall be located closer to a building than six feet to allow adequate room for landscaping.
(3) 
No more than 20 parking spaces shall be placed in a continuous row without an intervening planting island of at least 10 feet in width and the length of the parking stall.
(4) 
A minimum of 5% of any parking lot facility with greater than 50 parking spaces shall be devoted to landscaping. This landscaping shall include a minimum of one tree per 20 parking spaces and all planting beds within a parking lot shall be surfaced in lawn or ground cover planting.
(5) 
All areas between the street right-of-way line and parking lot shall be planted.
M. 
Pedestrian spaces. The objectives of landscape architectural treatment of pedestrian access shall be to promote free and safe movement of pedestrians and bicycles into, in between, and through the proposed and existing facilities and to provide pedestrian spaces at building entrances and nodes. The following guidelines should be considered:
(1) 
Pedestrian and bicycle access shall be provided from public roadways, parking lots, and adjacent land uses where appropriate.
(2) 
The layout of pedestrian walkways should be consistent with the overall design. In natural landscapes, walkways should meander through plantings and berms. Formal landscapes may require long straight walkways. The views of the pedestrian should be visually interesting.
(3) 
Plantings along pathways should maximize, orient, and exploit desirable views as well as provide shade.
(4) 
Benches and sitting areas along pathways should be placed where appropriate and particularly where they can incorporate or provide views of a significant landscape feature, recreational facility, or interesting site design of the project.
(5) 
Connections to common open space areas and facilities on adjacent properties should be provided. Pedestrian easements between lots with a paved walkway may be required.
(6) 
Pedestrian bridges over streams, ravines, or drainage swales are encouraged and should be required when necessary to make connections in pedestrian systems if they can be reasonably constructed without impeding floodwaters and other anticipated flows. They are subject to all regulatory agency permit requirements.
(7) 
Other pedestrian amenities such as kiosks, water fountains, pedestrian-scale lighting, and gazebos should be provided where appropriate.
N. 
Service, loading, and trash disposal areas.
(1) 
All service, delivery, loading and outdoor storage, and trash disposal areas shall be screened from all residential districts, public streets, parking lots and pedestrian walkways.
(2) 
These areas shall be totally screened from the above-listed places by the use of fences, walls, berms, evergreen plant material, or a combination of these, not less than six feet in height.
A. 
All subdivisions and land developments shall be designed in such a manner so as to preserve the healthy vegetative stands whenever possible.
B. 
During construction, vegetation that has been identified to be preserved will be protected to insure there is no damage done to the vegetation.
A. 
Species selection shall be based upon the existing site conditions including the site geology, hydrology, soils, and microclimate, as well as functional considerations of screening, energy conservation and architectural compatibility.
B. 
The following is a recommended list of street trees for use in North Codorus Township. However, the Township may permit other planting types if they are hardy to the area, are not subject to blight or disease and are of the same general character and growth habit as those listed below. Street trees shall have a minimum 2.5 inch caliper measured six inches above finished grade.
Scientific Name
Common Name
Acer rubrum
Red Maple
Fraxinus pennsylvania - "Marshall's Seedless"
Marshall's Seedless Green Ash
Prunus sargentii
Sargent Cherry
Pyrus calleryana - "Aristocrat"
Aristocrat pear
Quercus borealis
Northern Red Oak
Tilia Tomentosa
Littleleaf Linden
Tilia cordata
Silver Linden
Zelkova serrata
Japanese Zelkova
C. 
The following is a recommended list of street trees for use within areas limited in space by overhead power lines and sidewalks:
Scientific Name
Common Name
Acer campestre
Hedge Maple
Crataegus crusgalli inermis
Thornless Cockspur Hawthorn
Crataegus x lavallei
Lavalle Hawthorn
Koelreuteria paniculata
Goldenrain Tree
Malus - "Centurion"
Centurion Crabapple
Malus - "Harvest Gold"
Harvest Gold Crabapple
Malus x zumi - "Calocarpa"
Redbud Crabapple
D. 
In no circumstances will any of the following trees be permitted to be planted as street trees:
(1) 
Poplars, all varieties.
(2) 
Willows, all varieties.
(3) 
White or Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum).
(4) 
Aspen, all varieties.
(5) 
Common Black Locust.
(6) 
Callery Pear.