A.
Purpose. The intent of the landscaping plan is to preserve elements
of the existing landscape worthy of protection; to improve the overall
appearance of the site and the structural elements; and to provide
appropriate buffering and screening, where warranted.
B.
Landscaping plan scope. Landscaping shall include trees, bushes,
shrubs, ground cover, perennials, annuals, plants, land forms, sculpture,
art and the use of building and paving materials in an imaginative
and aesthetic manner. Landscaping shall be integrated into building
arrangements, topography, parking and buffering requirements. Landscaping
plans for major site plan or subdivisions shall be prepared by a certified
landscape architect.
C.
Landscaping design criteria. The general landscaping design criteria
to be applied in the Township are as follows;
(1)
Natural setting. Landscaping plans shall preserve a natural
setting consistent with prevailing community standards. Recognizing
that a major community asset lies in the preservation of the natural
condition of property, all efforts in the area of landscaping shall
be exercised to provide consistent landscaping proposals with existing
foliage. Natural topography and vegetation shall be integrated into
the landscaping plan.
(2)
Site clearing. Every reasonable attempt shall be made to save
mature existing trees. Clumps of trees should be saved over single
trees. Site disturbance should be minimized where trees are to be
preserved. In the event that trees need to be removed, replacement
trees will be required.
(3)
Grading. Slopes in excess of three to one (3:1) shall be avoided
unless necessitated by unusual site limitations. All slopes shall
be permanently stabilized in an acceptable manner.
(4)
Off-street parking/loading. Off-street parking and loading areas
shall be landscaped to separate them from adjacent roadways.
(5)
Buffers. Site buffers shall be provided around site perimeters.
Zone buffers shall be provided wherever nonresidential or multifamily
family residential development abuts single family detached or attached
residential neighborhoods. The extent and depth of the buffer will
vary depending upon the nature of the use and the adjacent existing
or proposed use as indicated in § 222-152C.
(6)
Screening. Tall dense screens shall be required along nonpenetrable side lines, and rear property lines where commercial or industrial development will abut residences or residential zones. All screening shall be in accordance with § 255-152D.
(7)
Driveways. The areas adjacent to the driveways shall be planted
with low plants or grass. Appropriate low plants include but are not
limited to, butterfly bush, Sargent juniper, inkberry, Japanese barberry
or shrubby cinquefoil.
(8)
Other required landscaped areas. Where a development plan indicates
raised walkways between opposing rows of cars, areas at the end of
bays or, where proposed or required by the municipal agency, specific
planting islands are indicated, these areas shall be landscaped. Planting
strips may be as narrow as five feet, with a fifteen-foot to twenty-foot
width most desirable. All should be raised and protected by permanent
concrete curbing.
A.
Purpose. The intent of this section is to provide for the installation
of street trees along all pubic streets. Where streets are devoid
of trees, deciduous street trees shall be installed in accordance
with this section. Where street trees are present, the health and
suitability of the existing trees shall be evaluated to determine
which trees should be retained and replaced.
B.
Street tree design criteria. Street trees shall be provided in accordance
with the following design criteria:
(1)
Shade (deciduous) trees shall be planted along both sides of
the street within the right-of-way between the sidewalk and curbline.
The width of the planting strip shall be sufficient for the proposed
tree species.
(2)
Street trees shall be planted so as not to interfere with utilities,
roadways, sidewalks, sight easements or streetlights. Tree location,
landscape design and spacing plan shall be approved by the Planning
Board as part of the landscaping plan.
(3)
Street trees may be planted outside of the right-of-way line
if it would prevent conflicts with overhead utility lines on new streets
or on streets that are devoid of trees. If trees are to be planted
outside of the right-of-way, they shall be planted within a landscaping
easement dedicated to the Township no wider than 12 feet.
(4)
Street trees shall be planted at intervals ranging from 40 feet
to 60 feet but averaging 50 feet on center. The range is meant to
enable the tree locations to avoid conflicts and to 'frame' structures.
If a street canopy effect is desired, trees may be planted closer
together, based on the recommendations of a certified landscape architect.
(5)
Street trees shall not be located within any defined sight triangle
easement of closer than 30 feet from the intersection of the street
right-of-way lines.
(6)
The caliper of the street trees shall be a minimum of 2 1/2
inches measured four feet above the ground. The standing height shall
be a minimum of 10 feet.
(7)
All trees shall be brought to the site balled and burlapped
(or other acceptable means), free from insects and disease, and true
to species and variety.
(8)
Stripping trees of vegetation or changing the grade within the
drip line by more than six inches shall not be permitted unless it
is demonstrated by the developer that these actions are necessary
for proper site design. If these actions cause the existing trees
to die, the trees should be replaced with the same species and size
up to a maximum caliper of 3 1/2 inches to reestablish the tone
of the area and to conform to adjacent lots.
(9)
Dead or dying trees which have been planted or transplanted
based on the requirements of this section shall be replaced by the
developer during the next recommended planting season.
(10)
Landscaping plans shall include a graphic tree-planting detail
which shall address the following:
(a)
The thinning of branches and foliage by 1/3. The leader shall
not be cut.
(b)
The staking of a deciduous tree by three stakes. The minimum
size of stakes shall be two inches by three inches.
(c)
The support of tree shall be a double strand of twelve-gauge
wire. A tree shall be protected from injury due to wire by a rubber
hose or acceptable equal.
(d)
The trunk shall be protected by a tree wrap.
(e)
A tree shall be mulched with three inches of approved organic
material.
(f)
A three-inch saucer shall be constructed around the planting
area.
(g)
The top of the burlap shall be untied and removed.
(h)
The ball shall rest on compacted soil.
(i)
The diameter of the hole shall be two feet larger than the diameter
of the ball.
(11)
Street tree species. The species and variety of street trees
shown on the landscaping plan shall be reviewed and approved by the
Township Planner. Suitable street tree species recommended for planting
on Township streets shall include, but are to limited to, those species
listed in Table 255-152D.
A.
A minimum of three deciduous shade trees, not including street trees,
shall be provided on each proposed lot within residential developments.
This requirement may be waived by the Planning Board when a building
lot contains adequate shade or canopy and measures have been taken
to preserve the trees that provide those qualities.
B.
Landscape plans shall be prepared by a certified landscape architect
and include a planting schedule which describes the quantity, common
name, botanical name, size and comments for each species.
C.
Ornamental trees need not have straight trucks, but must conform
in other respects with the provisions for trees and tree plantings
outlined in this section.
A.
Purpose. The intent of this section is to establish design criteria
for the use of buffering and screening.
B.
Terms. "Buffering" refers to the use of a landscaped strip of land
to visually separate one use from another or from the street and to
mitigate any impacts on adjacent properties. "Screening" is a method
of shielding or obscuring all or a portion of a development site from
view using densely planted vegetation, fences, walls, and berms. The
two terms are not synonymous since screening refers to a more intense
and effective buffer that is used in particular situations.
C.
Buffer area design criteria. The landscaping plan shall be designed
in accordance with the following buffer area design criteria:
(1)
No structure, activity, storage of materials or parking of vehicles
shall be permitted in a buffer area.
(2)
Buffer areas shall be developed in an aesthetic manner for the
primary purpose of buffering or screening views and reducing nuisance
perception (i.e., noise, light) beyond the lot line. The intent of
these buffer area design criteria is to provide sufficient design
flexibility to achieve effective and visually interesting buffer areas.
(3)
Site buffers refer to the buffering of similar uses or activities
from each other. The purpose of site buffers is to define the limits
of the uses and to separate uses. Site buffer widths shall vary depending
upon the type of activity. The minimum site buffer width shall be
15 feet or that width specified in the applicable zoning district
measured horizontally and perpendicular to lot and street lines. Site
buffers shall be designed, planted, graded and landscaped to provide
an aesthetically pleasing separation of similar uses. The site buffer
width may be increased by the Planning Board to that necessary to
achieve the appropriate buffering of the proposed use.
(4)
Zone buffers shall be provided along all lot lines and street
lines which separate a multifamily residential use (townhouses, apartments,
condominiums) or a nonresidential use from an existing single family
detached or attached residential dwellings or a district zoned for
these units. Zone buffers shall be designed, planted, graded and landscaped
to provide an aesthetically pleasing separation of dissimilar uses.
In meeting this standard, the applicant may employ a landscaped berm,
fencing or wall screening in landscaped areas or evergreen tree or
shrubbery screening in a landscaped area.
(5)
The location and design of buffers and screens shall consider
the use of the portion of the property being screened; the distance
between the use and the adjoining property line; the difference in
elevations; the type of buffer, such as dense planting, existing woods,
a wall or fence; buffer height; buffer width; and other combinations
of man-made and natural features. The landscaped buffer shall be designed
based on the general guideline that the closer a use or activity is
to a property line or the more intense the use, the more effective
the buffer area must be in obscuring light and vision and reducing
noise beyond the lot.
(6)
The preservation of natural wooded areas shall be an integral
part of all development plans. Natural wooded areas located along
a boundary with a residential zone district shall be integrated into
the required zone buffer area, provided that the growth is of sufficient
density and the area of sufficient width to serve the purpose of a
buffer. Additional plants may be required by the Planning Board to
supplement the natural wooded areas and to establish an effective
buffer.
(7)
If the Planning Board determines that the landscaping plan does
not provide sufficient buffers for the proposed use, the Planning
Board may require the development plan to be modified to increase
the buffer area, to relocate structures of facilities, or to fundamentally
change the landscaping methods to achieve the desired buffering effect.
D.
Screening design criteria.
(1)
Screening shall be provided within buffer areas as required
in this chapter to provide an effective year-round visual and partial
acoustical barrier to conceal the view or sounds of various utilitarian
operations and uses from the street or adjacent properties.
(2)
Screening vegetation shall be so placed that at maturity it
will not be closer than three feet to any street or property line.
Screening vegetation shall be broken at points of vehicular and pedestrian
ingress and egress to assure a clear sight triangle at all street
and driveway intersections.
(3)
Screening shall consist of the following materials:
(a)
Solid masonry. A solid masonry wall not less than six feet above
ground level.
(b)
Solid fencing. A solid fencing, uniformly painted or of a naturally
durable material such as cedar, cypress or redwood, not less than
six feet above ground level and open to the ground to a height of
not more than four inches above ground level.
(c)
Shrubbery.
[1]
Low-type shrubbery screening may be used in and around parking
areas, roadways, or access ways where sight distances for vehicular
and pedestrian traffic are a prime consideration. Shrubbery shall
be a minimum of three feet high when planted and be of such density
as will obscure, throughout the full course of the year, the glare
of automobile headlights emitted from the premises.
[2]
All other shrubbery for screening shall be a minimum of five
feet high at the time of planting.
[3]
Dense hedges of shrubbery planted at a maximum of 30 inches
on center may be used.
(d)
Trees. Trees for screening shall be evergreens having a minimum
height of five feet above the ground when planted. Trees shall be
placed five feet on centers in a single row or five feet on centers
in two or more staggered rows with a five-foot separation between
rows. Evergreens may be supplemented with deciduous trees having a
minimum ten-foot height at time of planting with a minimum caliper
of 2 1/2 inches.
(e)
All plants for screening shall be of a species common to the
area, be of balled and burlapped nursery stock, and be free of insects
and disease.
(f)
All landscape plans submitted shall contain the following note
and language: "All plant material not surviving for a period of two
years shall be replaced with the same or equivalent size species."
|
Table 255-152D
|
|---|
|
Recommended Trees for Township Streets and Buffer Areas
|
|
Class A, shade trees
|
|
Columnar trees for planting along narrow streets
|
|
Acer rubrum f. columnare
|
|
Acer rubrum "Scanlon" (Plant Patent 1722)
|
|
Broad oval
|
|
October Glory red maple, Acer rubrum, "October Glory"
|
|
Japanese Zelkova, Zelkova serrata
|
|
Willow oak, Quercus phellos.
|
|
Littleleaf Linden, Tilia cordata
|
|
London plane, Platanus acerifolia
|
|
Sweetgum, Liquidambar styraciflua
|
|
Chinese scholar, Sophora japonica, "Regent"
|
|
European beech, Fagus sylvatica
|
|
Ash, Fraxinus americana
|
|
Globe shaded trees
|
|
Red maple, Acer rubrum, clonal selection
|
|
Thornless and seedless locusts, Gleditsia tiacanthos
inermis,; Morraine; Shade Master
|
|
Spreading branched trees
|
|
Red oak. Quercus borealis
|
|
Scarlet oak, Quercus coccinea
|
|
Bur oak, Quercus macrocarpa
|
|
Maidenhair tree, Gingko biloba, male only
|
|
Class B, flowering trees
|
|
Amelanchier canadensis, Shadblow or Sarivs tree
|
|
Cercis canadensis, Redbud
|
|
Chionanthus virginicus, Fringe tree
|
|
Crataegus oxyacantha superba, Crimson cloud hawthorn
|
|
Crataegus phaenopy rum, Washington hawthorn
|
|
Crataegus toba, Toba hawthorn
|
|
Malus baccata, Siberian crab
|
|
Malus hopa, Hopa crab
|
|
Malus pink perfection (Plant Patent 2912) new hybrid
crab
|
|
Prunus kwansan, Kwansan cherry
|
|
Pyrus calleryana bradford, Bradford pear
|
|
Class C, conifers
|
|
Douglas fir
|
|
White pine
|
|
Austrian pine
|
|
Colorado spruce
|
A.
Purpose. The intent of this section is to regulate the use of fences.
The use of fences is appropriate for site definition and security.
However, fences must be located and designed so that they are consistent
with the neighborhood scheme and are an asset to the property and
the community.
B.
No fence shall be erected within the municipality unless the owner
of the premises or his representative has first obtained a zoning
permit.
C.
All fences shall be of quality materials and installed in a good
workmanlike manner. All fences shall be maintained by the owner. "Quality
materials" means, for purposes of this section, pressure-treated wood,
chain link, vinyl and/or wrought iron and aluminum. Specifically excluded
are materials such as poultry or construction fences. Barbed wire
is not permitted in any residential zone.
D.
No fences exceeding four feet shall be allowed in the front yard,
which shall, for the purposes of this provision, mean the area between
the front wall of the building and the street. Any front yard fence,
existing at the time of the adoption of this chapter or an amendment
thereto, may be continued and may be replaced in the same location
with like material in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
Fences erected in the front yard may not obstruct the site triangle
for neighboring properties.
[Amended 12-18-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-12]
E.
Not more than two fences shall be located on any common property
provided that no two fences are owned by one individual, property
or corporation.
F.
Exemptions. The following fences shall be exempt from the requirements
of this section, relative to permit, fees, construction or materials:
G.
Residential zones. Regulations for fences in residential zones.
(1)
No fence shall be erected unless the property owner shall have
obtained a zoning permit certifying that the fence is in accordance
with all applicable zoning regulations. No zoning permit shall be
issued unless the applicant has filed the application provided by
the Zoning Officer and has attached to the application a survey of
the property on which shall be shown the specific location, height
and design of the proposed fence.
(2)
For residential properties which are located on a corner, a
fence not exceeding 72 inches in height above ground level, may be
erected along the secondary street frontage, which shall, for the
purposes of this provision, be defined as the area along the street
which does not serve as the postal address for the property, provided
the property owners first obtain approval of the Development Review
Committee of the Joint Land Use Planning Board. No fence on a corner
property shall be placed or constructed of materials which, in the
determination of the Chief of Police, would create a safety hazard
by obstructing the view of vehicular traffic at the intersection.
In addition, no fence shall be so placed so that it adversely impacts
the sight triangle of any ingress and egress on any adjoining property
and it must be installed in such a manner so as to provide a clear
sight triangle at all street and driveway intersections.
(3)
For residential properties, other than those located on a corner,
fences not exceeding six feet in height above the ground level may
be erected between the front building line to the side property lines
and to the rear of the property (rear yard). They may be of solid
construction.
(4)
No fence shall be located within any alley shown on any plan
unless permission has been granted by resolution of the Township Committee
and subject to any conditions established by the Township Committee.
(5)
No permit shall be denied for a fence which will be located
in a utility easement area, provided that no fence shall be erected
within a drainage swale or where the fence would obstruct the flow
of water in the easement area. The responsibility for removing and
replacing any fence constructed in a utility easement area shall be
on the property owner and, there shall be no liability on the utility
holding the easement where the fence is removed in order to provide
access to the easement area in accordance with the terms of the easement.
(6)
Fences shall be installed with the finished side of the fence
facing the outward perimeter of the property, with all supporting
appurtenances on the inside of the barrier.
H.
Nonresidential zones. Regulations for fences in nonresidential zones.
(1)
Fences shall be no closer than one foot to the Township right-of-way.
(2)
Fences shall not be less than four feet nor more than eight
feet in height.
(3)
Fences shall be installed with the finished side of said fence
facing the outward perimeter of the property, with all supporting
appurtenances on the inside of the barrier.
(4)
Barbed-wire fencing must be first approved by the Development
Review Committee.
I.
Upon discovery of an alleged violation of this section, the Zoning
Officer shall serve written notice, either by personal service or
certified mail, return receipt requested, to the owner of the fence
and/or the owner or lessee of the property where the fence is located,
ordering the fence to be brought into conformity with provisions of
this chapter, or its removal, within 30 days of the date of the notice.
The notice shall include notification that if the fence is not brought
into conformity or removed within such time, a summons and/or complaint
will be issued.
