The Village Board makes the following legislative findings:
A. A healthy environment is an indication of a healthy community.
B. Landscaping helps to maintain and increase property values, which
helps to protect public and private investment in a community.
C. Landscaping provides lasting social, economic, environmental, and
aesthetic benefits to the community.
D. Landscaping helps to reduce the heat-island effect by shading parking
lots, streets, and other hard-surfaced areas.
E. Landscaped buffers are needed between parcels of incompatible land
uses, and as the degree of incompatibility increases, the amount of
buffering (width and landscaping) should increase.
F. A variety of landscape plants is needed to ensure that the effect
of a single disease (e.g., Dutch elm disease) or pest (e.g., emerald
ash borer) on landscape plants is minimized.
This article is established to promote the public health, safety,
and welfare and is intended to accomplish the following purposes:
A. Make the Village more attractive and aesthetically pleasing;
B. Promote and improve public health and safety through the abatement
of noise, the glare of lights, dust, and air pollution;
C. Improve the aesthetic appearance of the built environment;
D. Ensure that land uses of different intensity have sufficient buffering
between them to minimize negative effects;
E. Promote economic development by providing a high quality of life;
The landscape plan shall include the preparer's name, date
of preparation, a base site plan that matches the site plan submitted
for approval, showing planting locations and existing plantings to
be preserved, the landscape surface ratio percentage, a planting schedule
of common name, botanical name, planting size, and calculations showing
how the plan exceeds the minimum quantity. Landscape plans with the
information below shall be reviewed as part of the site plan review
process.
A. The proposed name of the development, project, certified survey map,
subdivision plat, or planned development district (PDD).
B. The location of the proposed development, project, certified survey
map, subdivision plat, or PDD.
C. The names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the owners, subdividers,
lessee and/or developer(s) of the property, landscape architect (if
any), and of the designer of the plan.
D. Date of the landscape plan submittal and all applicable revision
dates.
E. The boundary line of the site with dimensions and bearings, indicated
by a solid line, and the total land area shall be encompassed on the
plan.
F. All proposed landscape bufferyard easements and/or areas of natural
resource mitigation clearly delineated and dimensioned and graphically
shown in relation to all proposed lot lines and lots upon which said
landscape bufferyard easements or mitigation areas are located. A
"bufferyard" is an area of transition along the property line setback
or within the green space periphery of a residentially zoned district
development. The intent of the buffer is to screen the abutting land
use next to the adjoining property with an additional amount of landscaping
as specified in this section.
G. Location, extent, type (i.e., common name and scientific name in
the case of plant materials), and sizes of all existing trees and
natural resource features in all areas of the proposed development,
subdivision, certified survey map, or PDD, such as woods, wetlands,
streams, ponds, kames, kettles and other glacial features which are
designated in a landscape bufferyard easement and/or mitigation area
shall be indicated on the landscape plan. If any existing vegetation
or other natural resource features are to be demolished or mitigated,
the extent of such demolition or area to be mitigated shall be clearly
delineated and so noted on the landscape plan. The seventy-five-foot
buffer from all water bodies may be part of a wetland, floodway fringe
or floodway area bufferyard.
H. Location, extent, type (common name and scientific name in case of
plant materials), and sizes of proposed landscaping and landscape
plantings in all areas of the proposed development, subdivision, certified
survey map, or PUD which are designated as a landscape bufferyard
easement or for areas which are to serve as landscaped entrances or
other special landscaped features of the development, subdivision,
certified survey map, or PDD.
I. If any natural resource feature is to be mitigated, either on-site
or off-site, the plan for such mitigation in adequate detail, as required
by the Plan Commission, shall be submitted with the landscape plan.
J. Areas of a development, subdivision, certified survey map, or PDD
designated as landscape easement areas shall be maintained by the
property owner and kept free of all debris, rubbish, weeds, and tall
grass by the property owner or homeowners' association (whichever
is applicable).
K. A plan is required and shall be based upon a survey by a registered
land surveyor. The plan shall be prepared at a map scale of not more
than 100 feet to the inch and shall show the information set forth
in this article as applicable.
A bufferyard consists of a line of trees and shrubs that provide
a buffer from one lot or zoning district to the next. When development
abuts or is across the street from a residential zoning or use, or
a less intense use, such as a church or school, a bufferyard shall
be required. The following shall apply:
A. The minimum quantity of plantings required in Table 13-1 increases
by 20%.
B. Emphasis shall be placed on the increased amount of plantings within
the bufferyard, except where preservation of existing plant material
does not allow additional plantings.
C. Evergreens and arborvitae are required within the bufferyard with
a minimum planting height of six feet.
Every attempt shall be made to preserve existing plant materials,
especially around wetlands and groundwater recharge areas, in which
case the following shall apply:
A. In a non-bufferyard, existing healthy, high-quality landscape shade
trees, evergreens, and decorative trees over six feet in height shall
replace one equivalent type of required planting.
B. In a bufferyard, existing healthy, high-quality landscape shade trees,
evergreens and decorative trees over six feet in height shall replace
one-half equivalent type of required planting.
C. In both a non-buffer and bufferyard; existing healthy, high-quality
landscape shrubs over five feet in height shall replace one required
shrub planting.
D. Plantings to be preserved shall be shown on the submitted landscape
plan, including exact location, size and type.
To encourage a variety of year-round colors and planting of
native vegetation, and to prevent destruction of the landscaping through
disease, the following species mix is required for each planting type
(Table 13-2).
Table 13-2
Plant Mix
|
---|
Provided Plantings
|
Minimum Number of Different Species
|
Minimum Number of Each Species Planted
|
---|
5 to 11
|
2
|
2
|
12 to 20
|
3
|
4
|
21 to 30
|
4
|
5
|
31 to 40
|
4
|
6
|
41 to 50
|
4
|
8
|
51 and above
|
4
|
10
|
A. No one species shall exceed 35% of species planted within a planting
type, with three or more species required.
B. At least two species of shade trees must be native to the Village,
such as insect-resistant ash, elm hybrids, sugar maple, red oak, basswood,
or black walnut.
Generally, placement of all types of plantings shall be dispersed
across the entire site at the discretion of the developer, with the
following minimum guidelines:
A. Hardiest species of plantings (including those engineered for high
traffic areas) in the highest vehicular and pedestrian traffic areas.
B. The native species of shade trees away from the highest vehicular
and pedestrian traffic areas.
C. Located to not obscure vehicle sight distances.
D. Located so future growth is not over or inhibiting a sidewalk or
parking/drive area.
E. Located to soften and accentuate tall and elongated building walls.
F. Emphasis of trees and plantings within bufferyards.
G. Any fruit-bearing trees located away from parking/drive areas.
The Zoning Administrator shall review the plans and specifications
for conformance with the requirements of this section and other pertinent
Village ordinances and design standards. If the Zoning Administrator
rejects the plans and specifications, the Zoning Administrator shall
notify the subdivider or developer (as applicable), who shall cause
the modification of the plans or specifications or both accordingly.
When the plans and specifications are corrected, the Zoning Administrator
shall approve the plans and specifications.
Prior to starting the work covered by the approved plans and
specifications, a preconstruction meeting shall be held with the Zoning
Administrator before work begins and written authorization to start
said work shall be obtained from the Zoning Administrator upon receipt
of all necessary and required permits and in accordance with the construction
methods prescribed by this section and subdivision development agreement.
Building permits shall not be issued until all improvements required
by this section and subdivision development agreement are satisfactorily
completed.
The property owner must provide a financial guarantee to ensure
the required landscaping survives the first two growing seasons. The
amount of the guarantee must be 110% of the cost of the required plant
materials.