This article contains the landscaping standards required for on-site landscaping, parking lots, district boundaries, and street buffers. The standards:
A. 
Apply to all multifamily and manufactured home community residential and nonresidential developments; and
B. 
Do not apply to single-family large-lot subdivisions, or large-lot agricultural or sliding-scale subdivisions in the AG District.
A. 
In general. Required landscaping shall conform to one or more of the following standard plant unit alternatives provided in this section.
B. 
Preferences for plant unit alternatives.
(1) 
Subsection F of this section specifies alternative plant units that may be used for street and district boundary buffer yards, on-site landscaping, and parking areas.
(2) 
Alternative Units 1 through 5 are interchangeable, provided that:
(a) 
Alternative Unit 5 shall be used for the interior of parking lots;
(b) 
Along U.S. 50/301, alternative Unit 4 is the preferred alternative; and
(c) 
Alternative Unit 6 may be employed only where on-lot landscaping requirements exceed five acres.
C. 
Countryside, Estate, Suburban Estate, and Suburban Residential Districts. In the Countryside, Estate, Suburban Estate, and Suburban Residential Districts, the shrub requirements for street buffers may be substituted with two four-foot tall trees for every five shrubs required per plant unit.
D. 
Buffer yards. In buffer yards, canopy trees may be reduced in caliper by one inch and evergreen trees may be reduced in height by two feet, if a three-foot high berm is used.
E. 
Fractions of a plant unit. The amount and type of plantings for a fraction of a total plant unit shall be determined by the Planning Director.
F. 
Plant unit alternatives.
(1) 
Alternative Unit 1.
(a) 
One two-and-five-tenths-inch-caliper canopy tree.
(b) 
Two one-and-five-tenths-inch-caliper understory trees.
(c) 
Ten eighteen-inch-high shrubs.
(2) 
Alternative Unit 2.
(a) 
One two-inch-caliper canopy tree.
(b) 
One one-and-five-tenths-inch-caliper understory tree.
(c) 
Ten eighteen-inch-high shrubs.
(d) 
One eight-foot-high evergreen tree.
(3) 
Alternative Unit 3.
(a) 
One two-inch-caliper canopy tree.
(b) 
Ten eighteen-inch-high shrubs.
(c) 
Two six-foot-high evergreen trees.
(4) 
Alternative Unit 4.
(a) 
Ten eighteen-inch-high shrubs.
(b) 
One eight-foot-high evergreen tree.
(c) 
Two six-foot-high evergreen trees.
(5) 
Alternative Unit 5.
(a) 
Three three-inch-caliper canopy trees.
(b) 
Two tow-and-five-tenths-caliper canopy trees.
(c) 
Five eighteen-inch-high shrubs.
(6) 
Alternative Unit 6.
(a) 
One two-and-five-tenths-inch-caliper canopy tree.
(b) 
Twenty-one twelve-inch-high canopy tree whips at minimum ten-feet-on-center spacing.
A. 
In general. In accordance with the guidelines set forth in Subsection B below, multifamily, manufactured home communities and nonresidential developments shall contain a minimum amount of on-site landscaping in those areas not designated as parking areas, buffer yards, or buildings as specified in the table below. Existing vegetation may qualify at the discretion of the Planning Director.
Table of Standards for On-Site Landscaping
[Amended 9-7-2004 by Ord. No. 04-24; 1-24-2012 by Ord. No. 11-17]
District and Use
Number of Plant Units
(per acre of required open space or landscape surface area)
Agricultural (AG)
Agriculture
None
Agricultural support
2
All other nonresidential
2
Countryside (CS)
Agriculture
None
Multifamily
4
All other nonresidential
4
Estate (E)
Multifamily
4
All other nonresidential
2
Neighborhood Conservation (NC)
4
Suburban Estate (SE)
Multifamily
4
All other nonresidential
2
Suburban Residential (SR)
Multifamily
4
Manufactured home community
4
Institutional
5
All other nonresidential
5
Suburban Commercial (SC)
5
Suburban Industrial (SI)
5
Urban Residential (UR)
Multifamily
None*
Manufactured home community
6
All other nonresidential
6
Urban Commercial (UC)
4
Grasonville Gateway Medical Center (GGMC)
6
Village Center (VC)
None*
Stevensville Historic Village Center (SHVC)
None*
Grasonville Neighborhood Commercial (GNC)
None*
Grasonville Village Commercial (GVC)
None*
Light Industrial Highway Service (LIHS)
6 (75% located in front and side yards)
NOTES:
* May be conditioned to meet the unique needs of the immediate area as part of the approval process.
B. 
Landscape design guidelines. To allow for better site design, placement of plant material, screening, and buffering, the following design guidelines are intended to allow for flexibility in the placement of required plantings to address site-specific conditions, but shall not be used to reduce the amount of required planting material.
(1) 
A variety of species shall be used in the preparation of the landscaping plan, and the use of native species is encouraged. The landscaping plan should include a mix in plant size, shape, and textures.
(2) 
The landscaping plan should incorporate a mix of species and materials that account for the seasonal changes. The plant materials should include flowering plants and evergreens that add interest to the site year round.
(3) 
Landscaping and screening treatments between potentially incompatible uses should be installed or enhanced to lessen negative impacts.
(4) 
Ornamental grasses may be substituted for required shrubs.
(5) 
Foundation landscaping is strongly encouraged around commercial buildings.
(6) 
Retention of existing healthy trees on-site is encouraged. Trees with a caliper measurement larger than five inches may receive consideration and credit for more than one new tree of minimum caliper size. When existing trees are kept on-site, they may be counted towards required landscaping, provided they meet the minimum size provided in the landscaping standards.
(7) 
Landscaping shall not be placed in a location that may obstruct lines of sight for motorists or pedestrians that could result in an unsafe situation.
(8) 
Substitution of required plants sizes may be considered in limited circumstances to address specific needs of the site or impacts on the adjacent properties.
(9) 
Landscaping shall be used to break up large expanses of wall space on nonresidential buildings.
(10) 
Freestanding signs shall have an architectural base or be landscaped in accordance with § 18:1-81A(10)(c)[4].
(11) 
Landscaping should be used to screen mechanical equipment and outside storage of bulk materials.
A. 
In general.
(1) 
Multifamily developments and nonresidential parking lots shall contain a minimum amount of landscaping within the parking lots and adjoining entrance drives and circulation drives as specified in the table below.
[Amended 1-24-2012 by Ord. No. 11-17]
Use
Zoning District
Number of Plant Units Required for Every 24 Parking Spaces
All residential uses
E, SE, SR, UR, GNC, SHVC, GVC and VC
1.5
All uses
UC, TC and GGMC
2.0
All nonresidential uses
UR, GNC, SHVC, GVC, and VC
2.5
Agricultural support uses
AG and CS
1.5
All nonresidential uses, except agriculture and agricultural support uses
AG, CS, E, SE, SR, SC, SI, SIBE, and LIHS
3.0
(2) 
Planting areas and landscaping islands shall be no less that six feet wide and no less than the length of the adjacent parking space.