Source: https://ecode360.com/27596695
Timestamp: 2018-08-15 05:16:06
Document Index: 258753947

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 402', '§ 402', '§ 402', '§ 402', '§ 402', '§1', '§9']

City of O'Fallon, MO Landscaping and Screening Requirements
Ch 402 Art V Landscaping and Screening Requirements
§ 402.150 Authority.
§ 402.160 Application.
§ 402.170 Landscape Plan Requirements.
§ 402.180 Standards For Bufferyard Areas Between Non-Residential and Residential Land Uses and Zoning Districts.
§ 402.190 (Reserved)
Article V: Landscaping and Screening Requirements
Chapter 402: Trees and Landscaping Article V Landscaping and Screening Requirements
Section 402.150 Authority.
Section 402.160 Application.
Section 402.170 Landscape Plan Requirements.
Section 402.180 Standards For Bufferyard Areas Between Non-Residential and Residential Land Uses and Zoning Districts.
Section 402.190 (Reserved)
City staff shall have authority to approve the landscape plan subject to such additional requirements as may be deemed necessary by the Planning and Zoning Commission or City Council to promote the purpose of this Chapter.
All plans submitted in support of a final development plan or building permit shall hereafter include a landscape plan with a transition strip, where applicable. Upon an application for a building permit, each of the following districts/uses shall be exempt from the bufferyard requirements:
"AG" Agricultural District.
"P-R" Park-Recreation District.
Single-Family and Duplex Dwellings in "R-1" "R-1A" R-1B" "R-2" and "PUD" Districts.
[Ord. No. 5752 §1, 12-8-2011; Ord. No. 5831 §9, 12-13-2012]
Information Required. All plans submitted for approval of a landscape plan shall have the following information included:
Topographic information and final grading adequate to identify and properly specify planting for areas needing slope protection.
The location, size, and surface materials of all structures and parking areas.
The location, size, and type of all above ground and underground utilities and structures with proper notation, where appropriate, as to any safety hazards to avoid during landscape installation.
The approximate location, type, size and quantity of all proposed landscape materials, along with the common name of all plant species. The size, grading and condition shall be specified according to American Association of Nurserymen standards.
The location, size and common name of all existing plant materials to be retained on the site (large masses of trees may be indicated by mass outline only).
Mature sizes of plant material shall be drawn to scale and called out on the landscape plan by common name or appropriate key.
Location of hose connections and other water sources.
The location of all existing trees, twelve (12) inch caliper or larger on sites where trees are proposed for removal.
The location, size and type of required screening methods.
Planting Requirements Within Parking And Vehicular-Use Areas.
The intent of this Section is to encourage interior landscaping within vehicular parking areas; to break up the large expanses of pavement; to provide relief from the reflected glare and heat; as well as to guide vehicular and pedestrian traffic.
Except for vehicle storage lots, multiple level parking structures, and parking lots having a paved area no wider than a double-loaded aisle no more than sixty-five (65) feet in width, all parking areas in all zoning districts shall include the following as minimum requirements:
The interior dimensions of any planting area or planting median shall be sufficient to protect the landscaping materials planted therein and to insure proper growth. Any protected planting strip where trees are to be planted shall be a minimum of seven (7) feet wide and shall be protected from vehicle overhang.
The primary landscaping materials used in parking lots shall be trees which provide shade or are capable of providing shade at maturity. Shrubbery, hedges and other planting material may be used to complement the tree landscaping. Effective use of rain gardens, earthen berms and existing topography is also encouraged as a component of the landscaping plan.
In those instances where plant material exists on the parking lot site prior to its development, such landscape material may be used if approved as meeting the requirements in this Section.
No landscaping, tree, shrub, fence, wall or similar item shall be placed in the zones of ingress or egress at street corners, or in the intersection of a public right-of-way that will create an obstruction to visibility, or is a traffic hazard.
Exterior light fixtures shall be located within landscaped islands or in vegetated areas along the perimeter of the parking/vehicular use area. Light fixtures shall not be placed within required transition strips as defined in Section 400.425.
Where determined to be necessary by the City's Traffic Consultant, landscaped islands within parking lots shall be configured in a manner to direct traffic entering, exiting and/or traveling within a particular site.
Planting Requirements. The minimum planting sizes for all plant material shall be the following:
Medium and large deciduous shade trees. Two (2) inch caliper.
Small deciduous or ornamental trees. Four (4) feet in height as specified by the American Association of Nurserymen, with the exception of true dwarf species.
Conifers. Six (6) feet in height.
Upright evergreen trees. Six (6) feet in height as specified by the American Association of Nurserymen, except for true dwarf varieties.
Shrubs. (Deciduous and conifer including spreader and globe tree forms): Size optional as determined by applicant.
Ground cover plants. Crowns, plugs or containers in a number as appropriate by species to provide fifty percent (50%) surface coverage after two (2) growing seasons.
Grass seeding. As appropriate to provide complete coverage within the first (1st) growing season.
Sod. As necessary to provide coverage and soil stabilization.
Purpose. This Section provides the landscaping and width requirements for bufferyards on lots developed after May 10, 1999. One (1) of the most important functions of the Zoning Code is the separation of land uses into districts which have similar character and contain compatible uses. The location of districts is supposed to provide protection, but in the City of O'Fallon this is not the case since zoning districts permitting uses as diverse as single-family residential and industrial use were located adjacent to each other long before May 10, 1999. Bufferyards will operate to minimize the negative impact of any future use on its neighboring uses.
Required Locations For Bufferyards. Bufferyards shall be located along (and within) the outer perimeter of a lot wherever two (2) different zoning districts, or a non-residential land use and a residential land use abut one another. Bufferyards are not required adjacent to any right-of-way of or between residential development and properties zoned "P-R" Park-Recreation.
Determination Of Required Bufferyard.
The following paragraphs shall be used to select the minimum levels of bufferyard width, landscaping, berming and/or fencing needed to achieve the minimum level of screening for the required bufferyard. The landscaping component of each option is given in plant units. For any given bufferyard, any combination of options for the same level of screening may be used. This approach provides a range of choice for bufferyard width, landscaping, berming and/or fencing which can be varied according to site features. However, the minimum bufferyard requirements shall consist of conifers or upright evergreen trees planted on ten (10) foot centers and staggered to achieve maximum visual density coverage. Note that in all instances, bufferyard areas must remain as permanent green space although they may be included within the required building setback areas.
For commercial zoning districts or uses otherwise permitted in commercial districts which abut any residentially zoned property or property projected for future residential development by the City's Comprehensive Plan, the following additional bufferyard options shall be available:
For everyone hundred (100) feet of frontage where the bufferyard is required:
A total of two (2) plant units and a sight-proof, six (6) foot high (as measured from the adjacent finished grade and placed on the highest elevation or other location as determined by the Director of Planning and Development) sight-proof vinyl fence, decorative masonry wall, brick wall or other fence as approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission shall be provided within a minimum twenty (20) foot wide bufferyard area;
A total of four (4) plant units and a four (4) foot high earthen berm shall be provided within a minimum forty (40) foot wide bufferyard area; or
A total of five (5) plant units shall be provided within a minimum fifty (50) foot wide bufferyard area.
For industrial zoning districts or uses otherwise permitted in industrial districts which abut any residentially zoned property or property projected for future residential development by the City's Comprehensive Plan, the following additional bufferyard options shall be available:
A total of three (3) plant units and a sight-proof, six (6) foot high (as measured from the adjacent finished grade and placed at the highest elevation or other location as determined by the Director of Planning and Development) vinyl fence, decorative masonry wall, brick wall or other fence as approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission shall be provided within a minimum thirty (30) foot wide bufferyard area; or
A total of five (5) plant units and a five (5) foot high earthen berm shall be provided within a minimum fifty (50) foot wide bufferyard area.
For multi-family zoning districts ("R-3", "R-4" and "R-5") or uses otherwise permitted in these districts, which abut any "R-1", "R-1A", "R-1B" or "R-2" residentially zoned property or property projected as low or medium density residential development by the City's Comprehensive Plan future land use map, the following earthen bufferyard options shall be available (given that a variety of housing types are possible within the City's residential districts, the intent of this Subsection is to provide a buffer between single-family and triplex or greater density developments. However, the Planning and Zoning Commission may at their discretion require or not require a bufferyard, depending upon the densities involved):
For every one hundred (100) feet of frontage where the bufferyard is required:
A total of one and one-half (1.5) plant units and a sight-proof, six (6) foot high (as measured from the adjacent finished grade and placed on the highest elevation or other location as determined by the Director of Planning and Development) vinyl fence or decorative masonry wall, brick wall or other fence as approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission shall be provided within a minimum fifteen (15) foot wide bufferyard area;
A total of two and one-half (2.5) plant units and a two and one-half (2½) foot high earthen berm shall be provided within a minimum thirty (30) foot wide bufferyard area; or
A total of three (3) plant units shall be provided within a minimum fifty (50) foot wide bufferyard area.
Credits For Maintaining Existing Landscaping.
The maintenance of existing mature landscaping on a property where it may serve the bufferyard requirements is strongly encouraged and to this end the following incentive for its retention bufferyard area shall count toward meeting plant unit point total requirements based on the size of the materials. For instance, a ten (10) inch caliper deciduous canopy tree will count as fifty (50) points in that it is equal to five (5) trees under the plant unit definition. The amounts that such existing landscaping will count toward meeting plant unit requirements will be at the discretion of the Planning and Development Department and, as necessary, the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Special circumstances such as topography may necessitate changes in the location of the screened fencing as recommended by staff and approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission. Generally such fencing is expected to be placed on the non-residential or denser residential side of the bufferyard area. Increased screening may be required by the Planning and Zoning Commission through the site plan or conditional use permit processes where the Commission finds that such screening is necessary based on the nature of the proposed commercial or industrial use and its relationship to the adjacent residential use.
Below is Exhibit A, an illustration depicting the layout of the above bufferyard scenarios.