A.
Buffers, as provided for in this chapter, are required to separate
a nonresidential use from either an existing residential use or residential
zoning district, as follows:
(1)
Along any lot line or street line which divides a proposed nonresidential
use from existing residential uses in any zoning district in which
residential uses are permitted;
B.
Buffers are also required in such other circumstances as may be determined
by the municipal board having jurisdiction over an application for
approval of a site plan, conditional use, or use variance.
C.
No structure, activity, storage of materials, or parking of vehicles
shall be permitted in any required buffer area.
D.
The location and design of buffers shall consider the use of the
portion of the property being screened, the distance between the use
and the adjoining property line, differences 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 buffer shall be designed, planted, graded, landscaped
and developed with 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.
A.
Unless otherwise specified, all buffer areas shall be planted and
maintained with either grass or ground cover, together with a screen
of live shrubs or scatter plantings of live trees, shrubs or other
plant material meeting the following requirements:
(1)
The preservation of all natural wooded tracts shall be an integral
part of all site plans and may be calculated as part of the required
buffer area, provided that the growth is of a density and the area
has sufficient width to serve the purpose of a buffer. Where additional
plantings are necessary to establish an appropriate tone for an effective
buffer, said plantings may be required.
(2)
Plant materials used in screen planting shall be at least three feet
in height when planted and shall be of such density as will obscure,
throughout the full course of the year, the glare of automobile headlights
emitted from the premises.
(3)
Trees shall be at least five feet in height when planted and shall
be of a species common to the area, of nursery stock and free of insect
and disease.
(4)
Any plant material which does not live shall be replaced within one
year or one growing season.
B.
Wherever this chapter imposes a landscaping or seeding requirement,
natural vegetation may be substituted in all areas where it exists
and has attained a height of at least six feet. The landscaping and
seeding requirements shall still apply, however, in all areas not
so covered.
C.
Solid or substantially solid fences and walls may substitute for
a supplement natural and planted material, provided that their design
shall be compatible with the uses being protected by the buffer.
D.
Screen plantings and landscaping shall be broken at points of vehicular
and pedestrian ingress and egress to assure vision clearance at all
street and driveway intersections.
Buffers required under § 410-44 shall meet the following requirements as to width:
A.
In WD Districts: 10 feet.
B.
In C-1 Districts: 10 feet.
C.
In C-2 Districts.
(1)
Ten feet with respect to existing permitted residential uses in the
C-2 District.
(2)
Fifty feet with respect to zone boundaries, except that if the proposed
nonresidential use involves more than 50,000 square feet of gross
floor area or outdoor storage of materials and equipment, the minimum
buffer width shall be 100 feet.
D.
In I-1 Districts: 100 feet.
E.
In I-2 District: 200 feet.
[Amended 10-9-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-23]
F.
For nonresidential uses in the PV, R-2, R-1, and R-1A Districts:
25 feet.
[Amended 10-9-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-23]
G.
For nonresidential uses in the FO District: 100 feet.
The municipal board having jurisdiction over an application
for development may waive or modify any of the requirements and standards
set forth in this chapter for good cause and practical reasons.
