A.

Bufferyard Standards for Commercial and Industrial Development.

1.

A buffer yard is the outer portion of a lot extending to the boundary line. Bufferyards are designed to use planting or fencing to reduce potential nuisances. These nuisances may include dirt, noise, litter, lighting glare, and unsightly parking lots, signs or buildings.

B.

Requirement. All owners property with commercial, recreational, instituational, and industrial uses shall maintain a bufferyard, if their property abuts a residential use or non-commercial vacant land. If a land use is proposed adjacent to vacant land, the bufferyard requirement may be reduced if the owner of the vacant land agrees.

C.

Location. Bufferyards shall not be located on any portion of an existing or dedicated public or private street or right-of-way. The bufferyard shall be continuous, except for bufferyard required for another building.

D.

Standards.

1.

Bufferyard requirements are stated in terms of the width of the bufferyard and the number of plants required per linear feet of bufferyard. The buffer strip shall be a minimum of 20 feet wide.

2.

The minimum landscaping materials shall include at least one large tree for every 60 linear feet of the required buffer strip, or one small tree for every 30 linear feet of the required buffer strip. A large tree attains a height at maturity of greater than 30 feet. A small tree attains a height at maturity of less than 30 feet.

3.

The zoning official may require higher bufferyard standards under section 17-2044, commercial and industrial storage standards, section 17-2049, adult business standards, and section 172050, alcoholic beverage business standards, in order to protect adjacent landowners from adverse impacts. The Zoning Official may require an opaque fence in addition to landscaping to reduce impacts.

a.

Commentary. The standards for bufferyards represent minimum requirements. The goal is to eliminate, to the extent possible, the impacts of nonresidential uses on residential property owners in the parish. In the case of storage yards, alcoholic beverage sales, and adult businesses, these impacts can be severe. Accordingly, the parish provides wide discretion to the zoning official to establish appropriate buffer yard standards for these businesses prior to approving any building permits.

4.

The Zoning Official may also waive some or all of the requirements for a bufferyard and may permit an owner or developer to landscape an existing right-of-way, if in the judgment of the Zoning Official, such landscaping will meet the objectives of this ordinance.

a.

Commentary. The zoning official is also given authority to reduce the bufferyard requirements in appropriate circumstances. In this case, the abutting property owners should be consulted and agree to the reduction in requirements.

E.

Maintenance. The owner of a bufferyard shall keep the bufferyard in good condition, routinely pick up litter, and replace all dead vegetation.

(DC03-01, 1/9/03; DC09-09, 12/17/09)