The purpose of the requirements in this chapter is to provide for appropriate landscaping, screening, and parking lot and public garage lighting that will:

   (a)   Protect residential and all other environments from adverse effects, such as noise, odors and dust, of more intensive adjacent uses;

   (b)   Protect users of parking areas from excessive wind, glare, and temperature extremes;

   (c)   Mitigate the adverse effects on public streets and adjacent properties of noise, blowing dust and debris, water runoff, and glare from motor vehicle headlights and parking area lighting;

   (d)   Provide adequate lighting in parking lots and public garages for the safety of residents, pedestrians, and motorists;

   (e)   Discourage unsafe access to and circulation within off-street parking areas;

   (f)   Contribute to improved community appearance and property values and preserve and enhance the mature “established” character of City neighborhoods;

   (g)   Preserve privacy in residential areas next to non-residential uses and discourage trespass thereupon;

   (h)   Provide trees that improve the urban environment by cooling the air and land, reducing carbon dioxide in the air, and producing oxygen; and

   (i)   Compensate for the inability in an older, densely developed city like Cleveland to buffer incompatible uses by use of wide yards and open spaces.

(Ord. No. 726-2025. Passed 8-13-25, eff. 8-18-25)

   (a)   Transition Strip. A Transition Strip is a landscaped screening strip of an intensity specified in the table contained in Section 352.09 located along the length of all lot lines that abut an adjacent lot having zoning of a different intensity.

   (b)   Frontage Strip. A Frontage Strip is a landscaped screening strip located along the length of front and corner side lot lines in actual front or corner side yards that accommodate parking or other areas specified in the table contained in Section 352.10 requiring screening from public streets.

   (c)   Island Strip. An Island Strip is a landscaped area located within an off-street parking area as required by the table contained in Section 352.10 to guide traffic circulation, reduce glare and temperature extremes, and improve the appearance of the parking area.

   (d)   Screen Barrier. A Screen Barrier is a fence, wall, or evergreen landscape screening concealing uses specified in the table contained in Section 352.10 from view from the ground floor level adjoining properties and from the street.

(Ord. No. 3077-A-89. Passed 6-17-91, eff. 7-27-91)

   (a)   Transition Strips. Any use located on a lot having a rear or interior side lot line abutting or across a court or alley right-of-way from a zoning district with a lower index number as provided in the table contained in Section 352.08 shall install a Transition Strip along such lot line as required by the table contained in Section 352.09.

   (b)   Other. Frontage Strips, Island Strips, and Screen Barriers shall be required as provided in the table contained in Section 352.10.

   (c)   Uses Approved by Board of Zoning Appeals. Because certain uses require approval by the Board of Zoning Appeals under this chapter because of their potential to create land use conflicts, in order to reduce such conflicts such uses may be required by the Board to provide landscaping or screening that exceeds the requirements herein.

   (d)   Exceptions.

      (1)   Screening on Abutting Lot. No screening shall be required along a lot line if screening meeting all other requirements therefor exists along such lot line on the abutting lot or lots. If such existing screening is lawfully discontinued, screening on the subject lot meeting the requirements herein shall be installed within sixty (60) days of the discontinuation.

      (2)   Below-Grade Areas. The height of a Frontage Strip or Screen Barrier along a lot line which adjoins a below-grade parking or loading area may be reduced by an amount which reflects the difference in grade between the parking or loading area and the area along the lot line. Specifically, such difference in grade shall be determined by comparing the highest point of the finished grade of the parking or loading area and the average grade of the strip of lot area within four (4) feet of the lot line.

      (3)   Shared Driveway. No screening shall be required along that portion of a lot line along which there is a driveway or vehicular circulation aisle that is shared with an abutting lot.

      (4)   Building Walls. A building wall meeting the requirements herein shall qualify as wall screening under the table contained in Section 352.11 if its location along the lot line is legally nonconforming or is permitted under yard and setback requirements of this chapter.

      (5)   Temporary Uses. A temporary use shall not be subject to the provisions of this chapter if it has been issued a permit by the Commissioner of Building and Housing limiting its duration to two hundred seventy (270) days or less, or such a permit and no more than one (1) renewal thereof for no more than ninety (90) additional days. Temporary “for hire” parking lots, however, shall be subject to the applicable requirements contained in Chapter 457 of the Codified Ordinances.

      (6)   Downtown. No Transition Strip or Screen Barrier shall be required in the Central Business District as defined in Section 325.12 except as a condition to a use requiring either approval under this chapter by the Board of Zoning Appeals or design review approval under Chapter 341 (the Public Land Protective District) or under Chapter 161 (the Landmarks District). Frontage Strips and Island Strips shall be required in the Central Business District, except as otherwise provided herein.

      (7)   Built-up Lots. The Commissioner of Building and Housing shall waive the requirement for installation of any Strip or Screen Barrier, or reduce any of the required dimensions thereof, for a new use on any developed lot where it has been determined by the Director of the City Planning Commission that:

         A.   There is insufficient space to allow its installation; or

         B.   The Strip or Barrier could not be installed without creating either a violation of any provision of this chapter or a greater degree of nonconformity therewith; or

         C.   Installation would impede essential access onto or within the lot.

      No waiver shall be granted if a reduction in dimensions of the Strip or Barrier would allow its installation, and any such reduction shall be the minimum needed to permit the installation, as determined by the Director of the City Planning Commission.

      (8)   Access Ways. Transition Strips and Frontage Strips shall not be required along the width of access ways. Width of access ways shall not be counted for purposes of spacing requirements in the table contained in Section 352.11.

      (9)   Lots Without Water Supply. On any lot on which access to City water for irrigation required for landscaping is unavailable or impractical in the judgment of the Director of the City Planning Commission (such as may be the case with a parking lot not associated with a building), the Director may approve exceptions as provided herein.

         A.   In lieu of the trees and shrubs required by the table contained in Section 352.11:

            1.   Where feasible in his or her judgment, the Director may approve installation on the lot of drought-resistant xeriscape varieties generally equivalent in number and dimensions to the installations required by the table;

            2.   Otherwise, the Director may approve waiving the requirement for shrubs and in lieu of the requirement for trees may approve installation of street trees in the public right-of-way abutting the lot. Such street trees shall meet the requirements of the table for trees and shall be approved by the Division of Urban Forestry of the Department of Parks and Recreation.

         B.   In lieu of living ground cover in a landscaped strip required as set forth in the table contained in Section 352.11 and division (c) of Section 352.05, the Director may approve exclusive use of non- living materials, such as barks, stones or sand, in an ornamental arrangement but not artificial plants or artificial turf. If in his or her judgment use of non- living materials is impractical, the Director may approve waiving the requirement for the landscaped strip.

      (10)   Alleys. No Frontage Strip shall be required abutting any alley or court, as defined in Section 309.09, except as may be required in Chapter 457 of the Codified Ordinances.

      (11)   Vision Clearance Triangle. Notwithstanding any other provision herein, no part of any wall, fence, hedge, berm, or other opaque landscaping or screening obstruction, except for tree trunks and open fences (as defined herein), shall project between two and one-half (2-1/2) feet and eight (8) feet above grade within any vision clearance triangle.

      The vision clearance triangle shall be the area formed by the right-of-way lines of two streets or a street and a railroad, or the right-of-way line of a street and the edge of the pavement of a driveway, between their at-grade intersection and points twenty-five (25) feet therefrom along each line, or ten (10) feet in the case of a driveway, and a straight line connecting those two (2) points. The restrictions for vision clearance triangles shall not apply with regard to driveways on lots in one (1) family or two (2) family zoning districts.

      (12)   Parking Districts. No Transition Strip shall be required abutting a Parking District, as defined by the provisions of Chapter 339 of the Codified Ordinances. On a lot used for accessory parking in a Parking District, abutting any Residence District a Medium Intensity Transition Strip shall be required. On a lot in a Parking District developed in another use, the required Transition Strip shall be as determined by the table contained in Section 352.09.

      (13)   Other. Other exceptions may be approved by the Board of Zoning Appeals under provisions for variances in Chapter 329.

(Ord. No. 3077-A-89. Passed 6-17-91, eff. 7-27-91)

   (a)   For any use required to provide any Transition Strip, Frontage Strip, or Island Strip, a Landscape Plan shall be filed with an application for:

      (1)   Rezoning (map amendment); or

      (2)   Any use requiring approval by the Board of Zoning Appeals; or

      (3)   Any variance from landscaping or screening requirements; or

      (4)   Building Permit or Certificate of Occupancy.

   The requirement for submission of a landscape plan shall be deferred in any instance in which the specific use of the premises, and therefore the parking, loading, or other requirements on which the requirements herein are based, are not yet determined, such as in the case of an industrial subdivision the future uses within which are not yet known.

   (b)   The Landscape Plan shall conform to the requirements of the table contained in Section 352.12.

   (c)   No Landscape Plan shall be required for uses required to provide only a Screen Barrier as provided in the table contained in Section 352.10. The application shall, however, describe the dimensions, materials, color, and location of the Screen Barrier.

(Ord. No. 3077-A-89. Passed 6-17-91, eff. 7-27-91)

   (a)   Permitted Forms of Screening. Screening required in item 2 of the table contained in Section 352.11 and the Screen Barrier required in the table contained in Section 352.10 may take the form of:

      (1)   A landscaped earthen berm;

      (2)   A concrete or masonry wall;

      (3)   A wood, wrought iron, tubular steel, or similar decorative fence as approved by the Director of the City Planning Commission as compatible with the character of the area in which the fence is to be placed;

      (4)   A compact hedge or other live evergreen vegetative barrier; or

      (5)   A combination thereof.

   Fences and walls used to meet screening requirements shall display a finished face toward adjacent streets and properties.

   (b)   Types of Landscaping Materials. As determined by the Commissioner of Park Maintenance, or the Commissioner of Urban Forestry, as appropriate, (“Commissioner”) or a designee, or in accordance with standards promulgated by the appropriate Commissioner or designee, all varieties of living landscape materials used shall be:

      (1)   Healthy, hardy, and drought-resistant consistent with the availability of water for artificial irrigation; and

      (2)   Suitable for the climate and environmental influences on the site, such as exposure to sun, wind, water, heat, automobile exhaust fumes, and road salt; and

      (3)   Compatible with the slope of the site, with existing vegetation to be preserved and with utility lines above or below ground level; and

      (4)   Tree selection shall be based on recommended species in the Cleveland Tree Plan as it may be amended from time to time.

   (c)   Ground Cover in Landscaped Strips. Grass or other ground cover shall be planted over all landscaped strips including earthen faces of berms, except in areas planted in flowers, shrubs, or trees, so as to present a finished appearance and reasonably complete coverage within three (3) months after planting.

   Non-living landscaping materials such as sand, stones, rocks, or barks may be substituted for living cover over a maximum of thirty percent (30%) of the landscaped area. No artificial plants or turf shall be used.

   (d)   Preservation of Landscaping.

      (1)   Credit Toward Requirements. The Director of Building and Housing, in consultation with the Commissioner of Park Maintenance or the Commissioner of Urban Forestry, as appropriate, or designee, shall credit healthy trees or shrubs existing on a site prior to development and proposed to be preserved toward the requirements of the table contained in Section 352.11.

      Except as provided herein for bonus credits, each preserved tree or shrub meeting the applicable requirements of the table contained in Section 352.11 shall reduce by one (1) the number of new trees or shrubs required.

      (2)   Bonus Credit for Larger Trees. Larger preserved trees shall reduce the number of new trees required in the table contained in Section 352.11 as follows:

 

 

   (e)   Tree Protection During Construction. An applicant may claim a credit for preservation of existing trees and shrubs under division (d) of this section, and shall certify that all trees and shrubs for which a credit is claimed are currently healthy. An applicant shall adhere to the requirements of this section with respect to all trees on the site, including the trees for which the credit is claimed.

      (1)   Tree protection during construction, including bark and root protection, shall be according to Best Management Standards and ANSI Standards for Arboriculture as may be amended from time to time.

      (2)   Damage Mitigation. Despite following Best Management Standards and ANSI Standards for Arboriculture, as may be amended from time to time, significant damage has been done to the roots, the tree may need to be removed based on the assessment by the Commissioner of Urban Forestry or a designee. In this case, the owner shall replace the tree with a tree or trees of equal or greater diameter that are approved by the Commissioner of Urban Forestry or a designee, or the owner shall make payment to the City’s Tree Preservation Fund for the replacement cost of the tree as established using the Trunk Formula Method outlined in The Guide for Plant Appraisal by the Council of Tree and Landscape Appraisers, as may be amended from time to time, or other tree replacement analysis provided by similar publication.

      Tree limbs damaged during construction shall be addressed following Best Management Standards and ANSI Standards for Arboriculture, as may be amended from time to time.

      (3)   Removal of Barriers. Protective fences and barriers around trees shall be removed only as the final stage of post-construction cleanup.

   (f)   Berming. Berms used for screening shall be a minimum of two (2) feet high at all points. The interior face of a berm may be retained by a wall, terrace, or other means acceptable to the Director of Building and Housing in lieu of taking the form of an earthen slope.

   All earthen berm faces on which ground cover is not yet completely established shall be protected from erosion by a mulch and/or an erosion control net.

   Slopes for earthen faces shall not exceed thirty-three percent (33%) if covered with grass and fifty percent (50%) if covered with other vegetative cover.

   (g)   Curbing. All landscaped strips located in or abutting parking areas shall be separated on all sides from the parking surface by curbing consisting of concrete, stone, brick, asphalt, or other material approved by the Director of Building and Housing as having comparable appearance and durability. Curbing shall be in good condition upon installation.

   (h)   Other. Other requirements shall be as specified in the table contained in Sections 352.11.

(Ord. No. 521-2024. Passed 7-10-24, eff. 7-16-24) (BOC Res. No. 377-24. Adopted 8-7-24)

   (a)   Assurance of Installation. Before issuing any Certificate of Occupancy for any application to which the provisions of this chapter apply, the Director of Building and Housing shall determine that either:

      (1)   Landscaping and screening required in this chapter have been fully installed; or

      (2)   If seasonal or weather conditions or other factors preclude such installation at the time of application, that financial sureties have been submitted to guarantee installation within nine (9) months of the date of issuance of the certificate.

      Financial sureties shall be in the form of a performance bond, letter of credit, cash or property escrow, or other form approved by the Director of Building and Housing. They shall be in the amount of one hundred ten percent (110%) of the estimated cost of the materials and their installation based on figures approved by the Director of Parks and Recreation or a designee.

   (b)   Installation Procedures. All tree materials shall be installed in conformance with the most current procedures established by Best Management Standards and ANSI Standards for Arboriculture, as may be amended from time to time. All other living landscaping materials shall be installed in conformance with the most current procedures established by the American Association of Nurserymen or its successor organization. A permanently-installed underground irrigation system shall be provided for a required landscape area if it is determined by the Commissioner of Urban Forestry or a designee that such irrigation is required for proper maintenance of the type of landscape materials proposed for installation.

   (c)   Maintenance and Replacement. The owner, occupant, tenant, and agent of each, if any, shall be jointly and severally responsible for the maintenance, repair, and replacement of all landscaping, screening, and curbing required under this chapter so as to preserve at least the same quantity, quality, and screening effectiveness as initially installed.

   A preserved existing tree that dies or is destroyed shall be replaced by:

      (1)   A replacement tree or trees of equal or greater diameter approved by the Commissioner of Urban Forestry or a designee;

      (2)   The trees recommended in the Cleveland Tree Plan as it may be amended from time to time; or

      (3)   The owner may make payment into the City’s Tree Preservation Fund for the replacement cost of the tree as established using the Trunk Formula Method outlined in The Guide for Plant Appraisal by the Council of Tree and Landscape Appraisers, as may be amended from time to time, or other tree replacement analysis provided by similar publication.

   All living and non-living landscaping, including fences, walls, and ornamental lighting, shall be maintained in a good condition at all times so as to present a healthy, neat, and orderly appearance and shall be kept free from refuse and debris.

   Any unhealthy or dead vegetation shall be replaced with healthy living plantings no later than the end of the next applicable planting season.

   (d)   Removal. Installed landscaping and screening may not be removed except temporarily for replacement or maintenance unless the zoning of an abutting parcel is changed to a district that does not require a Transition Strip or unless any other condition that mandates landscaping or screening hereunder no longer applies to the property.

(Ord. No. 521-2024. Passed 7-10-24, eff. 7-16-24) (BOC Res. No. 377-24. Adopted 8-7-24)

   No other portion of this Code, and no other ordinance, regulation, or redevelopment agreement, is intended to be repealed or abrogated by this chapter.

   (a)   More Restrictive Requirement Applies. If any other part of this or any other City ordinance, or any other law, regulation, Community Development Plan approved pursuant to Section 317.02, redevelopment agreement, or any kind of private agreement, covenant, or easement applying within the City, establishes a requirement different from that established in this chapter, the provision that is the more restrictive or that imposes the higher standard shall govern.

   (b)   Nonconformities.

      (1)   Nonconformities May Continue. A use lawfully existing immediately before the effective date of this chapter or any amendment thereto that does not conform to all applicable requirements hereof, may continue without such conformance without time limit except as provided herein.

      (2)   When Board Determination Required. Notwithstanding the provisions of Chapter 359, on or after such effective date a determination by the Board of Zoning Appeals as provided herein shall be required prior to the issuance of a Building Permit or Certificate of Occupancy for any such use, or any alteration thereof, for either of the following:

         A.   Change of Use. Any change from one use to another, as determined by the Commissioner of Building and Housing, whether or not a period of vacancy has intervened.

         Such determination shall be guided by factors such as whether uses are named separately in the Use District regulations of Chapter 335 and 345, whether uses are subject to different requirements for parking under the Off-Street Parking and Loading chapter thereof, or other reasonable factors judged appropriate by the Commissioner.

         B.   Expansion of Use. An expansion of any use required to provide landscaping or screening under the tables contained in Sections 352.09 and 352.10, respectively, exceeds both:

            1.   Fifteen percent (15%) of the land area or floor area the use occupies; and

            2.   One thousand (1,000) square feet of such area.

      (3)   Criteria for Determination. The Board shall determine whether and to what degree the use shall comply with the requirements of this chapter as a condition of such Permit or Certificate.

      The Board shall require full or partial compliance therewith if such compliance would not require:

         A.   Acquisition of additional land; or

         B.   Full or partial removal or relocation of a sound major structure or structures; or

         C.   Creation of other circumstances that would produce undue hardship or practical difficulties.

      Issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy for construction pursuant to an unexpired Building Permit issued before the effective date of this chapter shall not require action by the Board.

      (4)   Nonconforming Refuse Disposal Areas. Notwithstanding other provisions of this section, an accessory refuse disposal area which is a legal nonconforming use with respect to the screening requirements of this chapter shall be screened to meet all such requirements prior to issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy for any exterior construction of alterations to structures or pavement area on the subject property.

   (c)   Approval by the Director of the City Planning Commission. Where approval is required by the Director of the City Planning Commission, the Director may refer such decision for action by the City Planning Commission, if, in the opinion of the Director, the circumstances of a particular application do not provide sufficient guidance for an administrative decision.

(Ord. No. 3077-A-89. Passed 6-17-91, eff. 7-27-91)

 

   Index numbers are for use with the table contained in Section 352.09. See division (d)(12) of Section 352.03 for Parking Districts.

(Ord. No. 3077-A-89. Passed 6-17-91, eff. 7-27-91)

 

 

   Compatibility Index Numbers are as provided in the table contained in Section 352.08. See also the tables contained in Sections 352.10 and 352.11, respectively.

(Ord. No. 3077-A-89. Passed 6-17-91, eff. 7-27-91)

 

(Ord. No. 3077-A-89. Passed 6-17-91, eff. 7-27-91)

 

(Ord. No. 3077-A-89. Passed 6-17-91, eff. 7-27-91)

   In addition to other plans required under this chapter, three (3) copies of a plan at a scale of ten (10) to thirty (30) feet to the inch containing:

   (a)   Basic Information.

      (1)   Numeric and graphic scale, north arrow, and date of preparation;

      (2)   Name, address, and phone number of applicant and of preparer of the plan;

      (3)   Boundaries of the development and of each phase thereof;

      (4)   Lot lines and dimensions and areas of lots;

      (5)   A photograph taken within thirty (30) days of the date of application of the site on which the landscaping is to be installed.

   (b)   Existing Landscaping.

      (1)   Existing wooded areas; and

      (2)   Existing isolated trees four (4) inches or more in diameter at one (1) foot above natural grade at the base of the tree.

   (c)   Proposed Landscaping.

      (1)   The following information about all proposed living and non-living landscaping materials, including materials to be preserved:

         A.   Botanic and common names;

         B.   Quantity and location;

         C.   Height at installation and at maturity;

         D.   Caliper at one (1) foot above proposed grade.

      (2)   Proposed ground cover; types and boundaries.

      (3)   Proposed berming locations and contours at one (1) foot intervals.

      (4)   Dimensions and descriptions, renderings, elevations, or photographs indicating the external appearance of proposed fences, walls, ornamental lighting and other non-landscaping elements.

      (5)   Measures to be taken to protect new and preserved trees during construction.

      (6)   Any other information the Commissioner of Building and Housing requires to determine compliance with this chapter.

(Ord. No. 3077-A-89. Passed 6-17-91, eff. 7-27-91)

   (a)   All parking lots containing ten (10) or more spaces, which are used during non-daylight hours, shall be illuminated during those hours with one (1) to two and a half (2.5) footcandles, as recommended by the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES).

   (b)   All public garages required to have a license under Chapter 457 of these Codified Ordinances shall be illuminated with a minimum one (1) footcandle (11 lux) on all egress walking surfaces and a minimum of ten (10) footcandles (108 lux) on all stairways and their landings.

   (c)   All illumination requirements contained in this section shall be designed and shielded so as not to shine, glare, reflect or be directed into or towards any premises used for residential purposes.

   (d)   The installation of lighting, replacement of lighting, and changes to existing light fixtures must be made in compliance with this section.

(Ord. No. 726-2025. Passed 8-13-25, eff. 8-18-25)