A.

Open Space General Requirements.

1.

Open space shall be required as established in the Space Dimension Table (Chapter 16.16).

2.

Required yards and requirements for sidewalk zones and landscape zones which are constructed on private property may be counted towards open space requirements. No more than thirty-five (35) percent of a combination of the side and rear yards may consist of a concrete, asphalt or gravel driveway or parking area and the remaining percentage shall be grass or landscaped areas.

3.

Open space may also include balconies, roof-top terraces, required yards, planted areas, fountains, parks, plazas, trails and paths, hardscape elements related to sidewalks and plazas, common recreational activity areas, and similar features which are located on private property. Open space shall not include areas devoted to public or private vehicular access, nor shall it include stormwater management facilities such as retention ponds, unless they are a city-approved publicly accessible open space amenity.

B.

Open Space Implementation and Maintenance.

1.

Implementation. All open space including buffers, setbacks, sidewalk clear zones, sidewalk zones and public spaces shall be fully implemented prior to occupancy and if not completed, the occupancy permit shall not be issued.

2.

Maintenance. The owner shall provide adequate maintenance of the open space improvements for a minimum of one year from the date of issuance of the certificate of occupancy. The city shall inspect landscape improvements at least once during this period to ensure that the approved plan has been fully implemented and maintained. When a private property owner provides landscaping within the public right-of-way and the landscaping dies within a one-year period, such landscaping shall be replaced within a reasonable time for planting by the owner at the owner's sole expense.

C.

Relocation of Minimum Open Space Requirements. At the option of the property owner, up to fifty (50) percent of a development's required open space may be relocated to an off-site parcel within the city provided the following criteria are met:

1.

The receiving parcel is in accordance with the comprehensive plan as being a designated recipient parcel; and

2.

The receiving parcel contains the required amount of open space and said open space in the receiving parcel is located adjacent to and visible from a public street and accessible to the public during normal city park hours.

(Ord. dated 6/30/08 (part); Ord. dated 11/2/20, § 12; Ord. dated 6/6/22, § 28)

A.

Buffers shall be as provided in the Buffer Specification Table below. Screening required within buffers shall be set forth in the said schedule of required buffers and is intended to provide separation of spaces without necessarily eliminating visual contact between the spaces, and may consist of existing vegetation, planted vegetation, a landscaped earth berm, a decorative wall, a wood fence, or a combination of the above.

B.

Location of Buffers. Required buffers shall be located along the interior or street lot lines nearest the adjacent streets, land uses, or zoning designations except where such lot lines are intersected by crossing accessways or utility easements, or by a joint parking area. Buffers shall not be located on any portion of an existing or proposed street right-of-way or easement.

C.

Use of Buffer. Provided the required buffer width and screening is maintained, a buffer may contain utilities, pedestrian and bicycle paths, and other minor or passive uses compatible with the general separation of land uses. Buffers shall not be used for temporary or permanent parking or loading.

D.

Responsibility for Buffer. Where vacant lots located in different zoning districts are adjacent, the first such lot to be developed shall provide the buffer required next to the adjacent vacant land. At the time it is developed, the second such lot shall provide all additional screening and/or land necessary to provide the total buffer required between the developed land uses.

E.

Where a buffer meeting the requirements of this section is provided on an adjacent lot, the screening and/or land within that buffer may be counted as contributing to the total buffer required between the adjacent existing land use and the proposed land use.

F.

Other Required Screening. In addition to the buffer screening required above, a fence may be installed to substitute for planting in conformity with regulations which shall be promulgated by the planning and zoning director when land area is limited. Such screening devices may include solid decorative brick walls, wood fences, berms, or tight evergreen hedges which shall reach the necessary height appropriate to its screening function within two years of planting, or a combination of the said devices. Regulations governing such substitutions shall be maintained permanently as a public record in the planning and zoning office of the city, and copies of same shall be made available to the public without charge at said address during office hours.

G.

Dumpster Screening.

1.

All dumpsters shall be enclosed with a wall of equal or greater height on three sides by a masonry wall enclosure that is a minimum of eight feet in height, accessed by an opaque steel gate the material of which shall be similar to the material on the outside of the main building.

2.

Dumpsters shall be placed in the rear yard and may be located five feet from the property line if the adjoining property is zoned NM, CM, TCM, M1 or M2 and five feet from all applicable buffers if the adjoining property is zoned NR1, NR2, NR3, CR or TCR.

3.

Dumpster Pad.

a.

Dumpsters shall be placed on concrete pads of sufficient size and strength to support the weight of service vehicles.

b.

Restaurants and other food service establishments shall place dumpsters on concrete pads that are designed to slope into a drain that is equipped with a grease trap.

H.

Mechanical Systems Screening. Accessory mechanical systems and features including air and heating systems shall not be visible from the public right-of-way.

I.

Alternative Buffers and Screening. In lieu of compliance with the buffers and screening requirements, the planning commission may approve an alternative buffers and screening plan upon the submission of a detailed plan and specifications for landscaping and screening which will afford a degree of buffering and screening equivalent to or exceeding that provided by the foregoing requirements.

J.

Existing Vegetation. Existing vegetation shall be retained and maintained whenever possible so as to permit such vegetation to contribute to buffer and screening requirements.

K.

Maintenance of Landscaping. All landscaping and screening providing required buffering and screening shall be maintained so as to continue their effectiveness.

L.

Uses Requiring Fences in Commercial and Industrial Areas. In any district where reference is made requiring adequate screening of a specified operation, such screening shall be a wall or fence of solid appearance or tight evergreen hedge not less than six feet in height for such uses as junkyards, lumberyards, sanitary landfills, manufacturing plants where outside storage is used, commercial kennels and auto service garages where auto storage is provided outside of buildings.

M.

Administration, Inspection, and Enforcement.

1.

All of the provisions of this section shall be administered and enforced by the planning and zoning director, whose duties shall include developing and maintaining specific regulations to give effect to the intent of this section, rendering interpretations as to the requirements of this section, inspecting buffers and enforcement of all provisions of this section.

2.

All questions arising in connection with the administration and enforcement of this section shall be presented first to the planning and zoning director and then to the board of appeals and adjustments on appeal from decisions of the planning and zoning director, pursuant to Section 16.12.180(A).

(Ord. dated 6/30/08 (part); Ord. dated 11/2/20, § 13)

A.

Transitional Heights.

1.

Transitional Height Planes. A transitional height plane is an imaginary plane having a vertical component and angular component specifically designed to restrict the maximum height of all parts of buildings or structures within CR, TCR, NM, CM, TCM, M1 and M2 zoning districts and their relationship to adjoining NR1, NR2 and NR3 districts. Transitional height planes shall comply with the following components and regulations:

a.

A vertical component measured at the required setback adjoining the common property line by a thirty-five (35) foot vertical distance above the finished grade; and

b.

An angular component extending inward over an adjoining CR, TCR, NM, CM, TCM, M1 and M2 district at an angle of forty-five (45) degrees, and;

c.

Such vertical and angular component calculations shall be made on a point-by-point basis and not average grade.

d.

No portion of any structure shall protrude through the transitional height planes specified in subsection (A)(2) below.

2.

Where CR, TR, NM, CM, TCM, M1 or M2 districts adjoin NR1, NR2, and NR3 districts without an intervening street, height within this district shall be limited by the transitional height plane requirements.

(Ord. dated 6/30/08 (part); Ord. dated 6/6/22, § 29)