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East Whiteland Township
City Zoning Code

ARTICLE XI

Buffers

§ 200-59 Intent.

Buffers are intended to augment required setbacks from streets and from the perimeter of a tract where it adjoins a district boundary line by providing additional means of physical, visual, and acoustical separation between uses. Landscaped strips, screening, and shade trees required by this article are also intended to promote:
A. 
Harmony between land uses.
B. 
Reduction of glare, noise, and pollution levels.
C. 
Reduction of stormwater runoff volume.
D. 
Areas of shade that reduce temperature and energy costs during hot weather.
E. 
Natural windscreens that protect from exposure and reduce energy costs during cold weather.
F. 
Protection of environmentally sensitive areas.
G. 
Maintenance of some land on most tracts in a landscaped state to help offset the monotony of widespread pavement and buildings.
H. 
Privacy and property rights.
I. 
Attractive, shaded streets that contribute to the maintenance of an appealing community in which to live, work, and visit.
J. 
Safer means of controlling access to and from public streets.

§ 200-60 Applicability and scope.

This article regulates the circumstances in which buffers are required. When buffers are required, they shall be installed as specified, either as part of setbacks from the perimeter of a tract where it adjoins a district boundary line, as specified in § 200-62, or as part of setbacks from street ultimate rights-of-way, as specified in § 200-63. Classification of buffers is specified in § 200-61. Recommended trees, hedges, and shrubs are specified in § 200-68.

§ 200-61 Classification of buffers.

Required buffers shall be one or more of the following types, in accordance with §§ 200-62 and 200-63:
A. 
Type A:
(1) 
One canopy tree per 40 linear feet (Type A1).
B. 
Type B:
(1) 
One canopy tree per 40 linear feet, plus one flowering tree per 60 linear feet, plus one evergreen planted in a nonlinear format, per 40 linear feet (Type B1).
(2) 
One canopy tree per 40 linear feet, plus one evergreen per 30 linear feet (Type B2).
C. 
Type C:
(1) 
One evergreen per 30 linear feet, plus one hedge (three-foot centers) (Type C1).
(2) 
One evergreen per 25 linear feet, plus one shrub per eight linear feet (Type C2).
D. 
Type D:
(1) 
One hedge (three-foot centers) (Type D1).
(2) 
Six-foot high solid cedar or spruce fencing (Type D2).
(3) 
Six-foot high twelve-gauge plastic-coated chain link fence (Type D3).

§ 200-62 Required buffer types for setbacks adjoining district boundary lines.

Adjoining Tract
Subject Tract
Low-Impact Districts
Medium-Impact Districts
High-Impact Districts
Low-Impact Districts
Residential all, except RM and RMH
None
None
None
Open Space all
None
None
None
Institutional C
None
None
None
Medium-Impact District
Residential RM, RMH
B1
None
None
Mixed Use VMX
C2
None
None
Institutional INS, NS
D1 and B2
B1
A1
High-Impact Districts
Mixed Use CMX, FC, ROC
D2 and B1
D1 and B2
A1
Mixed Use O/BP, O/BPS
C2
B2
A1
Industrial all
D3 and C1
D3 and C2
A1

§ 200-63 Required buffer types for setbacks from streets.

Adjoining Ultimate Right-of Way
Subject Tract
Arterial Street
Collector Street
Local Street
Low-Impact Districts
Residential all, except RM and RMH
C2
A1
A1
Agricultural all
Open Space all
A1
A1
A1
Institutional C
A1
A1
A1
Medium-Impact Districts
Residential RM, RMH
C2
B1
A1
Mixed Use VMX
A1
A1
A1
Institutional INS, NS
A1
A1
A1
High-Impact Districts
Mixed Use B CMX, FC, ROC
A1
A1
B1
Mixed Use B O/BP, O/BPS
A1
A1
A1
Industrial B all
C2
C2
B1

§ 200-64 Retention of existing natural buffers.

Wherever buffers are required every effort shall be made to retain existing natural buffers, such as vegetation and topographic features. Buffers shall not include noxious weeds as defined by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

§ 200-65 Landscaping of setbacks.

All required setbacks, whether or not planted with trees, shrubs, or hedges required by §§ 200-62 and/or 200-63, shall, as a minimum, consist of grass, ground cover, and/or similar vegetative material or other natural landscaping materials.

§ 200-66 Alternative buffers.

As an alternative to the potential for an excessively linear appearance brought about by strict conformance to the minimum requirements of §§ 200-62 and/or 200-63, innovative, free-form buffers that may, in some cases, not be located entirely within the minimum required setback and that may include berms, are encouraged. Such alternative buffers may be authorized; the Zoning Officer may seek the advice of technical experts in the review of the alternative plans.

§ 200-67 Maintenance required.

All buffers shall be maintained by the property owner at his expense, assuring that required trees, plantings, and vegetative materials are kept in good condition. Any such materials that die shall be replaced within six months. Alternative buffers, as defined above, may be authorized in the context of buffer maintenance.

§ 200-68 Recommended buffer plantings.

The following planted materials are authorized for inclusion in buffers; other plantings may be authorized, subject to recommendations of the Planning Commission and the Township Engineer.
A. 
Canopy trees (three-inch caliper minimum):
Acer ginnala - amur maple
Acer rubrum - red maple
Acer saccharum - sugar maple
Betular alba - European white birch
Catalpa speciosa - northern catalpa
Celtis occidentalis - hackberry
Cercidiphyllum japonica - katsura tree
Diosspyros virginiana - common persimmon
Fagus grandifolia - American beech
Fagus sylvatica - European beech
Fraxinus americana - white ash
Fraxinus pennsylvanica lanceolata - green ash
Ginkgo biloba - ginkgo (male only)
Gleditsia tracanthos inermis - thornless honey locust
Gymnocladus dioica - Kentucky coffee-tree
Nyssa sylvatica - sour-gum
Phellodendron amurense - amur corktree
Platanus acerifolia - London plane-tree
Prunus Yedoenis - yoshino cherry
Quercus alba - white oak
Quercus borealis - red oak
Quercus coccinea - scarlet oak
Quercus imbricaria - laurel or shingle oak
Quercus palustris - pin oak
Quercus phellos - willow oak
Robina pseudoacacia inermis - thornless black locust
Sophora japonica - Japanese pagoda tree
Tilia - linden - all species hardy to the area
Ulmus parviflora - Chinese elm
Zelkova serrata - Japanese zelkova
B. 
Flowering/ornamental trees (two-inch caliper minimum):
Amelanchier canadensis - shadblow serviceberry
Cornus florida - flowering dogwood
Cornus kousa - kousa dogwood
Cornus mas - cornelian cherrry
Crataegus phaenopyrum - Washington hawthorn
Koelreuteria paniculata - golden rain tree
Laburnum vossi - goldenchain
Magnolia soulangeana - saucer magnolia
Magnolia virginiana - sweetbay magnolia
Malus baccata - siberian crab
Malus floribunda - Japanese flowering crab
Malus hopa - hopa red - flowering crab
Oxydendrum arboreum - sourwood
Pyrus calleryana Bradford - callery pear
Punus kwansan - kwanzan cherry
Prunus yedoensis - yoshino cherry
C. 
Evergreens (six-foot-high minimum):
Ilex opaca - American holly
Picea abies - Norway spruce
Picea omorika - Serbian spruce
Picea pungens - Colorado spruce
Pinus nigra - Austrian pine
Pseudotsuga menziesii - Douglas fir
Tsuga canadensis - Canada hemlock
Pinus strobus - eastern white pine
X Cupressocyparis leylandii - Leyland cypress
Pinaceae Pinus virginiana - Virginia pine
D. 
Hedges (four-foot-high minimum):
Crataegus intricata - thicket hawthorn
Forsythia intermedia - border forsythia
Rhamnus frangular columnaris - tallhedge buckthorn
Syringa chinensis - Chinese lilac
Syringa vulgaris - common lilac
Viburnum alatus - viburnum
Maclura pomifera - osage orange
Crataegus crus-galli - cockspur thorn
Crataegus phaenopyrum - Washington hawthorn
E. 
Shrubs (eighteen-inch-high minimum):
Hamamelis virginiana - white hazel
Vaccinium sp. - blueberries
Lindera benzoin - spice bush
Rhododendron sp. - azaleas
Rhododendron sp. - rhododendrons