Jackson Township Butler County
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
PART 19
Screening and Landscaping
§ 27-1901 Buffer yard standards and design.
A.
No structure or uses shall be permitted in the buffer yard, other than stormwater management facilities, provided the structures or uses do not interfere with the required plantings in the buffer yard and provided all plantings are located outside any stormwater management structure. Structures or uses not permitted within the required buffer yard include, but are not limited to, buildings, accessory structures, parking spaces and lighting devices.
B.
Openings for driveways and Township-required access drives shall be permitted to cross a required buffer yard. Plantings in the buffer yard shall be located so as to not obstruct vision for traffic entering and leaving the site and shall be subject to the clear sight triangle requirements of the Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance (Chapter 22).
C.
In the event that existing vegetation and/or existing topography provides screening which is adequate to meet the intent of the required buffer yard to screen the buildings, activities and parking areas from adjoining residential properties, the Township Engineer, upon recommendation by the Planning Commission, may determine that existing topography and/or vegetation constitutes all or part of the required buffer yard. If such a determination is made and the size of the buffer yard warrants it, the applicant may be required to record a conservation easement of the depth specified by the Board of Supervisors to guarantee that the existing topography and/or vegetation will not be disturbed or removed from the approved buffer yard.
D.
None of the plantings in the required buffer yard shall encroach across any property line. All plantings shall be located a minimum of 2 1/2 feet from the property line which constitutes the exterior boundary of the buffer yard.
E.
Bufferyard requirements are subject to the Table of Bufferyard Requirements as included as an attachment to this chapter in Attachment 2. The requirements imposed on each use are in the first row as it directly relates to the existing use on the adjacent property in the top column as indicated on the chart in Attachment 2.
(1)
Any residential subdivision of lots, excluding a minor subdivision, shall be classified as low density residential for purposes of the Table of Bufferyard Requirements.
F.
Buffer Yard A.
(1)
Purpose. Buffer Yard A is designed to provide for adequate screening between uses and districts exhibiting the greatest potential conflict in terms of density and intensity.
(2)
Depth of buffer yard: 40 feet.
(3)
Base planting standards. Plantings in groupings or planted evenly along the perimeter shall be installed at a rate of two high-level planting for every 50 feet or two ornamental tree for every 30 feet and four low-level plantings for every 50 feet.
[Amended 12-16-2021 by Ord. No. 21-07]
(4)
Plantings and screening shall be furnished through one or a combination of the following to provide a solid visual screening:
(a)
Mounding required. Buffer Yard A shall include an earthen mound that provides an immediate visual barrier with a minimum height six (6) feet greater than the corresponding elevation along the property line. This shall be a requirement for the frontage of the plan site in all PRD forms.
(b)
Two staggered rows of evergreen trees of at least six feet in height at planting which, at planting, provide continuous screening and are spaced in a manner which best ensures long-term survival. Up to 50% of such trees may be substituted for trees required under the base planting standards.
(c)
An opaque fence of six feet in height located on the side of the landscaping buffer facing the principal structure(s) on the interior of the site or, where multiple rows of plantings are utilized, at a location where an equal number of plantings are disbursed on each side of the fence. The fence shall be constructed of vinyl, brick, masonry with finished surfaces, or similar maintenance-free material, and it may be located on the side of the buffering directly facing the property line. The colors of fence materials shall be consistent or in harmony with the housing and fence materials of the block on which the lot is located. The fence shall be set back at least four feet from the abutting property line.
G.
Buffer Yard B.
(1)
Purpose. Buffer Yard B is intended to provide for the visual screening between uses which possess inherent contrasts in types and functions of similar use, namely between forms of residential and lower impact forms of commercial development.
(2)
Minimum depth of buffer yard: 20 feet.
(3)
Buffer Yard B shall contain a minimum of one row of plantings consisting of a mixture of high-level and ornamental trees which include sufficient evergreen trees of a proportion and species sufficient to ensure that 60% of the row will provide a solid visual screening within three years of planting, with the remaining portions screened to a height of six feet through a combination of mounding, decorative fencing as per the standards of Buffer Yard A and/or low-level plantings.
H.
Buffer Yard C.
(1)
Purpose. Buffer Yard C is designed to provide visual screening between varied uses in mixed-use and transitional neighborhoods and between varied uses that possess minimal, yet potential, conflicts with respect to the density and intensity of use.
(2)
Depth of buffer yard: 10 feet.
(3)
Buffer Yard C shall be comprised of a continuous, compact evergreen hedge combined with decorative fencing as specified under Buffer Yard A or mounding in a manner that provides six feet in height of screening or a line of high-level plantings as evergreen trees that will grow together when mature.
I.
Where 20 or more parking spaces face the buffer yard, in addition to the required trees, a row of low-level evergreen shrubs or hedges shall be planted, or earthen mounding shall be constructed in the buffer yard which shall provide a year-round visual screen capable of acting as a barrier to light beams emanating from the headlights of passenger cars. These low-level shrubs or hedges or mounds shall be installed so that a person facing a passenger car with the shrubs or hedges or mounds between him/her and the car could observe the car's low-beam lights only as a result of the diffused or reflected light from the headlights and not because the direct beam from those lights was observable. The earthen mound shall be a minimum of three feet in height at its center point with a minimum width at the base of 10 feet. Low-level shrubs or hedges shall be a minimum of three feet at the time of planting.
§ 27-1902 Additional buffer yard requirements; landscaping.
A.
A buffer yard shall be required as identified in the following table and shall be installed along the property line of the use specified in the column in accordance with the buffer yard type, if any, that is specified by the row headings which represent the use of the adjacent lot. The categories of "Institutional," "Intensive Residential," "Intensive Industrial/Institutional," and "Retail" shall be determined by finding the particular use and corresponding category in the Use Authorization Table as set forth in Part 30 of this chapter.
B.
Conflict between buffer yard and yard requirements. When the width of a required buffer yard is in conflict with the minimum yard requirements of Parts 4 through 7, the greater distance shall apply. The buffer yard planting requirement shall be adhered to regardless of what the yard requirement is.
C.
Existing trees in required buffer yards. Any existing trees within the required buffer yard which are a minimum of two inches in diameter at breast height (DBH) shall be preserved and shall count as a required tree within the buffer yard; provided, however, diseased or dead material may be removed. At no point, however, shall any existing trees and required trees be separated at a distance greater than the distance specified in the required buffer yard for the planted material.
D.
Responsibility for maintenance. It shall be the continuing responsibility of the landowner or lessee to assure the continued growth of all required landscaping and/or to replace the same in the event of frost, vandalism, disease or other reasons for the discontinued growth of the required trees, shrubs and bushes. Failure to replace such landscaping shall be a violation of this chapter and shall be subject to the enforcement provisions of Part 25 of this chapter.
E.
Stormwater management facilities in buffer areas. When required by the Township stormwater management regulations, stormwater management facilities and structures may be located within a buffer yard; however, the existence of such facilities or structures shall not be a basis for a failure to meet the planting requirements in the buffer yard.
F.
Landscaping of open areas. All yard areas not utilized for parking facilities, driveways, gardens, the planting of trees or shrubs, flower, vegetable or herb beds or similar uses shall be seeded, sodded or landscaped within a reasonable period of time. The phrase "a reasonable period of time" shall be interpreted to be within 30 days after construction activities are completed, unless those activities are completed between November 1 and April 1. In such case, the required sodding or seeding must occur within 30 days of April 1.
G.
Landscaping specifications. Landscaping shall be provided in accordance with the following specifications:
(1)
Planting required in buffer yards other than this section cannot be substituted for any required planting mandated by this section.
(2)
Where buffer yards are required and in land developments where additional landscaping is required, a landscaping plan, with detailed drawings, shall be submitted with the application for approval of the land development, and this landscaping plan shall contain and show the following information:
(a)
All required buffer yards with proposed plantings (identifying each proposed tree, bush or shrub by type and size) drawn to scale and identifying the height and width of any proposed mounds.
(b)
All required planting independent of any buffer yard requirements (identifying each tree, bush, shrub by type and size, the use of sod or seeding, etc.) drawn to scale.
(c)
Any planting in excess of the requirements in this section.
(d)
Any existing trees or vegetation which are to be preserved, accurately identifying type, size and their relative location.
(e)
Any existing trees or vegetation which will be removed, accurately identifying their type, size and relative location.
(3)
For nonresidential developments which have a building or buildings with a gross floor area of 10,000 square feet or more and/or which have parking areas containing more than 50 spaces, a landscaping plan shall be required which is in compliance with this section, subject to approval by the Township.
(4)
For residential land developments containing multifamily dwellings, duplex dwellings or garden apartments on lots which have a total area of one acre or more, at least one deciduous tree shall be planted for each four multifamily dwelling units or portion thereof.
(5)
All trees which are required to be planted as per the regulations of this section shall be a minimum of two inches in diameter at breast height (DBH) at the time of planting, measured along the trunk of the planted tree, which tree shall be planted in accordance with accepted conservation practices.
(6)
In all zoning districts, all areas not utilized for buildings, structures, screening, parking facilities, driveways or other paved areas shall be graded to conform to existing contours on adjacent properties and to contain stormwater runoff on the lot. These areas shall be seeded, sodded or landscaped within one year following the completion of grading and/or construction activities. Continued maintenance of soil erosion and sedimentation control techniques as approved by the Township Engineer shall be required until such planting can be accomplished.
H.
Posting of financial security for landscaping.
(1)
The landowner and/or developer shall provide the Township with performance security, as required by the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance (Chapter 22), during development of the site to guarantee proper installation of the required landscaping and buffer yard materials required by this chapter and as shown on the Township-approved landscaping plan.
(2)
The landowner and/or developer shall provide the Township with maintenance security to guarantee the maintenance and survival of the landscaping and buffer yard materials installed on the subject property in accordance with this chapter and the Township-approved landscape plan. This maintenance security shall be in the amount of 15% of the total cost of the landscaping and buffer yard materials shown on the Township-approved landscape plan for a period of 18 months from initial planting and certification by the Township Engineer and/or Township landscape consultant.
(3)
All such performance securities and maintenance securities shall comply with the requirements of Chapter 1, Part 11, Financial Security, of the Code of Jackson Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania, as amended. Release of the performance security and maintenance security shall be handled consistent with the requirements of the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance (Chapter 22).