Lexington City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XIV
Landscaping
§ 420-14.1 Purpose and intent.
The purpose of this section is to establish standards for landscape architecture, site design, site buffering, and landscape screening. With the intent of preserving and promoting the health, safety, and general welfare of the City, these regulations are based on the following goals:
A.
Preserve and enhance the aesthetic character of the City;
B.
Protect the quality of the City's natural rivers, streams, and wetlands;
C.
Enhance erosion control;
D.
Improve the relationship between adjacent properties through screening and buffering;
E.
Promote economic development in the City's neighborhoods, historic districts, and entrance corridors.
§ 420-14.2 Application of landscape standards.
§ 420-14.3 Landscape plan requirements.
A.
The landscape plan shall include:
(1)
Location, type, size, height, and number of proposed plantings.
(2)
Planting specifications or installation details.
(3)
Location and size of all existing plants and trees to be retained during construction, as well as protection measures to be implemented during construction.
(4)
Location, size and other related design details for all hardscape improvements, signage, recreational improvements and open space areas, fences, walls, barriers and other related elements.
(5)
Designation of required setbacks, yards and screening areas.
(6)
Location of other man-made site features, parking lots, hardscape improvements, overhead structures and underground utilities to ensure that landscape materials will not be in conflict with the placement and operation of these improvements.
§ 420-14.4 General standards.
A.
Any required landscaping shall be installed prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy.
B.
Existing healthy trees and shrubs shall be credited toward any minimum landscaping required by this section, provided they meet minimum size standards and are protected before and during construction and maintained thereafter in a healthy growing condition.
C.
The owner of the property upon which the required landscaping or buffering is installed shall be responsible for maintenance and replacement. If any required tree, shrub, or other landscaping element shall die or be removed after issuance of the certificate of occupancy, the developer, his or her successors or assigns shall replace each by the end of the next planting season with trees or shrubs of the same or similar species, type, color, or character.
D.
Landscaping shall not obstruct the view of motorists using any street, private driveway, parking aisles, or the approach to any street intersection so as to constitute a traffic hazard or a condition dangerous to the public safety.
E.
All required landscape materials shall conform to the following minimum size or height standards at the time of planting:
§ 420-14.5 Buffering.
Landscape buffering is intended to provide a year-round visual screen between two or more properties in order to minimize visual and other adverse impacts. Buffering may consist of fencing, evergreens, boulders, mounds, or a combination of materials.
A.
A landscape buffer area shall be required where a commercially zoned development abuts a residential zoning district, or where multifamily residential development abuts any property zoned R-1 or R-2.
B.
In the above conditions, a buffer strip 10 feet in width shall be required. Where site considerations do not allow a natural buffer of 10 feet in width, a smaller buffer, or a privacy fence or wall, may be substituted for all or a portion of that buffer as approved by the Zoning Administrator during the site plan process.
C.
Plants should be sufficiently large and planted in such a fashion that a year-round screen at least six feet in height shall be produced within one growing season.
D.
No buildings, structures, storage of materials, or parking shall be permitted within a buffer area.
E.
Buffer plantings shall be maintained in perpetuity in such a way as to ensure that the buffering requirements of this article continue to be met. Any dead or dying plants shall be removed within 30 days of notification by the Zoning Administrator and shall be replaced by the property owner during the next viable planting season.
§ 420-14.6 Screening.
A.
Screening shall be required to conceal specific areas from both on-site and off-site views. Such areas shall be screened at all times, regardless of adjacent uses, adjacent districts, or other proximate landscaping material. Specific areas to be screened include:
(1)
Large waste receptacles (dumpsters) and refuse collection points (including cardboard recycling containers).
(2)
Loading and service areas.
(3)
Outdoor storage areas (including storage tanks).
(4)
Ground-based utility equipment with size in excess of 12 cubic feet.
(5)
Ground-level mechanical units.
B.
Screening shall be required to conceal specific areas from both on-site and off-site views. Such areas shall be screened at all times, regardless of adjacent uses, adjacent districts, or other proximate landscaping material. Specific areas to be screened include:
[Amended 7-1-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-05]
(1)
Large waste receptacles (dumpsters) and refuse collection points (including cardboard recycling containers);
(2)
Loading and service areas;
(3)
Outdoor storage areas (including storage tanks);
(4)
Ground-based utility equipment with size in excess of 12 cubic feet;
(5)
Ground level and wall-mounted mechanical equipment (e.g., air-handling equipment, compressors, condensers, duct work, transformers, and elevator equipment) visible from a public street (not including an alley) at ground level at the property line. Window-mounted mechanical equipment, solar photovoltaic, and solar thermal systems are exempted from the requirement to screen mechanical equipment.
C.
Screening plantings shall be maintained in perpetuity in such a way as to ensure that the buffering requirements of this article continue to be met. Any dead or dying plants shall be removed within 30 days of notification by the Zoning Administrator and shall be replaced by the property owner during the next viable planting season.
§ 420-14.7 Parking lot landscaping.
All vehicle parking areas shall include landscaping, both within the interior of the parking area and around its perimeter, to provide shade, screen views, mitigate runoff, and provide aesthetic appeal. However, the landscape provisions of this section shall not apply to off-street parking for individual single or two-family residential dwellings, or for parking structures or vehicle display areas.
A.
Parking lots adjacent to lot lines. For parking lots immediately adjacent to lot lines, the following landscape regulations shall apply:
(1)
Where a parking lot (or a private driveway providing access to a parking lot or building entry) abuts a property line not common with the right-of-way of a street, a landscaping strip of 2 1/2 feet in width shall be located between the parking lot and the abutting property line.
(2)
A minimum of one tree for each 40 feet of contiguous property line shall be planted in the landscape strip.
B.
Parking lots adjacent to public streets. For parking lots and private access adjacent to public streets which are subject to site plan approval, the following landscape regulations shall apply:
(1)
Where a parking lot (or a private driveway providing access to a parking lot or building entry) abuts a public right-of-way for a City street, a landscaping strip of five feet in width (not including the sidewalk) shall be located between the parking lot or private driveway and the right-of-way line.
(2)
A minimum of one tree for each 40 feet of property line common with the public right-of-way shall be planted in the landscaping strip.
C.
All parking lots of 30 or more spaces shall contain within the interior of the parking lot not less than one tree for every 12 continuous parking spaces or fraction thereof. Such trees shall be dispersed throughout the interior of the parking lot. In the case of redevelopment proposals, this parking lot tree requirement is only applicable to those proposals that necessitate additional parking spaces over those that are currently provided.
D.
Landscaped planting islands (located such that parking spaces are on opposing sides of the planting island) shall be developed in parking lots meeting the following criteria:
(1)
The total size of the parking lot exceeds 150 total parking spaces.
(2)
Parking lot layout incorporates three or more double-loaded or single-loaded parking bays which are contiguous and parallel to each other.
(3)
Planting islands which are designed to be perpendicular to the parking bay shall be constructed for every other parking bay.
(4)
Planting islands shall have a minimum width of six feet to allow for bumper overhang and shall otherwise provide adequate width for the growth and maintenance of the intended landscape materials to be planted therein.
E.
The primary landscaping materials used in parking lots shall be trees which provide shade or are capable of providing shade at maturity. Shrubs and other live planting material may be used to complement the primary, tree landscaping.
F.
The landscaping shall be dispersed throughout the parking lot, with interior dimensions of any planting area (i.e., interior parking median) sufficient to protect and maintain all landscaping materials planted therein.
§ 420-14.8 Walls and fences.
Fences and walls may be used within landscaped areas to provide buffering, privacy, separation, security, or for aesthetic reasons, but may not create an unsightly or unsafe condition on or off of the public or private property on which the fence or wall is proposed.
A.
The provisions of this section shall apply to all construction, reconstruction, or replacement of fences or walls except:
B.
Fences or walls shall not be located within the public right-of-way.
C.
Fences and walls may be located within any required yard or setback.
D.
Fences located within an easement shall receive written authorization from the easement holder or the City (as appropriate). The City shall not be responsible for damage to, or the repair or replacement of, fences that must be removed to access such easements or facilities.
E.
No fence or wall shall be installed in a manner or in a location so as to block or divert a natural drainage flow on to or off of any other land, unless the fence or wall has specifically been approved as part of an approved stormwater management plan.
F.
A fence or wall in any residential zoning district shall not exceed seven feet in height above the existing grade without approval of a conditional use permit.
G.
A fence or wall in any commercial zoning district shall not exceed eight feet in height above the existing grade without approval of a conditional use permit.
H.
No fence or wall shall be constructed in a manner or in a location that impairs safety or sight-lines for pedestrians and vehicles traveling on public rights-of-way.
I.
All fences and walls and associated landscaping shall be maintained in good repair and in a safe and attractive condition. The owner of the property on which a fence or wall is located shall be responsible for maintenance, including, but not limited to, the replacement of missing, decayed, or broken structural and decorative elements.
§ 420-14.9 Recommended plants.
Landscaping plans and plantings installed within the City should generally be sustainable and biologically diverse with emphasis on trees and plants native to Virginia and the Lexington region, as well as those landscape patterns established in the City in the past.
A.
Landscape designers shall make every effort to use healthy and locally sourced trees, shrubs, and other plants, and to create landscapes that minimize the need for maintenance and irrigation. Invasive species are not recommended.
B.
For the purposes of meeting the City of Lexington's landscape ordinance goals, the following plant and tree species are suggested as a guide to landscape architects and landscape designers. This list is intended as a suggestion only. Final plant selections should be made by property owners in consultation with qualified landscape professionals, and should consider specific site conditions, disease resistance, and other qualities to ensure healthy and beautiful landscapes.
(1)
Street and shade trees: Japanese Pagoda Tree, Silver Linden, Zelkova, American or Chinese Elms, Swamp White Oak, Kastura, Ginkgo, River Birch, Hackberry, London Plane Tree, Yellowwood, Bale Cypress.
(2)
Ornamental or flowering trees: Amur Maple, Dogwood (Kousa), Serviceberry, Redbud, Cornus Mas Dogwood, Seven Son Flower, Bottle Brush Buckeye, Yellowwood, Spicebush.
(3)
Evergreen or flowering shrubs. English Yew, Japanese Yew, Rhododendren, Abelia, Forsythia, Viburnum, Flowering Quince, colored twig Dogwoods, Hydrangeas, Aucuba, Globe Cryptomeria, Globe Arborvitae, Inkberry, Chokeberry, Carolina Allspice, Elderberry, Distyllium, Winterberry, Clethra, Fothergilla, Sweet Spire.
(4)
Buffering/screening. American Holly, Arborvitae, Foster Holly, Cryptomeria, False Cypress, Sweet Bay Magnolia, Bald Cypress, Dawn Redwood, Eastern Red Cedar.