Lodi City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XV
Screening, Buffering and Landscaping
§ 340-85 Intent.
The intent of this article is to provide minimum screening and buffering between potentially incompatible uses and between specific operations which may create a nuisance for the occupants of adjoining properties. It is also the intent of this article to provide minimum landscaping and planting standards for the purpose of enhancing community appearance.
§ 340-86 Screening.
[Amended 10-10-2006 by Ord. No. A-361]
Whenever development cannot be placed in harmony with its surroundings, adequate screening and distance buffering shall be provided to make it so. Screening shall be an obscuring wall or fence or other method subject to the approval of the Administrator. The table below indicates those conditions which are considered inherently disharmonious, and adequate screening shall be provided at the side of the parcel between conflicting uses by the owner of the potential disharmonious use.
Minimum Screening Requirements | ||
|---|---|---|
Use or District | Potential Disharmonious Use | Height |
Residential | Business districts | 6' 0" |
Residential | Industrial districts | 6' 0" |
Residential | Business parking lots | 4' 6" |
Residential | Loading areas | 6' 0" |
Residential | Utility substation | 6' 0" |
§ 340-87 Wall and fence materials.
A.
Durable materials. All walls and fences hereafter erected shall be durable, weather-resistant, rustproof, and easily maintained.
B.
Masonry walls. Masonry walls shall be erected on foundations which are a minimum of 54 inches below grade.
C.
Limitation on open-grid metal fences. Metallic-cyclone-type or other open-grid fences may not be used as required screening between residential uses and nonresidential uses. Such metallic fences may not be used in front yards, except in industrial districts.
D.
Fence maintenance. All fences shall be kept in good condition, plumb and true, and without damage.
§ 340-88 Landscaped berms and planting strips.
Landscaped berms or planting strips may be substituted for obscuring walls or fences when approved by the Administrator. Landscaped berms and planting strips shall be landscaped with evergreen plants. Plant materials shall be of such size when planted as to reach the necessary screening height within three years of planting.
§ 340-89 Distance buffering.
Certain uses and activities are inherently incompatible with other uses and activities and are hereby required to be separated as indicated in the table below so as to reduce conflict and to maintain amenity.
Minimum Distance Buffering | |
|---|---|
Use | Minimum Permitted Distance |
Quarrying operation or any stockpile exceeding 15 feet in height | Minimum of 200 feet to any property line except a minimum of 100 feet to street line |
Junkyards and salvaging operations | 200 feet to residential uses and districts and 100 feet to other uses |
Swimming pools | 7 1/2 feet to property line |
Air conditioners (independently mounted) | 15 feet to property line |
Loading docks | 100 feet to an adjoining lot line of a residence or residential district |
§ 340-90 Buffering of single-unit housing.
[Amended 3-21-2023 by Ord. No. A-561]
For purposes of this section, the term "single-unit housing" means a parcel of land that is either in use as single-unit housing at the time a permit for the development referred to in this section is requested or zoned R-1A, R-1B or R-1C at such time. Where proposed multiunit residential or commercial development abuts existing single-unit detached housing, the following additional setbacks will be required:
Structure | Distance |
|---|---|
2-story commercial or multiunit structure | 25 feet to property line abutting single-unit housing |
3-story and higher commercial or multiunit structure | 50 feet to property line abutting single-unit housing |
§ 340-91 Screening of trash areas.
[Amended 3-21-2023 by Ord. No. A-561]
All trash, recyclable and/or garbage collection areas for multiunit dwellings and businesses shall be enclosed on at least three sides by screening at least as high as the height of the refuse container(s). Any open side shall not be visible from a street or abutting properties.
§ 340-92 Screening of outdoor storage in commercial and industrial districts.
A.
Permitted outdoor storage and outdoor storage areas in commercial and industrial districts exposed to view from any street adjacent to the property on which the storage area is located shall be screened by a six-foot-high sight-obscuring fence, wall, or landscape berm or planting strip when approved by the Administrator.
B.
Materials covered by buildings with roofs only, but without any sides, shall be considered outdoor storage and shall be subject to the screening provisions of this section. This provision shall not apply to the display of new or used agricultural implements, motor vehicles, or watercraft where such activities are an integral part of an automobile, agricultural implement, or watercraft dealership or storage facility.
§ 340-93 Required landscaping.
§ 340-94 Exceptions.
In the event that terrain or other natural features are such that the erection of obscuring berms or planting strips, walls or fences will not serve the intended purpose, the Plan Commission may grant exceptions to the requirements of this section.