Marple Township City Zoning Code
ARTICLE X
Buffers
§ 300-65 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 and to improve the general environmental quality of a mostly urbanized municipality.
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.
§ 300-66 Applicability and scope.
This article regulates the circumstances in which buffers are required. Buffers may be required either as part of setbacks from the perimeter of a tract where it adjoins a district boundary line, as specified in § 300-68 or as part of setbacks from street ultimate rights-of-way, as specified in § 300-69. Classification of buffers is specified in § 300-67. Recommended trees and hedges are specified in § 300-74.
§ 300-67 Classification of buffers.
Required buffers shall be one or more of the following types, in accordance with §§ 300-68 and 300-69:
B.
Type B.
(1)
One canopy tree per 40 linear feet, plus one flowering tree per 60 linear feet, plus one evergreen per 60 linear feet (Type B1).
(2)
One canopy tree per 40 linear feet, plus one hedge (three-foot centers) (Type B2).
(3)
One canopy tree per 40 linear feet, plus one evergreen per 30 linear feet (Type B3).
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 linear berm four feet high (Type C2).
(3)
One evergreen per 25 linear feet, plus one shrub per eight linear feet (Type C3).
(4)
One evergreen per 20 linear feet, plus one shrub. two per four linear feet (Type C4).
§ 300-68 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 | None | None | None | |
Open Space — all | ||||
Residential — all, | None | None | None | |
except PRD, RMHD, RHD | ||||
Medium-Impact Districts | ||||
Residentia — PRD, RMHD, RHD | C1 | None | None | |
Commercia l— NC, OLM | D2 | C1 | None | |
Institutional — NS, C | C1 | C3 | None | |
High-Impact Districts | ||||
Commercial — all, except NC, OLM | D2, B1 | D1, B3 | A1 | |
Industrial — all | D3, C1 | D3, C3 | A1 | |
Institutional — all, except NS, C | D1, B3 | B1 | A1 | |
§ 300-69 Required buffer types for setbacks from streets.
Adjoining Ultimate Right-of-Way | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Subject Tract | Arterial Street | Collector Street | Local Street | |
Low-Impact Districts | ||||
Open Space — all | None | None | None | |
Residential — all, except PRD, RMHD, RHD | None | None | None | |
Medium-Impact Districts | ||||
Residential — PRD, | C3 | A1 | A1 | |
RMHD, RHD | ||||
Commercial — NC, OLM | None | A1 | A1 | |
Institutional — NS, C | C3 | A1 | A1 | |
High-Impact Districts | ||||
Commercial — all, except NC, OLM | None | A1 | B1 | |
Industrial — all | C3 | A1 | B1 | |
Institutional — all, except NS, C | C3 | A1 | B1 | |
§ 300-70 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.
§ 300-71 Landscaping of setbacks.
§ 300-72 Alternative buffers.
As an alternative to the potential for an excessively linear appearance brought about by strict conformance to the minimum requirements of § 300-68 and/or § 300-69, innovative, free-form buffers that may, in some cases, not be located entirely within the minimum required setback, are encouraged. Such alternative buffers may be authorized as special exceptions by the Zoning Hearing Board, subject to a recommendation of the Planning Commission, which may seek the advice of technical experts in the review of the alternative plans.
§ 300-73 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 one year.
§ 300-74 Recommended buffer plantings.
The following planted materials are recommended for inclusion in buffers. Other plantings may be authorized as special exceptions by the Zoning Hearing Board, subject to a recommendation of the Planning Commission, which may seek the advice of technical experts in their review:
A.
Canopy trees (two-inch-caliper minimum):
Acer ginnala - amur maple | |
Acer rubrum - red maple | |
Acer saccharum - sugar maple | |
Betular alba - European white birch | |
Cercidiphyllum japonica - katsura tree | |
Fagus grandifolia - American beech | |
Fagus sylvatica - European beech | |
Fraxinus americana - white ash | |
Fraxinus pennnsylvanica 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 | |
Quercus alba - white oak | |
Quercus borealis - red oak | |
Quercus coccinea - scarlet 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 | |
Zelkova serrata - Japanese zelkova |
B.
Flowering 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 (four-foot-high minimum):
Ilex opaca - American holly | |
Picea abies - Norway spruce | |
Picea omorika - servian spruce | |
Picea pungens - Colorado spruce | |
Pinus nigra - Austrian pine | |
Pseudotsuga menziesii - Douglas fir | |
Tsuga canadensis - Canada hemlock |
D.
Hedge (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 |
E.
Hedgerow (four-foot-high minimum):
Crataegus crus-galli - cockspur thorn | |
Crataegus phaenopyrum - Washington hawthorn |
F.
Shrubs:
Hamamelis virginiana - white hazel | |
Vaccinium sp. - blueberries | |
Lindera benzoin - spice bush | |
Rhododendron sp. - azaleas | |
Rhododendron sp. - rhododendrons |