Proposed plant location, spacing and size and descriptions for each plant type proposed for use to meet the requirements of this chapter.

Identification of grass and other proposed ground cover and method of planting.

Existing and proposed contours.

Planting and staking details in either text or drawing form to ensure proper installation of proposed plant materials, including significant construction details to resolve specific site conditions, such as tree wells to preserve existing trees or culverts to maintain natural drainage patterns.

Identification of existing trees and vegetative cover to be preserved and those areas of trees six inches or larger in diameter measured five feet from ground surface to be removed.

Side and rear yard buffer areas. A minimum ten-foot-wide buffer area for screening and landscaping shall be established along all side and rear lot lines. The buffer area shall not be used for storage or used in any other manner except for screening and landscaping purposes. The buffer area shall consist of tree and shrub plantings and shall include a fence, wall and/or berm where determined necessary by the site plan approving body to effectively mitigate the impacts for which the screening is deemed desirable. In no case shall tree plantings be spaced less than an average distance of 50 feet apart and shrub plantings less than an average distance of 30 feet apart, though such plantings need not be evenly spaced. At the time of their planting, evergreen trees shall be a minimum of six feet in height and deciduous trees shall have a caliper of at least 2 1/2 inches measured five feet above the ground surface and be a minimum of 12 feet in height.

Front yard buffer areas. A minimum ten-foot-wide buffer area along the front lot line shall be established and landscaped with a minimum of one tree meeting the minimum size requirements specified in § 360-66A above for each 50 lineal feet, or portion thereof, of frontage adjoining the street right-of-way. The remainder of the front yard buffer area shall be landscaped in grass, shrubs, trees and/or other ground cover. Accessways from public rights-of-way through required buffer areas shall be permitted, but such accessways shall not be subtracted from the lineal dimension used to determine the minimum number of required trees.

Tree plantings. There shall be provided a minimum of one deciduous tree of at least two-and-one-half-inch caliper for every six parking spaces or 50 linear feet of parking lot edge, whichever is greater. Such trees shall be located within parking islands or within five feet of the edge of the parking lot. A minimum distance of three feet shall be established between proposed tree or shrub plantings and the edge of curbing and pavement.

Screening. In addition to Subsection A above, and where a parking lot contains six or more parking spaces, a vegetative screen shall be installed to screen views to the parking area. All shrub materials shall be such height and spacing to effectively screen a minimum of 50% of the parking lot border to a minimum height of three feet within two years of their planting, based on reasonably anticipated growth patterns.

Quality and composition. Plant material and grasses shall be of generally acceptable varieties and species, be comprised predominantly of species indigenous to the Michiana area, be free of insects and diseases, and conform to the most current standards of the American Association of Nurserymen. Plant species which are generally considered undesirable due to limited disease tolerance, low wood strength and/or high wood-splitting tendencies, such as box elder, mulberry and willows, are not permitted unless specifically authorized otherwise by the site plan approving body. A mixture of plant species shall be required as a protective measure against insect and disease infestation.

Existing trees to remain. If existing plant material is labeled "to remain" on site plans by the applicant or required by the site plan approval body, protective techniques, such as, but not limited to, fencing or barriers placed at the dripline around the perimeter of the plant material, shall be indicated on the site plan. No vehicle or other construction equipment shall be parked or stored within the dripline of any plant material intended to be saved. In the event that existing healthy trees which are used to meet the minimum requirements of this chapter or those labeled to remain are cut down, destroyed, damaged or excavated at the dripline, as determined by the site plan approving body, the applicant shall replace them with trees of similar approximate size unless the site plan approving body determines that, due to practical limitations, replacement shall be based on the use of multiple trees of less size.