Location.

Except as otherwise provided elsewhere in this chapter, the screening area shall be a minimum of 20 feet in width and shall be planted with evergreen trees approved by the municipal agency. Trees shall be planted in two staggered rows eight feet apart and shall be between five and six feet in height and shall conform to the current American Standard for Nursery Stock sponsored by the American Association of Nurserymen, Inc. Within each row, the trees shall be planted on six-foot centers.

Where significant trees or significant native vegetation exists within a screening area, they should be retained and supplemented with shade-tolerant evergreen plantings to provide the equivalent of the required screening as determined by the municipal agency.

Where all proposed buildings, parking areas and other improvements are located 100 feet or more from a property line abutting a residential zone or use, the municipal agency may permit a screening area ten feet in width planted with a single row of evergreen trees in a location approved by the municipal agency, planted at five-foot intervals with a minimum height of five feet to six feet to be substituted.

The required height for a screening area shall be measured in relationship to the elevation of the land at the nearest required rear, side or front yard setback line of the abutting residential zone or use. Where the average ground elevation of the location at which the screening strip is to be planted is less than the average ground elevation at the nearest required rear, side or front setback line on the abutting residential zone or use, the municipal agency may require that the height of trees planted in the required screening strip be increased by an amount equal to the difference in elevation. Where the average ground elevation of the location which the screening strip is to be planted is greater than the average ground elevation at the nearest required rear, side or front setback line on the abutting residential zone or use, the municipal agency may permit the height of trees planted in the required screening strips to be decreased by an amount equal to one-half the difference in elevation, except that in no case shall the required height be reduced to less than four feet.

All trees in a screening area shall be watered weekly through the first growing season. The developer shall construct an earth saucer around each tree to hold water and fill with suitable mulch. Trees shall be nursery-grown, balled and bagged, sheared and shaped, of the required height and planted according to standards of the American Association of Nurserymen, Inc.

At the following locations within required screening areas, evergreen shrubs with a maximum mature height of 30 inches or less, approved by the municipal agency as to type, location and spacing, shall be provided in lieu of the evergreen trees specified above:

Waiver. The municipal agency, after recommendation by its professional staff and environmental commission, and after examination and review, may waiver, fully or partially, provisions of this section in heavily wooded areas, in areas unsuitable for plantings or because of other exceptional conditions and/or may require supplementary plantings.