17.601.01.

Purpose and intent. The purposes and intent of the buffering and screening requirements of this Title are to:

A.

Performance Standards. Minimize the transmission of nuisances associated with noise, dust, glare, and litter from one land use to another.

B.

Visual Pollution. Minimize visual pollution that may otherwise occur within and/or near a land use project area. Minimal screening provides an impression of separation of spaces, and more extensive screening can entirely shield the visual effects of an intense land use from a less intense land use.

C.

Privacy. Establish a greater sense of privacy from visual or physical intrusion of intense land uses, the degree of privacy varying with the intensity of screening.

D.

Appearance. Establish aesthetically pleasing, functionally appropriate and sustainable landscaping design for the long-term enhancement of the appearance of development in the community.

E.

Safeguards. Safeguard the public health, safety and welfare, and preserve and enhance aesthetic qualities that contribute to community character.

17.601.02.

Scope.

A.

Application of Buffering and Screening Requirements. The provisions of this Title shall apply to commercial and industrial developments adjacent to residential districts. The regulations contained herein do not apply to individual single-family lots.

17.601.03.

Submittal requirements. All buffering and screening plans shall be signed and sealed by a registered Architect, Surveyor or Engineer and shall include all of the information required by Section 17.802.02.

17.601.04.

Design standards.

A.

Visibility. Buffering and screening materials shall be laid out in conformance with the requirements of Section 17.202.09 and shall not conflict with visibility for motorists or pedestrian access.

17.601.05.

Walls.

A.

Generally. Walls required under this title shall have no openings for vehicular traffic or other purposes, except such openings as may be approved by the county. All walls required in this Ordinance shall be constructed of decorative stone or brick. The height of the wall shall be measured from the prevailing grade of the land on the side of the wall facing the less intense use. Walls shall be erected on a concrete foundation which shall have a minimum depth of three and one-half feet below a grade and shall not be less than eight inches wider than the wall to be erected.

B.

Substitution. A six-foot-tall decorative opaque vinyl fence or densely planted evergreen landscaping sufficient to form a living green wall with a minimum height of six feet may be permitted by the Zoning Administrator and/or Board of Adjustment in lieu of a masonry wall when the characteristics of the two abutting uses would make such a substitution appropriate.

17.601.06.

Storage and service area screening. Vehicle use areas, service areas, and dumpsters, compactors and similar refuse-related elements shall be screened from adjacent residential areas and from the public right-of-way. Such screening may be accomplished by a masonry wall, building wing wall, or densely planted landscape buffer, or other means acceptable to the Zoning Administrator.

17.601.07.

Entranceway landscaping. In all residential districts, so called entranceway structures, including, but not limited to, walls, columns, gates, and landscaping that mark entrances to single-family subdivisions or multiple housing projects may be permitted, except as provided in Section 17.202.09 (clear vision areas), provided that such entranceways shall comply with all codes and ordinances of the county and shall be approved by the appropriate authority (town, county, state, county Highway Dept.).

17.601.08.

Location of buffering and screening. Screening required under this Title shall be located directly adjacent to the lot line except where underground utilities interfere.

17.601.09.

Maintenance. The owner of the property shall be responsible for all maintenance of site buffering and screening as follows:

A.

Neat, Orderly, Healthy. Buffering and screening shall be kept in a neat, orderly and healthy growing condition, free from debris and refuse.

B.

Pruning. Pruning shall be minimal at the time of installation, only to remove dead or diseased branches. Subsequent pruning shall assure proper maturation of plants to achieve their approved purpose.

C.

Dead, Damaged, Diseased. All dead, damaged, or diseased plant material shall be removed immediately and replaced within six months after it dies or in the next planting season, whichever occurs first.

17.601.10.

Modification of buffering and screening requirements. Recognizing that a wide variety of land uses and the relationships between them can exist, and that varying circumstances can mitigate the need for buffering and screening, the Zoning Administrator and/or Board of Adjustment may reduce or waive the buffer and screening zone requirements of this Title 6 and approve an alternative buffer and screening plan. The Zoning Administrator and/or Board of Adjustment shall find that the following standards have been met whenever it modifies any buffering and screening requirement:

A.

Character. The buffering and screening plan shall protect the character of new and existing residential neighborhoods against negative impacts such as noise, glare, light, air pollution, trash and debris, and hazardous activities.

B.

Compatibility. The alternate width and type of buffer zone and screening provided therein will ensure compatibility with surrounding and nearby land uses because:

1.

Scale, Bulk, etc. The development is compatible with and sensitive to the immediate environment of the site and neighborhood relative to architectural design, scale, bulk, building height, identified historical character, disposition and orientation of buildings on the lot and visual integrity.

2.

Preserve Natural Features. The site has natural existing vegetation and/or topography, natural bodies of water or wetland areas or other existing conditions which offer screening consistent with the standards set forth in this Title 6. The Zoning Administrator and/or Board of Adjustment shall require the preservation of these natural features as a condition of site plan approval.

3.

Privacy; Minimize Negative Impacts. The arrangement, design and orientation of buildings on the site maximize privacy and isolate adjacent and nearby land uses from any potential negative impacts of the project.

17.601.11.

Plant materials adjacent to farmland preservation district. The planting of deciduous and evergreen trees within 15 feet of the boundary line between residential districts and farmland preservation districts is discouraged.

17.601.12.

Waiver of requirements. The Zoning Administrator and/or Board of Adjustment approving the buffer and screening plan may waive or reduce the requirements of this Title upon determining that the following would apply:

A.

Purpose. The purpose of this Title cannot be met; and

B.

Health, Safety, Welfare. Safeguard the public health, safety and welfare, and preserve the aesthetic qualities and enhance the community character.

(O-34-23)

17.602.01.

Buffer and screening requirements. Buffers or greenbelts and obscuring walls or fencing are intended to mitigate any potential negative impacts that a proposed land use may have on neighboring land uses, or to obscure unsightly items or areas from view off the site. The buffer or greenbelt is a designated unit of yard or open space together with any plant materials, barriers and screening designed to minimize negative impacts of adjacent land uses. Both the amount of land and the type and amount of landscaping specified are intended to minimize potential nuisances such as noise, glare, dirt, litter, unsightly areas and similar impacts.

These buffer requirements are designed to be flexible. A single standard applied to all circumstances may not function as well and might impose unnecessary difficulties on development and lead to monotony. It is the intent of the following provisions to provide flexibility to the developer or property owner through the manipulation of four basic elements: distance, plant material type, plant material density and structural or land forms.

Such buffers shall be provided along site perimeters without road frontage, except to permit driveways or other necessary site improvements.

A.

Buffer Requirements. Table 12 lists only the minimum requirement, and nothing shall prevent a property owner from providing additional landscaping. Landscaping required by Table 12 may be planted in clusters at appropriate locations within the buffer or spaced regularly throughout the buffer, provided that the landscape plan meets the intent of the buffer type listed in subsection B.

Footnotes to Table 12:

1.

Screening Fence or Wall. Where a screening fence or wall is required, either a masonry or a densely planted "green" fence or wall may be used at the discretion of the Zoning Administrator and/or Board of Adjustment after taking into account specific conditions on and adjacent to the site. Screening fences or walls shall comply with the following requirements:

a.

Green Fence Requirements. Where a green fence is proposed, the plantings comprising the green fence shall be of a sufficient size and spaced on-center such that they will be sufficient to form an opaque screen to a height of six feet within three years of planting.

b.

Masonry Wall Requirements. All masonry screen walls shall be a minimum of six feet in height, consist of decorative masonry or natural materials such as brick or stone. The color and material shall be coordinated with the materials of the principal building. The maximum height of screening walls shall be as required by Section 17.401.05(B).

2.

Existing Vegetation. The berm or planting requirements may be waived or modified by the Zoning Administrator and/or Board of Adjustment if existing vegetation will provide an equal or greater screen than that required by Table 12. If existing vegetation is removed or damaged during construction, buffer plantings shall be provided in accordance with the requirements of Table 12.

3.

Berms. Earth berms required under this Ordinance shall consist of raised earth with side slopes of 3:1 or flatter with a four-foot-wide flat or slightly rounded crest contoured to the side slopes to facilitate maintenance. Berms shall be covered with grass or other ground cover to prevent erosion.

B.

Buffer Descriptions and Requirements. The following is a description of the intended character and function of each buffer type. The specific requirements for each buffer type are listed in subsection A, above and the type of buffer is listed below.

1.

Type A: Low density screening to partially block visual contact between zoning classifications.

2.

Type B: Medium density screen to partially block visual contact between zoning classifications and to create spatial separation.

3.

Type C: High density screen intended to substantially block visual contact between zoning classifications and create spatial separation. Type C planting buffers reduce light and noise trespass that would otherwise intrude upon adjacent zoning classifications. Must form an opaque screen to a height of six feet within three years of planting.

(O-34-23)

17.603.01.

General. Whenever a landscape planting screen or other plantings are required under this Ordinance, such plantings shall be installed according to accepted good planting procedures and in a sound, workmanlike manner. All plant material shall meet current standards of the American Association of Nurserymen and approved by the American National Standards Institute, Inc. (ANSI 260.1, 1996).

A.

Names. All plant material shall be true to name in conformance to the current edition of Standardized Plant Names established by the American Joint Committee on Horticultural Nomenclature, or other source accepted by the county.

B.

Plantings. All plant material shall be nursery grown in a northern climate; hardy to the climate of Wisconsin; appropriate for the soil, climatic and environmental conditions; and resistant to disease and insect attack.

C.

Topsoil Depth. A minimum four inches of topsoil shall be provided for all lawn areas, ground covers, and planting beds.

D.

Artificial Plants Prohibited. Artificial plant material is prohibited and shall not be used to meet the requirements of this Title.

17.603.02.

Plant material spacing. Spacing of plant materials required under this Title shall be as follows:

A.

Property/Fence Line. Plant materials shall not be placed closer than four feet from the fence line or property line.

B.

Public Right-of-way. Deciduous trees and all shrubs may not be planted within five feet, and evergreen trees may not be planted within ten feet, of any a public right-of-way.

C.

Fire Hydrant. Trees and shrubs may not be planted within ten feet of a fire hydrant (if applicable).

D.

Staggered Rows. Where plant materials are planted in two or more rows, planting shall be staggered in rows.

17.603.03.

Existing vegetation. Healthy existing trees on a site may be used to satisfy any of the requirements of this title, subject to Board of Adjustment approval.

17.603.04.

Size and variety of plant materials.

A.

Variety; Size. To ensure adequate variety, and to avoid monotony and uniformity within a site, required plant materials shall not include more than 20 percent of any single plant species.

(O-34-23)