Richmond Heights City Zoning Code
CHAPTER 1177
Walls, Landscaping and Ecological Preservation
1177.01 INTENT.
(a) The general provisions for walls and landscaping are designed and intended to maintain the character and value of single-family residential districts and to provide protection to these districts from any adverse effects resulting when adjacent property is designated and used for off-street parking in multiple-family or nonresidential use districts.
(b) In addition to the above-stated purpose of this chapter, the provisions of this chapter are designed to encourage and provide a transitional buffer between residential and nonresidential use districts.
(c) It is further the intent of this chapter to prevent undue erosion of the soil, pollution of the atmosphere and natural waterways, interference with drainage and the natural water supply, and an unreasonable loss of oxygen, by limiting the unnecessary removal of trees and vegetation prior to, and during, any construction work.
(Ord. 158-89. Passed 3-13-90.)
1177.02 ESTABLISHMENT OF REGULATIONS.
Walls and/or landscaping shall be provided in conformance with the provisions of this chapter which apply to the district in which it is located.
(a) Whenever open or unenclosed off-street parking or loading facilities in multiple- family or nonresidential districts are located in required rear and side yards which are adjacent to single-family residential districts, an unpierced solid masonry wall shall be required in such multiple-family or nonresidential districts; provided, however, that a buffer strip of not less than thirty feet in width may be permitted in lieu of such wall upon a finding by the Planning and Zoning Commission that the buffer strip would provide equal or greater protection to the single-family residential districts.
(b) Whenever multiple-family or nonresidential districts abut or are adjacent to single-family residential districts, without being separated by a street, and where the multiple-family or nonresidential district does not have the above described relationship where open or unenclosed parking facilities are located in required yards, there shall provided in the multiple-family or nonresidential district, a buffer strip of not less than thirty feet in width.
(c) Whenever in this Zoning Code, a solid, unpierced masonry wall or buffer strip is required and would thus be located within forty feet of a street intersection, the wall or buffer strip shall be angled or offset in such manner as to comply with the corner clearance provisions of Section 1173.02, and where the wall or buffer strip is required to be placed within forty feet of a street right of way, the Planning Commission or Council having site plan review may reduce the required height or waive the requirement upon a finding that the wall or buffer strip would constitute a traffic hazard.
(Ord. 72-72. Passed 8-31-72.)
(d) On every lot in the O-S Office-Service District and B-1 Local Business District, a landscaped yard shall be constructed and maintained abutting the public right-of-way, except where interrupted by approved points of vehicular access, and shall meet the following requirements:
(1) The yard shall be at least twenty (20) feet deep, measured perpendicular to the right-of-way;
(2) Wherever parking is located in the yard abutting the public right-of-way, an earth mound, masonry wall, natural rocks, or a combination thereof shall be constructed to a height of at least three (3) feet above street grade with location and orientation which screens the view of parked vehicles.
(3) At least one (1) tree and three (3) shrubs shall be installed for each twenty (20) feet of frontage on the right-of-way; and
(4) The landscape plan shall be submitted to the Planning Commission for review and approval. The Commission may approve variations to the above requirements for purposes of safety or practicality.
(e) The following standards shall apply in the B-1 District:
(1) At least twenty-five percent (25%) of any required front yard shall be landscaped.
(2) This landscaping requirement is necessary to maintain the transitional character of the area that this District is intended to preserve.
(f) The following standards shall apply in the B-2 District:
(1) Not less than five percent (5%) of the site, exclusive of buildings, shall be landscaped.
(2) This requirement is necessary to provide for the safety and welfare of pedestrians in large parking areas and to provide for effective traffic control regulations.
(Ord. 5-2007. Passed 3-13-07.)
(Ord. 5-2007. Passed 3-13-07.)
1177.03 STANDARDS FOR WALLS.
(a) Wherever in this Zoning Code a solid, unpierced masonry wall is required, the wall shall be erected parallel to and on, or approximately on, the common property line to a height of not less than four feet and not more than six feet measured from the average surface of the off-street parking facilities within the adjacent thirty feet of the multiple-family or nonresidential district.
(b) The wall shall be faced with brick on the side facing the single-family districts. The brick facing is necessary to reduce the possibility of any adverse effects upon the single- family districts that may be caused by the development of off-street parking facilities in the multiple-family or nonresidential districts.
(c) Whenever a solid, unpierced masonry wall is required to be constructed, such wall shall be constructed prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy for such multiple- family or nonresidential use.
(Ord. 72-72. Passed 8-31-72.)
(Ord. 72-72. Passed 8-31-72.)
1177.04 LANDSCAPE PLAN REVIEW.
(a) All development plans and site plans for any multiple-family or nonresidential districts, and subdivision plans for any single-family residential districts, with the exception of individual residential lots intended for use for construction of one residential home (subject however to Section 1177.07), shall incorporate in such plans a separate plan showing landscaping which has been prepared by a registered landscape architect. The landscape plans must include size, type, caliper and number of all plantings. Landscape plans shall be reviewed and approved by the City Landscape Architect, the Planning Commission and Council prior to the issuance of any clearing, grading or building permit.
(b) Each landscape plan shall include a tree plan depicting all trees over four inch caliper currently standing in areas to be disturbed for construction of the buildings, roads and parking areas indicating those proposed to be removed and those proposed to be retained. The plan shall detail what steps will be taken to replace those trees proposed to be removed for clearing and construction.
(c) No person shall cut down any trees or remove any topsoil, excavate or grade any lot, parcel or piece of land for the purpose of preparing the same for construction of a building or structure until such time as the owner or agent of the property has been issued site plan approval as required by this section or pursuant to a subdivision plan duly approved in accordance with the procedures set forth in the Subdivision Regulations.
(d) Any tree clearing, topsoil removal, excavation or grading commenced after the receipt of site plan approval or a duly authorized subdivision plan shall be completed within six months from the date of the issuance or approval unless an extension of time for the completion of such activity is granted by the Commission. Any tree clearing, soil removal, excavation or grading which is once commenced and is unable to be completed for reasons beyond the control of the property owner or their agent shall be seeded with grass or otherwise planted to prevent the erosion of soil.
(e) Whoever violates any provision of this section shall be subject to the penalties set forth in Chapter 1187 of the Zoning Code. In addition thereto the Building Commissioner shall withhold any building permits or stop any work in progress until the violation is corrected by the replacement of like topsoil illegally removed or the replacement with like caliper trees or plantings that have been illegally cut or the property restored to proper grade.
(Ord. 158-89. Passed 3-13-90.)
1177.05 STANDARDS; LANDSCAPING AND BUFFER STRIPS.
Wherever in this Zoning Code landscaping is required, the area required to be landscaped shall be made fertile and planted prior to the date of issuance of a final certificate of occupancy, and thereafter reasonably maintained with permanent plantings and materials equal in characteristics to the suggested plant materials in subsections (c) and (d) below.
(a) Lot Planting Requirements.
(1) The unpaved or unimproved portions of all lots in all districts which are not in a natural wooded state or in which the natural state has been disturbed by grading or filling, including but not limited to common areas, easements, disturbed wetlands or riparian areas, required front yards, side yards, rear yards and other open spaces, shall be landscaped with sod, grass or other horticultural materials prior to the date of issuance of a certificate of occupancy. This provision shall not be construed to prohibit private gardening or farming operations.
(2) There shall be not less than one tree or shrub for each 3,000 square feet of the total lot area exclusive of buffer strip planting requirements, in all zoning districts of the City.
(b) Buffer Strip Planting Requirements.
(1) Buffer strips shall be landscaped with sod, grass or other horticultural materials.
(2) The minimum planting width shall be thirty feet along the common property line.
(3) Tree and shrub materials shall not be placed closer than four feet from a fence or wall line.
(4) An evergreen (see subsection (c) hereof) shall be planted at least every ten feet of the length of the buffer strip.
(5) Three intermediate shrubs (see subsection (d) hereof) shall be planted for each evergreen required in paragraph (4) of subsection (b) hereof.
(Ord. 12-2015. Passed 3-10-15.)
(c) | Suggested Evergreen Planting | Required Size of Planting Stock |
Medium Evergreens juniper red cedar American arborvitae (white cedar) Canadian hemlock | All medium evergreen plantings shall be a minimum of three to four feet in height. | |
Narrow Pyramidal Evergreens pyramidal arborvitae columnar juniper Irish juniper taxus hicksi | All pyramidal evergreen plantings shall be a minimum of three to four feet in height. | |
(d) | Suggested Shrub Plantings | Required Size of Planting Stock |
Tree-like shrubs: flowering crabs Russian olive smoker bush clump birch mountain ash dogwood redbud rose of Sharon | All tree-like shrub plantings shall be a minimum of three to four feet in height. | |
Large Deciduous Shrubs: viburnum mock orange lilacs butterfly bush ninebark | All deciduous shrub plantings shall be a minimum of two to three feet in height. | |
(e) | Trees that are not permitted in off-street parking areas: | |
box elders | poplars and cottonwoods | |
soft maples | ailanthus (Chinese tree of heaven) | |
fruit trees | ribes (gooseberry) | |
nut trees | All thorned trees and shrubs; honey | |
willows | locust, etc. | |
elms | ||
(Ord. 72-72. Passed 8-31-72.) | ||
1177.06 INSPECTION BY LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT.
Upon completion of the landscape improvements, the City Landscape Architect shall inspect the work completed. All plant material that does not meet the approved plans and specifications or is not in a viable, growing condition as determined by the City Landscape Architect shall be replaced with plants of the same or equal characteristics and size as originally specified and approved. Such replacements shall be made within six months of the date of inspection by the City Landscape Architect. After one growing season the City Landscape Architect shall again inspect the work completed and determine whether the landscape improvements are in accordance with the approved plans and specifications and, if they are not in accordance, he shall require any replacements necessary to bring the improvements into conformity with the approved plans and specifications.
(Ord. 158-89. Passed 3-13-90.)
1177.07 ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECOLOGICAL PRESERVATION.
(a) No person, firm, association or corporation shall engage in mining, commercial logging, extracting or soil stripping within the City. This section shall not be construed to prohibit construction excavations for building foundations and pipe laying or general site grading and filling for paving and landscaping purposes.
(Ord. 109-91. Passed 8-6-91.)
(b) In order to prevent undue erosion of the soil, pollution of the atmosphere and natural waterways, interference with drainage and the natural supply of water and an unreasonable loss of oxygen, no person, firm, association or corporation shall, prior to the written approval of the Planning Commission, remove or destroy by cutting, burning, bulldozing or by any other means any number of viable trees having a diameter or four inches or more measured at a distance of fourteen inches above the ground level, on any parcel of record.
(1) In order to secure a permit to remove any number of trees, an application for such approval shall be filed with the City Landscape Architect and the Building Inspector. The application shall set forth the name and address of each owner, lessee and person in possession of the lot or parcel upon which the trees are situated, the name and address of each person who shall be engaged in the destruction or removal of such trees, a statement as to whether such work will be performed under a written or oral agreement, as well as the essential terms of the agreement; a statement of the kind, number and dimensions of the trees to be removed, and a legal description of each lot or parcel, or in lieu thereof, a description of sufficient detail so that such lot or parcel may be readily located on the plat map of the City.
(2) The application shall be forwarded to the Planning Commission by the City Landscape Architect and the Building Inspector together with their report and recommendations thereon.
(3) The Planning Commission shall review and act on the application at a regular monthly meeting within sixty days after receipt of the application. The Planning Commission shall not approve the granting of a permit if it finds that such removal or destruction of trees is not necessary to facilitate site development and is likely to cause soil erosion, result in pollution or an unreasonably large loss of oxygen, interference with drainage and the natural supply of water, or that it will result in an unsightly and blighted condition. In no event shall the permit allow the removal or destruction of trees, as described in subsection (b) hereof, prior to the time of approval of a preliminary plan of a new subdivision, or if no new subdivision is to be created, prior to the time of the approval of a site plan or the issuing of a building permit for construction on such lot or parcel.
(Ord. 158-89. Passed 3-13-89.)
1177.08 FEES.
Council may from time to time set certain fees for the following reasons:
(a) Landscape plan review.
(b) Inspection of landscape improvements.
(c) Application for a permit to remove trees in excess of that allowed by the provisions of this chapter.
(Ord. 72-72. Passed 8-31-72.)
(Ord. 72-72. Passed 8-31-72.)