Sheffield City Zoning Code
CHAPTER 1117
Landscaping and Screening
1117.01 PURPOSE.
The purpose of landscaping and screening regulations is to:
(a) Promote attractive development and preserve the appearance and character of the surrounding area through the use of effective landscaping;
(b) Promote the preservation and replacement of major trees;
(c) Eliminate or minimize conflicts between potentially incompatible but otherwise permitted land uses on adjoining lots using a suitable combination of setbacks, visual buffers, and physical barriers;
(d) Provide interest and lessen the monotony of the streetscape;
(e) Prescribe standards for the installation and maintenance of trees, plantings, walls, and fences;
(f) Provide protection from soil erosion; and
(g) Encourage the enhancement of the visual environment, ensure public safety, and moderate the micro-climate.
(Ord. 2879. Passed 10-23-23.)
1117.02 APPLICABILITY.
(a) Additions and Enlargement.
(1) The requirements of this chapter shall apply to new development and any collective, substantial expansion or change in land use, except for single-family dwellings. Substantial expansion or modification of the existing structures shall be defined based on the criteria established in Table 1117-1.
TABLE 1117-1: LANDSCAPING AND SCREENING APPLICABILITY | |
When the Existing Structure or Vehicular Use Area is: | A Substantial Expansion is: |
0-2,500 sq. ft. | 50% or greater |
2,501-10,000 sq. ft. | 40% or greater |
10,001-25,000 sq. ft. | 30% or greater |
25,001-100,000 sq. ft. | 20% or greater |
100,001 sq. ft. and larger | 10% or greater |
(2) Any collective expansion of 500 square feet or less shall be exempt from the applicability section of this chapter. Collective expansion shall include the sum of all expansions of the original structure or building as existed on the effective date of this code, regardless of when they occur.
(3) If a building or structure covers the entire lot, landscaping and screening alternatives must be proposed to the Village Administrator for review and approval that meet the purpose and intent of this chapter.
(b) Expansion of Vehicular Use Areas.
(1) When a vehicular use area is expanded, the landscaping requirements of Section 1117.04: Landscaping Requirements for Vehicular Use Areas shall apply to the expanded vehicular use area.
(2) If a vehicular use area is demolished and replaced or redesigned, the landscaping requirements of Section 1117.04: Landscaping Requirements for Vehicular Use Areas shall apply to the entire vehicular use area.
(Ord. 2879. Passed 10-23-23.)
1117.03 MINIMUM MATERIALS AND STANDARDS.
The following identifies the minimum landscape and screening standard requirements for all developments.
(a) Installation Timing. All plantings and landscaping shall be required to be installed prior to occupancy of the principal building or use. The Village Administrator shall have the authority to provide for an extension of six (6) months to plant any landscaping after occupancy due to weather conditions being prohibitive for the planting of plant materials. Failure to install by such timeline shall be considered a violation of this code.
(b) Plant Materials.
(1) All plant material shall be sound, healthy, live plants installed and maintained in accordance with acceptable nursery industry procedures.
(2) Shrubs shall be installed at a minimum height of two (2) feet.
(3) Trees.
A. Evergreen trees shall be installed at a minimum height of six (6) feet.
B. Shade (deciduous or canopy) trees shall be installed at a minimum caliper of two (2) inches as measured at the diameter at breast height (DBH).
C. Ornamental trees shall be installed at a minimum caliper of one and one-half (1½) inches at DBH.
D. Trees that drop fruits, berries, or seeds shall be prohibited from use as part of any landscaping requirement where the tree or its canopy will hang over vehicular use areas, sidewalks, or other paved areas.
E. Invasive species identified in OAC 901:5-30-01 shall be prohibited.
F. Trees should be pollution resistant.
G. For developments that require over twenty (20) trees, there shall be diversity in plant choices to help curtail the spread of disease or insect infestation in a plant species.
(4) Any trees, shrubs, or landscaping materials used to meet the standards of this chapter shall be required to meet the height and size standards of this section. Any trees, shrubs, or landscaping materials incorporated onto a site that exceeds the amount required by this chapter may be of any size.
(c) Accessways. Necessary accessways shall be permitted to traverse required landscaping and screening areas. The width of such accessways shall not be subtracted from the linear dimensions used to determine the minimum number of trees and shrubs required in this chapter.
(d) Fencing and Walls.
(1) All fencing or walls used for screening purposes shall not exceed the height of fences and walls allowed in Section 1113.05 and shall be 100 percent in opacity.
(3) All fences used to meet the landscaping requirements of this chapter shall extend two (2) inches above the ground grade.
(4) Materials and colors used for walls shall be similar or complementary to the principal building on the lot.
(e) Location.
(1) No trees shall be planted directly over any storm or sanitary sewers.
(2) All required landscaping and screening materials shall be installed on the subject property requiring the landscaping and screening.
(3) Perimeter landscaping and/or landscaped areas used for screening shall have a minimum width of five (5) feet.
(Ord. 2879. Passed 10-23-23.)
1117.04 LANDSCAPING REQUIREMENTS FOR VEHICULAR USE AREAS.
(a) This section establishes the minimum standards by which vehicular use areas will be landscaped and screened from adjacent public streets or from adjacent properties. In addition, this section delineates standards for landscaping within the interior of parking areas.
(b) Whenever required landscaping is adjacent to vehicular use areas, such screening shall be protected by bollards, wheel blocks, or curbing to avoid damage by vehicles.
(c) Interior Landscaping.
(1) Any vehicular use area that contains twenty (20) or more parking spaces shall provide interior landscaping in addition to any other required perimeter landscaping. See Section 1117.04(d).
(2) Parking lots with more than six (6) spaces in any zoning district shall provide landscaping within each vehicular use area at a minimum ratio of five percent (5%) of the gross area of the vehicular use area (including all drive and parking aisles).
(3) A minimum of five percent (5%) of the gross area of the total vehicular use area (including all parking spaces, waiting spaces or lanes, loading spaces, and driveways) shall be landscaped in accordance with this section. See Figure 1117-A.
Figure 1117-A: Illustration of landscaped island calculations
(4) The use of depressed landscaping island, bioswales, and rain gardens are encouraged as a method of complying with these standards.
(5) No more than twenty (20) spaces shall be located in a continuous row without being interrupted by a landscaped island unless the island is used for stormwater infiltration.
(6) Landscaped islands or peninsulas shall have a minimum area of 100 square feet.
(7) Landscaped islands or peninsulas shall be vegetated with grass, shrubs, or similar plant material not to exceed three (3) feet in height. Each landscaped island shall be planted with a deciduous tree that shall have a clear trunk of at least five (5) feet above the ground.
(d) Perimeter Landscaping.
(1) When a vehicular use area is located within 100 feet of a side or rear lot line that is adjacent to a residential zoning district, a perimeter screening shall be installed that effectively conceals the vehicular use area from the adjoining land in a residential zoning district.
(2) The screening may use earth mounds, a planting strip, hedge, fence material, or any combination thereof to provide for a one hundred percent (100%) opaque screen of the vehicular use area within two (2) years of installation or planting.
(Ord. 2879. Passed 10-23-23.)
1117.05 LOT LANDSCAPING.
(a) For all lots that contain a single-family dwelling, any lot landscaping, grading, or seeding of the property must be completed prior to occupancy of the dwelling. The Village Administrator shall have the authority to provide for an extension of six (6) months to plant any landscaping after occupancy due to weather conditions being prohibitive for the planting of plant materials. Failure to install by such timeline shall be considered a violation of this code.
(b) For all other lots in the village, all required yards and all other portions of the lot not covered by permitted structures shall be landscaped with grass, trees, shrubbery, and/or other appropriate ground cover or landscaping material. At a minimum, at least twenty-five percent (25%) of the lot shall be landscaped.
(Ord. 2879. Passed 10-23-23.)
1117.06 SCREENING.
(a) Screening of Service Areas. In addition to the other forms of required landscaping, screening shall be required to conceal specific areas of high visual or auditory impact or hazardous areas from adjacent, less intensive uses and from views from public rights-of-way. Such areas shall be screened at all times, unless otherwise specified, regardless of adjacent uses, districts, or other proximate landscaping material.
(1) The following areas shall be screened in accordance with this section:
A. Large waste receptacles (e.g., dumpsters and cardboard recycling containers) and refuse collection areas;
B. Accessory outdoor storage and bulk sales;
C. Pipes, conduit, and cables associated with the building or use;
D. Outdoor service areas that are necessary to support common business operations (e.g., outdoor freezer or refrigeration units, storage units, etc.);
E. Ground-level or facade-mounted mechanical equipment; and
F. Rooftop equipment that is not otherwise hidden by the roofline, parapet wall, or other similar features.
(2) Screening shall not be required if any of the above items are not visible from adjacent rights-of-way or from adjacent lots in residential zoning districts.
(3) All sides of the item shall be screened with the exception that one side of the item may be screened with a gate or other similar feature to allow access while screening the item when access is not necessary.
(4) Screening Methods.
A. The following items are permitted for use as screening materials, and more than one method may be used on a lot or site.
i. Vegetative materials that provide a fully opaque screen to the minimum height necessary to fully screen the facility from off-site views (See Figure 1117-B.); or
iii. Integration into the building design (e.g., false walls or other architectural screening) that utilizes the same building materials and colors as the principal building.
Figure 1117-B: The above image illustrates a vegetative screen that
hides HVAC equipment and a dumpster.
B. The required screening shall have a height sufficient enough to screen the applicable item(s), provided it is in accordance with any other applicable sections of this code.
C. To the maximum extent feasible, pipes, conduit, and cables should be located along the rear facade of buildings if conditions do not allow for them to be enclosed within the building itself. Pipes, conduit, and cables shall be located as far away from public view as practical and shall be painted a similar color as the building facade to further reduce visibility.
D. In all cases, fences and walls are limited to the heights allowed by Section 1113.05 unless the wall used for screening is an extension of the principal building, in which case, the wall may be the same height as the principal building wall from which it is extended. See Figure 1117-C.
Figure 1117-C: The above image illustrates a wall and fence that is an extension of the principal building that is designed to screen outdoor storage areas.
(b) Street Frontage Screening. Within the front yard area required in the M-1, C-2, C-3, C-4, I-1, and P-I Districts, the following minimum plant material shall be provided to provide a decorative screening along any street frontage:
(1) One (1) tree with a caliper of at least two (2) inches for every fifty (50) lineal feet of street frontage or a fraction thereof, not including access driveways; or
(2) One (1) shrub, at least thirty (30) inches in height, for every ten (10) lineal feet of lot frontage or a fraction thereof, not including access driveways.
(3) The planted material required above may be placed in varying intervals or clustered in groups of plantings, provided that the total number required for the lot frontage is accomplished. The Planning Commission may make a determination that existing trees satisfy the minimum plant material requirement.
(c) Screening between Land Uses. Where a development on a lot in the M-1, C-2, C-3, C-4, I-1, and P-I Districts has a rear or side lot line that is adjacent to a residential zoning district, the following screening shall be required along such front or side lot line adjacent to the residential district:
(1) The screening material shall include one or a combination of the following:
A. Dense vegetative planting incorporating trees and/or shrubs of a variety that will be effective all year round and which shall be placed a maximum of eight (8) feet apart.
B. Non-living opaque structure such as a solid decorative masonry wall, solidly constructed decorated fence, or louvered fence; or
C. Landscaped mound or berm.
(2) The height of screening required in paragraphs A through C above shall be in accordance with the following:
A. Visual screening, walls, fences, or mounds and fences in combination shall be a minimum of six (6) feet high in order to accomplish the desired screening effect.
B. The required landscaping shall be maintained in healthy condition by the current owner and replaced when necessary. Replacement material shall conform to the original intent of the landscape plan.
(Ord. 2879. Passed 10-23-23.)
1117.07 MAINTENANCE.
(a) The owner of the property shall be responsible for the continued property maintenance of all landscaping materials and shall keep them in a proper, neat, and orderly appearance, free from refuse, debris, and weeds at all times.
(b) All unhealthy or dead plant material shall be replaced within one (1) year or by the next planting period, whichever comes first.
(c) No plant material required by this code shall be removed for any reason unless replaced with like kind and size at the time of removal. If replaced with a like kind and size of material, no approvals shall be required.
(d) Any changes to an approved landscaping plan shall require approval in the same manner as the landscaping plan was originally approved.
(e) Violation of these provisions shall be subject to the enforcement provisions of Chapter 1127: Enforcement and Penalties.
(Ord. 2879. Passed 10-23-23.)