Agenda - Planning Commission - 07/01/2004

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Communities across the country are trying' to create an identity--some through the enhancement of natural beauty. A landscape ordinance is one way to achieve this endeavor. Traditionally, landscape provisions provided a minimum ofvisuai eni~ancement and buffering for new development. 8ut today, §pals and objectives set forth in comprehensive plans allow communities to take these re§u[ations fur- ther, and in new directions. Specifically, ordi- nance chapters now exclusively address tand- scape opdons for new development. Viable ordinances are essential as more communities use landscaping, his issue of Zoning Practice discusses how these laws are created and ~ooks at five !andscapa options for communities to incorporate into their local ordinances. One of the initiai tasks for ptanners in draft- in§ a landscape ordinance is .'.o deve!op §oats and obiectives, including the enhancement of beauty, creation of open space, preserving trees that may be considered "significant," buffering and screening be~veen iand uses, and using landscaping' to c~'eate a sense of place for subdi- visions, corridors, and community ent~ways. ~EZ:U Because some communities lack natural fea- tures that enhance development such as ~.ree groves or water bodies, beautification shou(d include provisions for trees and shrubs on commercial and industrial sites as well as residential areas. Most homeowners have some landscaping plan [or often assisted by the developer--but commer- cial and industriai properties are less have such a plan. A requirement ~hat trees and foundation shrubs be included on com- mercial and industrial sites on maior corridors means thai color, texture, and so,ness will be added to an od]enMse sterile environment. Minimum standarqs can provide maximum impact, indudin~ increased property values. OPEFI 57AC2 Open space can help achieve larger commu- nity §oat~ such as'creating parks and recre- ation areas and miti§ating the impacts of den- sit,/. Most communities place open space into one of ~,~o categories: passive or active. Active areas ~pically include park space with playgrounds or soccer fields. Passive areas might be environmentally ~ensitive iands such as wet,ands or woodlands that are conducive for hiking, bird watching, or canoeing. Local values and the goals of a compre- hensive pian dictate which natural features are protected by a landscape ordinance and when it can be used for preservation of open space. For example, open space dedication in subdivisions or provisions for lot coverage standards on sing[e [ors are established long before construction commences. he development boom of the mid-9os brou§ht tree preservation into the spot[i§ht. The story is the same in developing' areas across the country: A developer I]uys a piece of commercial proper~ on which grows mature ["signiFicant") trees. One of the trees is perhaps an old maple commonly used as a site marker by focal residents. The developer submits the site plan and it is approved through the norma{ process. Construction begins and every tree on the site is removed to make 'Nay for a big-box retail estab- lishment and a parking tot. Few trees and shrubs are added back to the site. Consequent[y, angry residents complain about the lack of trees to the piannin~ department, plan commission, and city council, leading to a discussion about a tree presen:ation ordinance. When the goals of the comprehensive plan include protection of ihe natural environment, the landscape ordinance serves as an effective toot for poticy implementa- tion, and would thus provide the best opportu- nity for tree preservation. 2;2FFE~I~'~.G AND $CR~ENIt'~G .Ahother common goal of a landscape ordi- nance is buffering and screening' new devel- opment from existing development. Saiisbu~/, North Carolina, defines a buffer yard as "an area of land planted or con- structed to separate uses." 8Iacksbur§, Virginia, defines it as "a yard improved with screening and [andscapin§ materials required between abutting' zoning districts of differin~ intensities or between adjoining land uses for the purpose of decreasing the adverse impact of differing uses and dis- tricts.'' 81acksburg defines screening' as "a method of visuaily:shieldin§ or obscurin§ one abutting or nearby structure or use from another by fencin§, walls, harms, or densely planted vegetation." Screening' is intended to substantially, but not necessarily totally, obscure visual impacts ~etween adjoining uses. Obsolete buffer and screening ordJ- 104 ZONING;--: \CT:t::: o,1.04 AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIAnOM I pa~e 2