Agenda - Environmental Policy Board - 12/16/2019

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b. Building ground cover. A minimum 5-foot strip from the building edge must be treated with decorative ground cover and/or foundation plantings, except for garage/loading areas and pedestrian access areas. c. Softening of walls and fences. Plants shall be placed intermittently against long expanses of building walls, fences, and other barriers to create a softening effect. Plantings shall also be proportionate to the height of the building. Additional depth along buildings may be required to accommodate this landscaping. d. Heat island reduction. To minimize impact on microclimate, human and wildlife habitat, shading of parking lots is required. At least 1 over -story tree shall be planted for every 10 parking stalls on site. To satisfy this requirement trees must be located at least 4 feet and within 10 feet of a curb adjacent to any internal parking or drive area. The trees shall count toward meeting the overall site green space and landscaping requirements identified by this chapter for the underlying zoning district. (4) Parking lot landscaping requirements. The following shall apply to all new development and redevelopment of parking lots for expansions creating 5,000 square feet or more of impervious surface or disturbance of 1/2 acre or more of land. a. Parking lot screening. Parking lot screening shall be designed to reduce the visual impact of surface parking lots; mitigate glare from headlights; improve the aesthetic quality of the area for users of the site, adjacent sites, roadways, and sidewalks; and define the perimeter of the parking lot as follows: 1. Off street parking containing 4 or more parking spaces. Between those portions of an off street parking area containing 4 or more parking spaces and a different zoning district or a public street. (a) Waiver. Parking lot screening requirements may be waived in circumstances where perimeter screening is provided or where the elevation of the parking area relative to the elevation of the street and sidewalk would make the screening ineffectual as determined by the Zoning Administrator. b. Parking lot screening standards. 1. Parking lot screening must be provided within 10 feet of the perimeter of the parking lot to be screened, except for parking lots adjacent to rain gardens/bio- retention systems, other landscape features, or where the traffic sight visibility triangle may be impacted. 2. Parking lot screening shall be not less than eighty percent (100%) opaque and be a minimum of 3 1/2 feet and a maximum of 4 feet in height as measured from the adjacent finished surface of the parking area. When shrubs are used to provide the screen, such shrubs must be at least 2 feet tall at planting and anticipated to grow to at least 3 1/2 feet tall at maturity.