§ 10-26. Vegetative buffer requirements.

(a)

Commercial projects: No vegetative buffer plantings are required if sufficient areas of natural vegetation are preserved. Unless otherwise indicated, a vegetative buffer shall be at least five (5) feet in width. Vegetative buffers shall be protected from vehicle tires by appropriately placed wheel stops or an approved alternative.

(b)

A vegetative buffer is an area of land containing any combination of preserved natural vegetation or installed greenery. It may include berms, fences, or walls. Turf grass is acceptable as a "vegetative ground cover", but not as a "vegetative buffer". If a fence or wall is used, it shall be visually dominated by greenery and attain fifty (50) percent opacity/coverage within twelve (12) months of planting.

(c)

Unless otherwise indicated, the vegetative buffer requirement is a minimum of forty (40) plants per area of land five (5) feet in width by one hundred (100) feet in length. A combination of preserved plants or installed plants may be used. If plants are preserved they must be shrubs or trees in order to count toward the requirement.

(d)

A vegetative buffer is required in the following locations:

(1)

Along street right-of-way/pavements:

a.

A vegetative buffer at least five (5) feet in width shall abut the street right-of-way/pavements for at least half of the street right-of-way frontage. If only installed planting areas are used, the vegetative buffer shall include a hedge of shrubs with a minimum height of eighteen (18) inches at time of planting. Shrubs shall be appropriately spaced according to growth needed of the species for the hedge to attain eighty (80) percent opacity within twelve (12) months of planting.

b.

No vegetative buffer over two (2) feet in height that might block any driver's view shall be permitted within the clear-sight triangle of the driveway or street/railroad intersection.

(2)

Around the perimeter of parking lots/pavements: A vegetative buffer at least five (5) feet in width shall abut the perimeter of parking lots/pavements. This applies to parking lot perimeters not adjacent to street right-of-way or buildings. If installed planting areas are used, the vegetative buffer shall include plants with a minimum height of eighteen (18) inches at time of planting. If plants are preserved they must be shrubs or trees in order to count toward the requirement. If the property abuts another commercial property that has provided a vegetative buffer, in lieu of the buffer, a five-foot-wide landscape strip consisting of one (1) tree that is three-inch minimum caliper every twenty-five (25) linear feet and four shrubs plus turf grass, ground cover or mulch shall be provided. Preserved natural vegetation may be substituted for the landscape strip with approval of the development department review staff.

(3)

Property lines. Projects adjacent to a residential district shall provide a five-foot landscaped vegetative buffer. The commercial use located on such property shall be permanently screened from the adjoining and contiguous residential properties.

If a fence or wall is used as part of the buffer, it shall be dominated by greenery which shall attain fifty (50) percent opacity within twelve (12) months. The greenery shall be growing on the residential side.

If preserved natural vegetation is used as the buffer, it must meet opacity of at least eighty (80) percent to a minimum height of five (5) feet.

Supplemental planting will be required if the natural buffer does not meet the opacity requirement.

All buffer types, except natural vegetation, must be maintained to a maximum of eight (8) feet in height.

(4)

Shoreline considerations; Grading and design of property adjacent to bodies of water shall conform to federal, state, and local regulations which may include but is not limited to the use of berms or retention ditches. No grasses that require mowing shall be allowed within six (6) feet of the waters edge, except where seawalls and bulkheads exist or where needed for erosion control. Riparian or littoral zone plants that do not require mowing or fertilization should be planted in these areas. See the Florida Waterfront Property Owners Guide or the Department of Environmental Protection's Bureau of Invasive Plant Management for more information. Where water levels vary considerably, care must be taken in the selection of these plants.

(Ord. No. 2008-02, § 11, 1-15-08)