§ 240-53. Landscape requirements for parking lots.

A. 

In all Single Family Residential Districts, where a legal use or a combination of legal uses requires the provision of five or more parking spaces pursuant to § 240-56, Schedule of Off-Street Parking Requirements, the following requirements shall apply:

(1) 

All the requirements of § 240-53, Landscape Requirements of Parking Lots, Subsections C, D, E and F below; and

(2) 

A landscaped setback shall be provided from the surfaced area of a parking lot and all entrance and exit drives to the road lot line, a distance equal to the required front yard building setback requirement, or a maximum of 50 feet, whichever is lesser. Existing trees and shrubs shall be retained within the road right-of-way and within the required front yard landscaped setback and supplemented with other landscape materials, in accordance with accepted landscape practices. Where natural vegetation cannot be retained, the required front yard landscaped setback shall be landscaped with a combination of grasses, trees and shrubs commonly found on Cape Cod. A minimum of one street tree with a minimum caliper of three inches shall be provided per 30 feet of road frontage distributed throughout the front yard setback area. No plantings shall obscure site at entrance and exit drives and road intersections. All landscaped areas shall be continuously maintained, substantially in accordance with any site plan approved pursuant to Article IX herein.

B. 

In all office and commercial districts, a parking lot shall conform to the following requirements:

(1) 

The surfaced area of a parking lot and all entrance and exit drives shall be set back from the side and rear lot lines, by a landscaped buffer, as follows:

[Amended 6-28-20001 by Order No. 2001-036; 7-19-2001 by Item Nos. 2001-037, 2001-038, 2001-039; 11-15-2001 by Order No. 2002-029]

	Landscape Buffer Setbacks (in feet) to Parking Lots and Drives
	Zoning District	Side	Rear
	B-1 Business	5	5
	HO Highway Office	10	20
	MA-1 Business	—	5
	MA-2 Business	5	5
	O-1, O-2, O-3 Office	5	5
	OR Office Residential	5	10
	PR Professional Residential	5	5
	All other office and commercial districts	10	10
	Uses requiring 5 or more spaces in single-family residential districts	10	10

(2) 

A ten-foot minimum, landscaped perimeter buffer shall be maintained between a building and the surfaced area of a parking lot or drive, except at entrances, building loading and utility locations. A walkway may be located within the landscaped perimeter buffer, provided that the landscape area is not reduced to less than 40% of the area of the perimeter buffer.

(3) 

Screening from residential districts: Where a parking lot containing five or more spaces abuts a residential district, or is located across the road from a residential district, it shall be screened as follows: (a) retention or planting of a sufficient area of natural vegetation to provide a dense screen; and/or (b) a dense hedge providing year-round screening, and/or (c) where vegetative screening is not practical, a fence, with not more than 50% open space between the panels. Such screening shall be maintained in good condition at all times, and no advertising shall be placed upon the screening. In an Historic District, fences and hedges may be subject to other regulation.

C. 

In all office and commercial districts, at least 10% of the interior of a parking lot with 21 or more parking spaces shall be landscaped. Planting along the perimeter of a parking area shall not be considered as part of the 10% interior landscaping. Interior landscaped islands shall be distributed throughout the parking lot. At least one tree with a minimum three-inch caliper or larger shall be provided per eight spaces or any portion thereof, located within interior landscaped islands. Existing naturally occurring trees in good condition located in landscaped islands shall be credited towards this requirement only in those areas where the existing trees are located. No landscaped island shall have an overall width of less than six feet, except that in parking lots with 51 or more parking spaces, the overall width of islands shall be no less than 10 feet. A walkway may be located within an interior landscaped island, provided that the walkway is separated from the surfaced area of the drive or parking lot by a minimum of four feet of landscaped area. The interior landscape requirements of Subsection D herein shall not apply to parking lots used for sale and/or display of motor vehicles.

D. 

In all industrial districts, and in marine business districts, a parking lot with 21 or more parking spaces shall comply with the requirements of Subsections B(2) and (3) and C and E herein, except where a parking lot is also used for loading, material storage, or parking of trucks, boat storage and other equipment associated with the following uses: light industry, warehouse and distribution, contractor service establishments and commercial marinas.

[Amended 7-19-2001 by Order No. 2001-099]

E. 

Where landscaped setbacks to parking areas, landscaped buffers to buildings, and landscaped islands within parking areas are required in Subsections B, C and D above, the following requirements shall apply:

(1) 

Existing natural trees and shrubs shall be retained within landscaped islands, and side and rear yard landscaped buffers to parking lots and drives wherever possible and supplemented with other landscape materials, in accordance with accepted landscape practices. Specimen trees shall be retained and, if practical, relocated within the site where necessary. Where natural vegetation cannot be retained, these areas shall be landscaped with a combination of low-maintenance grasses, trees and shrubs commonly found on Cape Cod. A list of recommended plant materials is on file with the Town Clerk and may also be obtained from the Planning Department. Plant materials shall be of sufficient size and density to create an attractive appearance. Brick or stone mulch shall not be used in place of ground covers in landscaped islands. Where mulch is used, it shall be in such a manner that it will not wash into leaching catch basins located in a parking lot, or adjacent roadway.

(2) 

All landscaped areas shall be continuously maintained, substantially in accordance with any site plan approved pursuant to Article IX herein. No occupancy certificate shall be issued until the landscape plan has been implemented according to an approved site plan, except that the Building Commissioner may issue an occupancy certificate prior to installation of landscape materials, provided that the applicant posts security with the Town for 150% of the estimated cost of installation and plant materials.

F. 

The preceding requirements of this § 240-53 shall not apply to parking lots constructed and in use prior to March 11, 1999, which conformed to all applicable regulations when established, except whenever there is:

(1) 

An expansion of an existing parking lot containing 21 or more parking spaces; and/or

(2) 

An alteration of a structure, or a change or extension of a use created prior to March 11, 1999, which increases the parking requirements by five or more spaces according to the standards of § 240-56, Schedule of Off-Street Parking Requirements;

The entire parking lot shall be brought into compliance with § 240-53 herein; and the front yard landscaped setback requirement, if any, in accordance with the applicable zoning district bulk regulations. For the purpose of this subsection only, a development containing several different business enterprises sharing a common parking lot or lots shall be considered to be one use.

(3) 

Reduction of parking and/or landscape buffers for parking lots created prior to March 11, 1999. The number of parking spaces required in § 240-56 may be reduced by the number of spaces lost to the installation of landscape buffers and traffic islands. Alternatively or in addition thereto, landscape buffers and islands may be reduced sufficient to ensure the creation of a functional, attractive parking lot, subject to approval of site plan review. This provision shall only apply to parking lots subject to § 240-53F herein.

[Amended 3-11-1999 by Order No. 99-056]