§ 27-440. Phoenix Avenue overlay.

A.

Area of applicability. The signage and landscaping regulations adopted by these 1998 amendments to the zoning code shall apply to all real properties zoned with designations other than residential and physically contiguous to the right-of-way lines (both sides of the street) of the hereinafter designated sections of Phoenix Avenue. The regulations shall be applicable to all portions of said tracts of real property which are located within four hundred (400) feet of the right-of-way line. The regulations apply to those sections of Phoenix Avenue commencing, on the west, at the point where the I-540 overpass crosses the Phoenix Avenue right-of-way and continuing, to the east, to the intersection with Massard Road.

B.

Signage regulations.

1.

Monument sign defined. When used herein, "monument sign" shall refer to a ground-mounted sign having no more than two (2) faces and being constructed of materials of the same type and in design similar to the principal structure located on the lot on which the sign is located.

2.

Signage per lot. Each separately owned lot is allowed no more than one (1) monument sign; provided, any such lot having frontage on two (2) public streets, is allowed no more than two (2) monument signs. In addition to the allowed monument sign(s), each such lot is allowed signs of a maximum total of six (6) square feet to provide traffic directions. No monument sign shall be installed closer than ten (10) feet to the property line of the lot.

3.

Sign size. Each monument sign shall be a maximum of six (6) feet high (inclusive of the base and the display area) and shall not be more than one (1) square foot in area per linear foot of lot frontage with a maximum area of seventy-five (75) square feet in area per sign. As to the monument sign for a retail center or business park, as defined in zoning code section 27-200, the sign area and height may be increased by an additional twenty (20) percent if only identification of the name and/or logo of the retail center or business park (and not individual tenants) is used on the monument sign.

4.

Wall sign allowance. The wall sign area for the principal structure shall not exceed twenty (20) percent of the wall area. The wall sign area for each accessory structure shall not exceed five (5) percent of the wall area on which the sign is located.

5.

Reserved.

6.

Reserved.

7.

Reserved.

8.

Sign content. Content of monument signs shall be such that no more than fifty (50) percent of the monument sign may be used for advertising. The remaining area of a monument sign is limited to the name and/or logo of the business(es) operating in the structure.

9.

Content of wall signs for the principal structure shall be limited to the name and/or logo of the business(es) operating in the structure. Directional and information signs meeting the conditions of paragraph (4) above are permitted.

10.

Content of wall signs for each accessory structure shall be limited to building identification, directional information and the name and/or logo of the business(es) operating in the structure.

11.

Advertising shall not be permitted on the principal or accessory structure, wall sign or traffic direction sign.

12.

Outdoor advertising (offsite) signs. Outdoor advertising (offsite) signs are prohibited in that portion of the area described in subsection A above located between Leigh Avenue and four hundred (400) feet west of the Massard Road right-of-way.

13.

Signs prohibited. Banners, marquees and changeable letter reader boards and portable signs are expressly prohibited. Changeable letters and/or numbers are permitted in the advertising portion of monument signs. Except as allowed by this section, no signs shall be installed in the area described in subsection A. above.

14.

Other sign ordinances. All signs allowed by these regulations shall comply with further sign regulations of the zoning code and the Code of Ordinances. In the event of a conflict of these regulations and the further sign regulations of the zoning code and the Code of Ordinances, these regulations will control.

15.

Variance procedures. Administrative decisions applying the provisions of this section may be appealed to the board of zoning adjustment according to the procedure provided for in section 27-337 of the Code of Ordinances.

C.

Landscaping regulations. Each separately owned lot zoned with a designation other than residential within the area described in subsection A above shall comply with the following landscaping requirements at the time of developing each lot.

1.

Perimeter landscaping requirements along public rights-of-way. A ten-foot wide landscaping area is required and shall be located on the property parallel and adjacent to the public right-of-way line. At a minimum, the planting strip shall be planted with one (1) tree and ten (10) shrubs for every fifty (50) linear feet of right-of-way frontage. To ensure that landscape materials do not constitute a sight hazard, a clear sight triangle shall be observed at all street intersections or intersections of driveways with streets. Within the designated sight triangle, no landscape material exceeding twenty-four (24) inches in height shall be permitted; provided, trees shall be permitted as long as only the tree trunk is visible between the ground and eight (8) feet above the ground and the tree does not otherwise present a traffic visibility hazard. The dimensions of the sight triangle are as indicated in the attached diagram for driveways and diagram for street intersections.

2.

Interior landscaping for vehicular use areas.

a.

Requirement. For any open vehicular use area, excluding loading and unloading areas, containing more than six thousand (6,000) square feet of area, or twenty (20) or more vehicular parking spaces, the owner shall provide interior landscaping in addition to the previously required landscaping along the public right-of-way. Interior landscaping may be peninsular or island types.

b.

Landscape area. For each one hundred (100) square feet or fraction thereof of vehicular use area, a minimum total of five (5) square feet of landscaped area shall be constructed and maintained. Additionally, the minimum size for the landscaped area shall be sixty-four (64) square feet. In order to encourage the required landscape areas to be dispersed, no individual landscape area may be larger than three hundred fifty (350) square feet in size, unless the vehicular use area is over thirty thousand (30,000) square feet. If the vehicular use area is in excess of thirty thousand (30,000) square feet, no individual landscape area may be larger than one thousand five hundred (1,500) square feet.

c.

Setbacks. In all required interior landscape areas, trees are required to be set back a distance of four (4) feet from the edge of pavement.

d.

Vehicle overhang. Parked vehicles may overhang the interior landscaped area no more than two and one-half (2½) feet, provided concrete or other wheel stops are installed to ensure no greater overhang of the landscaped area.

3.

Landscape materials.

a.

Materials. Required landscape areas shall be planted using, at the option of the owner, tree, shrub, grass or ground cover plants identified in subsections E., F., G. and H. Any owner desiring to plant unlisted plants may make written application to the administrative officials of the city. Any decision of the administrative officials is subject to appeal to the board of zoning adjustment according to the provisions of section 27-337 of the Code of Ordinances.

b.

Plants. Artificial plants are prohibited. All plant materials shall be living plants and shall meet the following requirements:

1.

Quality. Plant materials must conform to the standards of the American Association of Nurserymen and shall have passed any inspections required by state regulations.

2.

Deciduous trees. All planted deciduous trees shall have a minimum thickness of two (2) inches at the aboveground trunk at time of planting.

3.

Evergreen trees. Evergreen trees shall be a minimum of five (5) feet height at the time of planting.

4.

Grass or ground cover. Grass may be sodded or seeded; provided, in drainage swales or other areas subject to erosion, solid sod, erosion reducing net, or suitable mulch must be used and nursegrass seed shall be sown for immediate protection until complete coverage otherwise is achieved. Grass sod shall be clean and free of weeds and noxious pests or diseases. In areas where ground cover rather than grass is used, the ground cover shall be planted in such a manner as to present a finished appearance and seventy-five (75) percent complete coverage after one (1) complete growing season.

c.

Maintenance. The initial developer and the owner of the property, and their successors in interest, shall be responsible for the continued maintenance of all landscaping areas so as to keep them (a) in a proper, neat and orderly appearance, (b) free from refuse and debris, (c) with dead plant material replaced within one (1) year of the death of the plant material or by the next planting period, whichever comes first and (d) with other defective landscape materials replaced or repaired within three (3) months of defect. The maintenance obligation of the developer, and the developer's successor in interest other than the owner, shall terminate two (2) years following the developer's sale of the subject property.

d.

Enforcement. Violation of the regulations adopted by this section may be enforced in any lawful manner including, without limitation, the refusal by the city to issue a building occupancy permit.

D.

Tree species.

1.

Primary list. The following list of trees are those which have been found to be best suited to this area and yet requiring the least amount of maintenance. This list, along with the secondary list, are those trees which may be planted in the required landscaping area. Additional selective trees may be substituted when proven to be hardy to this region:

Common Name	Scientific Name
Bald cypress	Taxodium distichum
Chinese elm	Ulmus parvifolia
Ginkgo (male)	Ginkgo biloba
Honey locust	Gleditsia triacanthos
Loblolly pine	Pinus taeda
Pin oak	Quercus palustris
Sawtooth oak	Quercus acutissima
Sugar hackberry	Ceitis laevigata
Willow oak	Quercus phellos

 

2.

Secondary list. The following list of trees are those which have been found to be the next best suited to this area but require increased maintenance:

Common Name	Scientific Name
American holly	Ilex opaca
Crab apple	Malus spp.
Crepe myrtle	Lagerstoemia indica
Dogwood	Cornus florida
Hawthorn	Crataegus opaca
Redbud	Cercis canadensis
River birch	Betula nigra
Southern magnolia	Magnolia grandiflora
Swamp red maple	Acer rubrum
Water oak	Quercus nigra
Weeping willow	Salix babylonica

 

E.

Shrub species.

1.

Primary list. The following list of shrubs are those which have been found to be best suited to this area and yet requiring the least amount of maintenance. This list, along with the secondary list, are those shrubs which may be planted in the required landscaping area. Additional selective shrubs may be substituted when proven to be hardy to this region:

Common Name	Scientific Name
Evergreen hollies	Ilex species
Nandina	Nandina domestica

 

2.

Secondary list. The following list of shrubs are those which have been found to be the next best suited to this area but require increased maintenance:

Common Name	Scientific Name
Abelia	Abelia grandiflora
Boxwood	Buxus sempervirens
Chinese photinia	Photinia serrulata

 

F.

Grasses.

1.

The following grasses may be used:

Mayer Z-52 Zoysia

Emerald zoysia

Bermuda grass

Bermuda grass hybrids

Centipede

St. Augustine

2.

The grasses listed in 1 are the more commonly used grasses adjacent to vehicular use areas.

G.

Ground covers.

1.

Primary list. The following list of ground covers are those which have been found to be best suited to this area and yet requiring the least amount of maintenance. This list, along with the secondary list, are those ground covers which may be planted in the required landscaping area. Additional selective ground covers may be substituted when proven to be hardy to this region.

Common Name	Scientific Name
Dwarf nandina	N. domestica "harbour dwarf"
Junipers	Juniperus species
Liriope	Liriope muscari
Memorial rose	Rosa wichuraiana
Mondo grass	Ophiopogon japonicus
Periwinkle	Vinca minor
Spreading euonymus	E. fortunei "radicans"

 

2.

Secondary list. The following list of ground covers are those which have been found to be the next best suited to this area but require increased maintenance:

Common Name	Scientific Name
Carolina Jessamine	Gelsemium sempervirens
Dwarf bamboo	Arundinaria pygmaea
English ivy	Headera helix
Honeysuckle	Lonicera sempervirens

 

H.

Design requirements for new commercial buildings and additions to existing commercial buildings.

1.

Purposes.

a.

To protect and enhance the overlay zone for the Phoenix Avenue extension.

b.

To provide good civic design and arrangement.

c.

To preserve property values of surrounding property.

2.

Commercial building design standards.

a.

Any development that contains more than one (1) building shall incorporate a recurring, unifying and identifiable theme for the entire development.

b.

The predominant (fifty-one (51) percent of the gross wall area or greater) exterior building facade of all commercial buildings must be of high quality materials such as brick, wood, native stone, tinted glass, cementious siding, stucco, exterior insulated finished systems (EIFS) or tinted/textured concrete masonry units. Smooth-faced concrete block, plain or untextured tilt-up panels and prefabricated steel panels are prohibited as the predominant facade.

c.

All facades of a building that are visible from the finish grades of adjoining properties or public streets shall have design characteristics similar to the buildings front facade. This shall be implemented by requiring the same treatment as discussed in subsection 27-440(H)(2)(b) above.

d.

Mechanical equipment, including, but not limited to, heating/cooling systems, trash receptacles and utility boxes shall be completely screened from adjoining properties and street right-of-way. For ground-mounted or located equipment the screening shall be a wall or fence or the equipment shall be enclosed within a building. For roof-mounted equipment, the screening shall be architecturally incorporated into the roof and shall consist of materials compatible with the supporting building.

e.

Chain link, barbed wire or sheet metal fencing material is prohibited.

I.

Design review.

1.

All landscaping, new commercial building developments and additions to existing commercial buildings shall be subject to design review and approval by the planning and zoning department. The following drawings, information and plans shall be submitted to the planning and zoning department for design review and approval with site plan or development plan applications.

a.

Rendered elevation drawings of front, rear and one (1) side of the proposed structure at one-eighth ( 1/8 ) inch to one (1) foot (minimum) scale showing the design of the structure and the materials of the building's external finishes being proposed.

b.

The site plan shall include the location and proposed screening of all mechanical equipment.

c.

The city administrator or his designated agent, at his discretion, may refer any design review and approval to the board of zoning adjustment for their review and approval. Any administrative decision applying the provisions of this section may be appealed to the board of zoning adjustment according to the procedure provided for in section 27-337 of this Code of Ordinances.

2.

Effects of approval.

a.

An approved design shall be binding on the applicants and their successors and assignees. No building permit shall be issued for any building or structure not in conformance with the approved design. No element of an approved design shall be eliminated, altered or provided in another manner unless an amendment is approved in accordance with this section, provided, however, that the city administrator, or his designated agent, may approve such minor changes in the design as will not cause any of the following circumstances to occur:

b.

Any change to the recurring, unifying and identifiable theme from one building to the next in a single development.

c.

Any change that reduces the percentage of the predominate facade to a percentage less than fifty-one (51) percent of the gross wall area.

d.

Any modification having an adverse impact on adjacent property.

e.

Any modification that lessens the requirements for screening of the mechanical equipment.

f.

Any modification that lessens the requirements for all facades of a building, visible from adjoining properties or public streets, having similar design characteristics to the building's front facade.