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a - ,/ VN-140 -~- July 22, 1975 strip:would then still have to•~have this jog in it. An alternative to providing the indentation in the landscape strip would be for the applicant to acquire the half lot adjacent -to 5th St. Ntn7. This is City owned property and in the opinion of the staff, is not property for which the City has any planned use> If the Council were"to approve the variance request and if ~a wc~tld entertain the possibility. of~selling the property to the applicant, the motion granting the variance should be worded in such a way as to allow the buffer strip, to conform to whatever the .final configuration of the property line ~is, The applicant. has not explained how the requested variance. fits the conditions which the ordinance says must be met. One aspect of the. property which can be noted is that it is very long. and narrow, It has such considerable length that conformance with the code requirements for providing landscaped areas would put almost one-third of the property into landscaping. The principal question is whether the 60 foot width for the buffer strip is suff iciently important that it must be maintained in this instance. Simple distance can be an effective buffer against noise and odors. In this case odors are not likely to be a problem. While there will certainly be noise associated with. the business, it is questionable as to whether it will noticeably add to'the noise already coming from .5th St. NW. Buffer strips also provide visual buffering and this would. seem to be the principal function of the buffer. strip in this case. ' A parking-lot full of trailers will add nothing to the residentia l area to the north and will, in fact, detract from it. For this reason, a-thick planting screen oz fence which will make the trailers- less visible is essential. For this purpose, the .width of the buffer strip per se is not important. Another aspect of visual #auffering w~ ich does relate to the width of the buffer strip is that the buffer strip provides a _ natural low intensity use area similar to the open low density residential area across the street. As such, it provides a compatible character when viewed fr-om the residential area. Reduction of the buffer strip reduces the open natural area and so reduces the - similarity to the open Iow density residential area for which it is to provide the. transition zone.