09-14-2009 Council Work Session Packet

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Guidelines for Flexible Residential Development Ordinances'� Areas immediately beyond the current urban services boundary within the LTSA are considered temporarily rural. Residential development ordinances in these areas should limit densities to one unit per 10 acres, or allow the clustering of dwellings in a manner that will reserve land for future sewered development, in addition to protecting any sensitive resources that may exist. Ordinances providing for residential clustering in the above- described areas should take the following guidelines in consideration when developing or adapting flexible residential ordinances for these areas. 1. Provide a purpose within the ordinance that describes the need to reserve land resources for efficient future urbanization when appropriate infrastructure is available to support that development. Defining the purpose and intent of any ordinance provides the local unit of government with a basis for the regulations that follow. Clearly stating that a purpose of the flexible residentia] development ordinance is to reserve land resources for future development will allow potential applicants to better understand the regulations as they apply to individual properties. The local unit of government may also wish to apply aspects of an open space ordinance to other areas within the community that have different characteristics that they wish to set aside or protect; this distinction should also be stated and defined within the purpose section of the ordinance. 2. Describe the characteristics of the land required for future urbanization and seek to reserve tracts of land in a size and configuration capable of supporting future development (for example, non-hydric soils, location in relation to existing development,etc.). The ordinance should define the lands that are considered "buildable," as these lands are considered the most suitable for development. Removing lands that are restricted due to federal and state regulations, as well as any features that the local government has defined far protection or conservation, will allow the community to preserve sensitive natural features and to ensure the availability of land to accommodate future development. Density bonuses are commonly used by loca] communities as a means to encourage developers to use a non- conventional development ordinance. However, without specifying the types of lands that are required for future development, many communities have inadvertently encouraged large-lot development in which the private lots often consume most of the developable land and leave little remaining developable acreage available for future development. The lots within the development are often too large to efficiently extend urban-level services to the development. 3. Allow no more than 25% of the developable land in a project to be developed. For the purposes of future urbanization, larger future urbanization parcels should be reserved, limiting the cluster to a development area that a covers a minority of the area. To ensure that land is available for future development, the local unit of government should specify the maximum amount of developable land that is allowed to be used for the initial residential development. For the purposes of future urbanization, communities should ]imit the initial development envelope to no more than 25%of the total buildable area of the project parcel. 4. Require that the parcel(s) set aside for future urbanization be covered by a temporary development agreement or deed restriction, rather than a permanent conservation easement or other permanent restriction. In a typical open space development, with the purpose of long-term preservation of natural resources, communities usually ensure the long-term maintenance and protection of sensitive natural resources through the placement of a permanent conservation easement that is often conveyed to a trust or public entity. When seeking to reserve land for future development, however, the community should not place permanent restrictions on the capability of the land to be developed. Instead, communities should place on the future urbanization parcel temporary development agreements or deed restrictions that contain "triggers" for the removal of such restrictions. The restrictions prevent the land from being developed before urban services are available. The ordinance should also detail the "triggers," or conditions, under which such restrictions would be removed and the parcel made available for development. Such conditions may include the rezoning of the parcel, a change in the comprehensive plan, and the provision of urban infrastructure and utilities, among others deemed appropriate by the local unit of government. Page 2