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7.c. PRSR 09-09-1998 Item# 7.c. ity of MEMORANDUM �lk River TO: Planning Commission FROM: Stephen Wensman, Planner V" DATE: September 9, 1998 SUBJECT: Open Space Development Ordinance Request Staff requests that the Park and Recreation Commission comment on any Park and Recreation issues regarding an Open Space Development Ordinance. Overview Staff is writing an open space development ordinance . The open space development ordinance is being written to permit clustering in the R1a • (Rural Residential District) and A1(Agricultural Conservation) zones if the development meets the minimum requirements, or as a conditional use if it does not. The ordinance is intended to be a section of our overall zoning ordinance much like the subdivision ordinance. The open space development ordinance references our current subdivision ordinance for subdivision requirements. Attachments • Draft of Open Space Development Ordinance Reviews The Planning Commission, the City Attorney and the MN Land Trust will be reviewing and commenting on the open space development ordinance. Issues • What does the City want to preserve? • How does this fit into the Master Park and Recreation Plan? • How might City trails link up to private trails? • 13065 Orono Parkway • P.O. Box 490 • Elk River, MN 55330 • TDD &Phone: (612)441-7420 • Fax: (612)441-7425 • Open Space Development Ordinance Elk River Sherburne County, Minnesota PURPOSE. The purpose of open space development is to maintain the rural, semi-rural character of Elk River by preserving agricultural land, woodlands, corridors, and other significant natural features and to allow an alternative to conventional design for single-family detached residential development in the Rla and Al districts consistent with the goals of the City's Comprehensive Plan. OBJECTIVES: 1. Permanent preservation of contiguous common open spaces for scenic enjoyment, recreational use, agriculture and rural identity. 2. Allow innovation and greater flexibility in the design of residential • developments. 3. Provide for site development that maintains a low visual impact, particularly along the roadways and abutting properties. 4. Creation of cohesive neighborhoods in order to establish local identity and community interaction. 5. Physical integration of neighborhoods, open spaces, and places of destination in order to establish municipal identity and community interaction. 6. To reduce the cost of construction and maintenance of public facilities, infrastructure and services. DEFINITIONS Buildable Land Area. The gross land area less the unbuildable land area that includes floodways, hydric and restrictive soils, land with slopes over 33%, wetlands and areas that cannot accommodate septic systems. • Conservation Easement. An interest in real property created in a manner that imposes limitations or affirmative obligations regarding the use of property including the retention, protection, and maintenance of open space. Common Gardens. Land used by residents of a development for the production of trees, vegetables, fruits and flowers. Community Service Agriculture. Horticulture and Floriculture that serves the local area. Floriculture. The cultivation and management of ornamental and flowering plants for sale on site from a wayside stand. Gross Acres. The total area of a parcel of land including wetlands, hydric soils, steep slopes, streets, and dedicated easements. Historic Structure. A structure that is at least 50 years old and in it's original state. The structure shall add to the visual integrity of the landscape. Horticulture. The cultivation and management of trees, plants, grasses, vegetables and fruits for sale on site from a wayside stand. 111 Open Space. A tract of land used for agriculture, natural habitat, walkways (sidewalks) and pathways and/or neighborhood recreational purposes. Single Family Dwelling. A residential structure designed for or used exclusively as one dwelling unit of permanent occupancy. a) Detached. A single family dwelling that is surrounded by yards on all sides, is located on its own individual lot, and is not attached to any other dwelling by any means. b) Attached. Two or more single family dwellings sharing one or more common wall, each on its won individual lot. Stable (private). The keeping, breeding, raising and uses of horses or ponies on open space owned and maintained by an association of adjacent property owners for the exclusive personal use and enjoyment of association members and for which commercial gain is not the primary objective. Wayside Stand. A structure used for the seasonal retail sale of agricultural goods, floriculture, and horticulture produced by the operator of the wayside • stand on site or on other property in the City. • APPLICABILITY 1. Open Space Developments shall be a permitted use in the R1a and Al zoning districts. Those developments that do not meet the minimum requirements for open space development may be allowed as a conditional use. 2. Open Space Developments shall comply with the following minimum standards: a) A minimum land area for open space development is 20 acres. b) A minimum of fifty (50%) percent of total buildable land area for development shall be dedicated to open space consisting of natural habitat, neighborhood recreation, and/or pedestrian corridor open space to preserve the visual dominance of nature over the housing. 3. Open space a) Conservation Easements shall be place on all open spaces as part of an open space development. The land shall be controlled • in one or more following manners as determined at the City's sole discretion: i) Owned by an individual, homeowner's association, or other legal entity who will use the land for open space purposes as provided by permanent conservation restrictions to an acceptable Land Trust as approved by the City and; or ii) Deeded to the City of Elk River for public purposes with permanent conservation restrictions to an acceptable Land Trust as approved by the City. b) Where applicable, a homeowner's association shall be established to permanently maintain all residual open space and recreational facilities. Such homeowner's association agreements shall include the following: i) the legal description of the common lands or facilities. ii) Membership in the Association is mandatory for all • purchasers of homes in the development and their successors. iii) the restrictions placed upon the use and enjoyment of the lands or facilities including the persons or entities entitled to enforce the restrictions. iv) a mechanisms for resolving disputes among the owners or association members. v) Provide standards for scheduled maintenance of open spaces. vi) Provide a plan guaranteeing continuing maintenance of open spaces that shall be submitted to the City Council as part of the data requirements for an open space development. vii) a mechanism to assess and enforce the common expenses for the land or facilities including upkeep and maintenance expenses, real estate taxes and insurance premiums. viii) the conditions and timing of the transfer of ownership and 111 control of land or facilities to the Association or the common ownership. ix) any other matter the developer deems appropriate. x) Open space shall be maintained for the purposes for which it was set aside. If open space was set aside for agriculture purposes or for natural habitat, a plan shall be submitted which will indicate how the land will be maintained or returned to a natural state and who will be responsible for plan implementation. Developers shall provide copies of deed covenants to prospective purchasers, and conservation easements to the City, describing land management practices to be followed by the party or parties responsible. xi) Open space dedicated as City park should comply with the City of Elk River Master Park and Recreation Plan. 4. Design. • a) Lots shall be designed to achieve the following objectives: i) Located on the most suitable soils for sub-surface septic • disposal. ii) Located on the least fertile soils, along the far edges of the open fields, adjacent to any woodland, in order to maximizes the usable area remaining for agricultural use, or within any woodland to provide summer shade and shelter from winter wind, and to enable new construction to be visually absorbed by the natural landscape features. iii) Located in a manner to preserve natural character or environments, historic, archeological or cultural value and their environs, insofar as needed to safeguard the character of the feature. b) Lots should be oriented around a central focal point such as: i) A central green or square ii) A physical amenity such as a meadow, stand of trees, a stream or water body, or some other feature. iiii) A street designed with a boulevard planted with shade trees and a central parkway or median at least 25 feet wide. c) Lots shall have a minimum width of 80 feet. d) At least 50% of the lots within a neighborhood shall abut open space on at least one side. A local street may separate lots from open space. e) Housing should be made up of 4-8 homes with a maximum of 15 per cluster to maintain a rural open character. f) Views on and off site shall be preserved to the maximum possible. g) Neighborhood Recreation open spaces shall be located such that they are an integral part of the neighborhood of the surrounding home sites, at an elevation appropriate to their intended recreational use, defined by coherent boundaries, and accessible to all neighborhood residents. • • h) Natural Habitat shall be preserved to the maximum possible in a contiguous, connected configuration. Natural open spaces may include, but not limited to fields, wetlands, slopes, bluffs, woods, lakes, ponds, streams, shore lands, and other environmentally sensitive areas. i) Accessibility/Pedestrian corridors shall be located such that larger open spaces and places of destination on and off site are connected with one another and are accessible to individual home sites. Open spaces shall be accessible to pedestrians at not more than 1,200 foot intervals along public roadways. Pedestrian corridors between lots shall be at least 50' in width and buffered from view of adjacent properties. j) Septic systems allowed in a septic easement in the open space k) Buffer zones of at least (100) feet shall be required between residential properties and agricultural uses to minimize land use conflicts. The buffer areas shall be thickly planted with native grasses, shrubs and trees. Roads may be included in the buffer that will create an effective barrier separating yards form • fields and pastures. 5. Density a) The base density shall be granted at 20% above the "yield plan" for the parcel. b) The base density may be increased if the development complies with one or more of the following standards. Each standard provides an additional density increase of 5% over the base density with a maximum density increase of 40%. i) Creating an endowment where the principal would generate sufficient annual interest to cover the conservation easement holder's yearly costs (taxes, insurance, maintenance, enforcement, etc.). ii) Providing for access by the general public to trails, parks, or other recreational facilities, excluding golf courses. iii) An additional 10% open space is provided above the required 50% open space. • iv) Reusing historical buildings and structures or preserving specific site features, including those sites inventoried by the County, City, or State Historical Preservation Office. The Secretary of Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation shall apply. PROCEDURE 1. The plan for an open space design development shall comply with the regulations of the "Subdivision Ordinance of the City of Elk River" (Section 1008). 2. Other submittals a) Resource Inventory i) Topographic contours at 10 foot intervals, showing slopes of more than 33%. ii) The management (replacement and repair) plan of collector sewage treatment systems • iii) Hydrological characteristics, including surface water bodies, flood plains, wetlands, natural swales and drainage-ways. iv) Vegetation of the site, according to general cover type (pasture, woodland, etc.), defining boundaries of woodland areas and stand-alone trees with a caliper of more than 4 inches. Vegetative types shall be classified as generally deciduous, coniferous or mixed and described by plant community, relative age and condition. v) Current land use and land cover (cultivated areas, paved areas, etc.) all buildings and structures on the land, and all encumbrances, such as easements or covenants. vi) Visual resources, showing views onto the tract from surrounding roads and public areas, as well as views within the tract. vii) Cultural resources: brief description of historic character of buildings and structures, historically important landscapes, and archeological features. • viii) Context: general outlines of existing buildings, land use, and natural features such as water bodies or wooded areas, roads and property boundaries within 500 feet of the tract. ix) This information may be presented on an aerial photograph at a scale of no less than 1 inch = 400 feet b) The proposal for an OSD shall include a "yield plan" showing the maximum number of dwelling units that would be permitted given the minimum lot size and lot widths for conventional subdivisions and other requirements of the City Ordinance. The yield plan need not be engineered; however, it shall be drawn to scale and shall identify all the major physical features on the parcel. c) Concept Subdivision Plan i) Open space areas indicating which areas are to be protected. ii) Boundaries of areas to be developed and proposed general • street and lot layout. iii) Number of housing units proposed. iv) Areas proposed for storm water management and on or off site sewage treatment. v) Plans to be prepared at the scale of 1 inch = 100 feet d) Homeowner's Association Documents including bylaws, deed restrictions, covenants, and proposed conservation easements. EVALUATION CRITERIA 1. In evaluating the layout of lots, streets and open space, the following criteria will be considered by the city as indicating design appropriate to the site's natural, historic, and cultural features, and meeting the purposes of this ordinance. Diversity and originality in lot layout shall be encouraged to achieve the best possible relationship between development and conservation areas. Accordingly, the city will evaluate proposals to determine whether the proposed concept plan: • a) Protects and preserves all floodways and wetlands. b) Preserves and maintains mature woodlands, existing fields, pastures and meadows, and creates sufficient buffer areas to minimize conflicts between residential and agricultural uses. c) If development must be located on open fields or pastures because of greater constraints in other parts of the site, dwellings should be sited on the least prime agricultural soils, or in locations at the far edge of a field, as seen from existing roads. Other considerations include whether the development will be visually buffered from existing roads, such as by a planting screen consisting of a variety of indigenous native trees, shrubs and wildflowers. d) Maintains or creates an upland buffer of native species vegetation of at least 50 feet in depth adjacent to wetlands and surface waters, including creeks, streams, springs, lakes and ponds. e) Designs around existing hedgerows and treelines between fields or meadows. Minimizes impact on woodlands, especially those containing mature trees or a significant wildlife habitat. • However, woodlands in poor condition with limited management potential can provide suitable locations for residential development. When any woodland is developed, great care shall be taken to design all disturbed areas in locations where there area no large trees or obvious wildlife areas. f) Leaves scenic views and vistas unblocked or uninterrupted, particularly as seen from public roads. g) Avoids new construction on ridges by taking advantage of lower topographic features. h) Protects wildlife habitat of species listed as endangered, threatened or of special concern by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and/or the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. i) Designs around and preserves sites of historic, archeological or cultural value and their environs, insofar as needed to safeguard the character of the feature. j) Protects rural roadside character and improves public safety and traffic carrying capacity by avoiding development fronting onto • existing public roads. Establishes buffer zones along the corridor of rural roads. k) Landscapes common areas (such as community greens and cul de sac islands), both side of new streets with native specie shade trees and flowering shrubs with high wildlife conservation value. 1) Provides active recreational areas in suitable locations offering convenient access by residents, and adequately screened from nearby residents. m) Includes a pedestrian circulation system designed to assure that pedestrians can walk safely and easily on the site, between properties and activities or special features within the neighborhood open space system. All roadside footpaths should connect with off road trails, which in turn should link with potential open space on adjoining undeveloped parcels (or with existing open space on adjoining developed parcels, where applicable). n) Provides open space that is reasonably contiguous. • Fragmentation of open space should be minimized so that resources are not divided into numerous small parcels located in various parts of the development. To the greatest extent practicable, this land shall be designed as a single block with logical, straightforward boundaries. Long thin strips of conservation land shall be avoided, unless the conservation feature is linear or unless the configuration is necessary to connect with other streams or trails. Open space shall generally abut existing or potential open space on adjacent parcels, and shall be designed as part of larger contiguous and integrated greenway systems.