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5.11 PCSR 06-27-1995 j.//. ( ty of Jlk River MEMORANDUM TO: Planning Commission FROM: Steven B. Ach, City Planner d_ DATE: June 27, 1995 SUBJECT: Ordinance Amendment by the City of Elk River, Public Hearing Case No. OA 95-6 Request The City of Elk River is requesting to amend sections of the zoning ordinance pertaining to planned unit developments. Analysis • One of the items that has been on the Planning Commission's list of"things to do" included amending the planned unit development ordinance. With the number of planned unit developments being requested and the need to clarify the appropriate operating procedures for planned unit development, an ordinance amendment is being presented at this time. Attached for the Planning Commission's consideration is the planned unit ordinance, along with memorandums from the City Administrator, City Attorney and myself that were previously submitted to the Mayor and City Council on this particular subject. Without going into any further detail, I believe the information contained in the attached memorandums will provide the Planning Commission with the information and background to consider this ordinance amendment. Recommendation It is recommended that the Planning Commission recommend approval of the planned unit development ordinance as prepared in Attachment A. • s:planning:pc:oa95-6 13065 Orono Parkway • P.O. Box 490 • Elk River, MN 55330 • (612) 441-7420 • Fax: (612) 441-7425 i 1 'k. l *l ;;' ( ITEM No. 4. i ity of 1Ik 1 • MEMORANDUM River .....z.„ La TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: Steven B. Ach, City Planner. 'l1i DATE: April 25, 1995 SUBJECT: Requirements for a PUD Rezoning Background At the April 10th meeting, the City Council asked staff to prepare a list of required information that would be considered as part of a PUD rezoning request. With the understanding a property owner may not have a specific tenant (user) at the time of the rezoning request, staff has modified the PUD ordinance to include a minimum list of information to assist the Planning Commission and City Council in considering an applicant's request for a PUD III rezoning. Overview In addition to outlining the specific requirements to accompany a rezoning to PUD, the city attorney and myself have taken this opportunity a step further and reviewed the entire PUD ordinance. The PUD ordinance is attached with revisions in bold type, while the existing ordinance has been left in standard type. Amending this ordinance has been on the Planning Commission and City Council's list of needed amendments for some time. Conclusion The proposed amendments and specifically, the requirements to request a PUD rezoning, will be presented to the City Council Tuesday. If the City Council finds the changes to the ordinance generally acceptable, staff would recommend having this ordinance sent to the Planning Commission for their consideration at their May 23rd public hearing. The ordinance would then be brought back to the City Council on June 19th to be considered by the City Council. Ill s:council:pud-oa 13065 Orono Parkway • P.O. Box 490 • Elk River. MN 55330 • (612) 441-7420 • Fax: (612) 441-7425 ITEM 5. MEMORANDUM City11 fof in) • River TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: Pat Klaers, City Adminyr DATE: April 5, 1995tc Application'Standards A few years ago the City Council approved a rezoning request to PlarmPd . Unit Development and also changed the underlying land use to commercial for an area of the'City thaf.is now know as Elk Park Center. ,This is the area north of the schools east of Jackson Avenue and west of Highway 169. After this rezoning request was approved, a development plan was submitted , for the 'conditional use permit (CUP). When the plan was reviewed, it was met with public concern, input, and, in some cases, opposition. The plan for the CUP was also met by some concern and opposition by the City Council. Some council members and citizens indicated that they did not know that an Elk Park Center type of project was going to be submitted when the rezoning was approved. During the review of the Elk Park Center plan, some members of the public and the Council did not like the fact that the land was already rezoned and, to a certain degree, approval of any reasonable development plan was legally required. During the review of the Elk Park Center project, the City Council directed staff to no longer Process any rezoning requests to Planned Unit Development without the development plan for the CUP being submitted at the same time. The City Council directed staff to process the rezoning application and the CUP application simultaneously as a complete package • so that .everyone would know what would be happening on a parcel of property once Council approval was obtained. This is the approach that staff , , has adopted and worked on with land owners ever .since Council direction . _ was received. This is how staff has recently worked with the owner and developers of the Earl Hohlen trailer court area. This direction was given by the Council so that, for example, the City would not get in a situation in the future where a Planned Unit Development rezoning request would get approved for what everyone believed would be a Cub food store and later see the developnaent plan show a Menards. Mayor Duitsman has requested that the Council revisit their position of requiring a plan for a CUP at the same time as the rezoning request to 13065 Orono Parkway • P.O. Box 490 • Elk River, MN 55330 • (612) 441-7420 • Fax: (612) 441-7425 Planned Unit Development. Clearly the staff will follow whatever direction • is given by the City Council and we want to be as consistent as possible so that we deal with all land owners and developers in the same manner. I believe that some of the Mayor's concerns with requiring a development plan for a CUP with a Planned Unit Development rezoning application include: • The fact that the development plan may change if the developer of the site is not identified or known when the rezoning request is made. • The fact that expenses will be incurred for putting together a plan. without knowing for certain if the rezoning is going to be approved. There may be other concerns with requiring a CUP plan with a Planned Unit Development rezoning application, but these two have been noted to me. Planning Commission Chair, Louise Kuester has been contacted regarding this agenda item and may be in attendance Monday night, along with other Planning Commission members. Also, even though the Council will make the final decision on whether a plan should be required with the Planned Unit Development request, it may be appropriate to seek a Planning Commission recommendation on this issue. • • MEMORANDUM LARKIN,HOFFMAN,DALY& LINDGREN, LTD. • Attorneys at Law 1500 Norwest Financial Center 7900 Xerxes Avenue South • Bloomington, Minnesota 55431 Telephone: (612)896-3333 TO: Mayor Henry A. Duitsman FAX: (612;8963333 Members of the City Council FROM: Peter K. Beck, City Attorney DATE: April 6, 1995 RE: PUD Zoning Requirements Pat has asked that, in lieu of attending the April 10, 1995 City Council meeting, i put down in writing a brief discussion of the legal issues involved in determining the appropriate application . requirements for PUD zoning. Under Minnesota law, rezoning a property on the City' s zoning map or changing the land use of a property on the City' s land use map are legislative actions of the City Council . The Minnesota courts have held that City Councils are entitled to wide 411 discretion with respect to such legislative actions . Only under the most extreme circumstances will the courts interfere with or reverse a legislative decision of the City Council on a zoning or land use matter. Conditional use permits, on the other hand, are administrative actions of the City Council . The courts have generally held that cities must establish standards for the issuance of a conditional use permit and can only deny a conditional use permit if there is a factual basis for determining that a legally sufficient standard has not been met . The courts generally have considered it their prerogative to determine whether a factual basis exists for denying a conditional use permit. City councils have much less discretion in making such determinations as they do in making a rezoning decision. Under the Elk River Zoning Ordinance, once a property is zoned PUD, PUD plans are approved by conditional use permit . A conditional use permit for a PUD can only be denied by the Council if there is a factual basis for determining that one of the standards set forth in the Zoning Ordinance for the issuance of a conditional use permit has not been met . Therefore, a property zoned PUD can be developed for any use allowed by the Comprehensive Plan designation for the property, if the developer 410 can show that the standards for issuance of a conditional use • permit have been met. Several years ago, in response to City Council concerns about the fact that Elk Park Center needed only conditional use permit approval, I recommended to the Council that we "put the plan back into planned unit development zoning. " In other words, that the City require developers to process their conditional use permit for a specific plan concurrently with rezoning a property to the PUD district . The legal reason for making this recommendation was to preserve for the City Council all of its zoning tools in acting upon PUD' s . This way the City Council can make a itai.glative decision on the appropriateness of a proposed PUD, a decision which will be easier to sustain (whether the decision is to approve or deny) if the matter ends up before the courts . It continues to be my advice that the City is in the better legal position if it rezones land into the PUD zoning district contemporaneously with the approval of a specific PUD plan, and it continues to be my recommendation that this be the way the City processes PUDs . I understand that this imposes a burden on the potential developer or owner of land proposed to be zoned PUD. However, the owner/developer has an alternative: rezoning to a standard zoning district. If the property is so unique that rezoning to a standard zoning district is inappropriate, perhaps it is property which should have a plan before being zoned PUD. • In addition, in my experience, it is not unusual for a developer to submit detailed plans before having his property zoned PUD. The ultimate decision on this issue is for the Council . As the City' s attorney, my advice is as set forth above, because this will put the City in the best legal position. However, i am well aware that the Council has more than legal issues to consider in making these types of determinations . I am sure the entire City staff, myself included, will be able to work with whatever process the Council directs . At the moment I am not scheduled to be at the Council meeting Monday night . If any of you would like me to be there for this issue I will come. In the meantime, please feel free to call me at home over the weekend (929-8877) if you have questions . • AT1ACHMENT A 16 . PUD Planned Unit Development District • STATEMENT OF PURPOSE: The purpose of this district is to provide opportunities for creative development and design flexibility by allowing modification of lot and building area, width, setback and other dimensional requirements . PUD' s shall be developed in accordance with a Concept Plan and a PUD Development Plan, and in accordance with this Ordinance and the City Subdivision Regulations. PUD' s shall be consistent with the intent and purpose of the City Comprehensive Plan and this Ordinance, and shall not adversely affect property adjacent to the land area to be developed. 1 . Regulations A. Land will be zoned into the PUD zoning district only upon approval of a Concept Plan for the PUD, pursuant to the procedure set forth in Section 900 . 12 (16) (2) (B) below. A PUD will be authorized on land in a PUD zoning district only upon issuance of a Conditional Use Permit, pursuant to the procedure set forth in Section 900 . 12 (16) (2) (C) below. B. The uses allowed in a PUD shall be limited to land uses consistent with the City' s Comprehensive Plan and Land Use Map, and to those uses identified in the Concept Plan for • the PUD zoning district and the Conditional Use Permit for the PUD. C. The area of land to be included in a PUD shall be in uniform control of the applicant. D. A PUD shall be designed to form a desirable unified environment within its proposed boundaries, including uniform design elements, landscaping, lighting and signage. E. A PUD shall not cause undesirable impacts on adjacent lands and land uses . In particular, uses on the PUD perimeter shall be compatible with adjacent uses outside the PUD. F. A PUD shall be served by adequate transportation, water, sanitary sewer and drainage systems . G. A PUD shall not adversely affect existing or proposed parks, schools, streets or other public facilities . H. The Council may establish varied and reasonable lot area, frontage, side yard, and setback requirements for a PUD and may authorize a density which it determines to be • appropriate under the circumstances . Any permitted density shall be consistent with the City Comprehensive Z 'd 30 :91 S66I '©Z 'b0 S9Z2968-3I9 N3d90NI1 /1tl0 NtlWddOH HI) d 1 W0?Jd Plan and not adversely affect the public health, safety and welfare. • I . More than one principal building may be constructed on a lot within a PUD if authorized by the Council . Unless otherwise permitted by the Council, PUDs shall comply with the Schedule of Dimensional Regulations set forth in this zoning ordinance, except that individual lots shall have, no less than eighty (80%) of the minimum area for similar uses . 2 . Administrative Procedure A. Preapplication Review. Prior to making application for rezoning or a CUP, any person may submit a PUD Concept Plan to the City requesting staff and Planning Commission review and advisory comment . B. Rezoning to PUD District , i . Application. The owner of land proposed to be rezoned to the PUD zoning district shall submit an application for rezoning to the PUD district and a Concept Plan for the proposed PUD. The Concept Plan shall include: o A drawing showing existing conditions such as • property boundaries, generalized elevations, site features such as wetlands and wooded areas, and surrounding land uses and development . O A conceptual Site Plan showing proposed uses and general site data such as building locations, density, setbacks, ponding areas, parking areas and generalized screening, buffering and landscaping concepts . o Generalized traffic information including maximum traffic volumes generated by the PUD, proposed new roadways and proposed connections and improvements to existing roads . O A Conceptual Plan for serving the PUD with sanitary sewer, water and storm sewer facilities . ii . Planning Commission and City Council Review. The Planning Commission and City Council shall review the proposal to rezone to the PUD district based on the PUD regulations set forth in Section 900 . 12 (16) (1) above and the standards set forth in this Zoning Ordinance for approval of a rezoning. 2 . 'd 20 :91 S66T '0Z 'b0 S9Z2968-ZI9 N3b90NI1 Alda NhW330H WOb3 iii . Approval of Rezoning. The Council shall approve the rezoning to the PUD zoning district only if it finds that • the PUD Concept Plan complies with the PUD regulations set forth in Section 900 .12 (16) (1) above and the standards set forth in this Zoning Ordinance for approval of a rezoning. If the Council approves rezoning to the PUD district, the rezoning action shall include: ° approval by the City Council of a Concept Plan for the PUD zoning district; and ° approval by the City Council of generalized land uses to be permitted in the PUD zoning district. The City Council ordinance enacting the rezoning shall specifically incorporate the Concept Plan and establish the generalized land uses to be permitted in the approved PUD zoning district . This ordinance shall be recorded against the property rezoned. C. Approval of PUD. i. Application. The proponents of a proposed PUD shall submit an application for a conditional use permit and, if applicable, a preliminary subdivision plat to the Planning Commission and Council . The application materials shall comply with the requirements set forth in this Zoning • Ordinance for applications for Conditional Use Permits and preliminary plats, and shall address the PUD Regulations set forth in Section 900 . 12 (16) (1) above. ii. planning Commission and City Council Review. The Planning Commission and City Council shall review PUD proposals based on the concept plan for the PUD zoning district, the PUD regulations set forth in Section 900 . 12 (16) (1) above, the standards set forth in this Zoning Ordinance for approval of Conditional Use Permits and the standards set forth in the Subdivision Ordinance for approval of a preliminary plat iii . Approval of Conditional Use Permit . The City Council shall approve the Conditional Use Permit and preliminary plat for a PUD only if it finds that the proposed PUD complies with the concept plan for the PUD zoning district, the PUD regulations set forth in Section 900 . 12 (16) (1) above, the standards set forth in this Zoning Ordinance for approval of Conditional Use Permits and the standards set forth in the Subdivision Ordinance for approval of a preliminary plat . If the conditional use permit and the preliminary plat are approved, the preliminary plat and the Development Plan for the PUD shall be attached to and become part of the conditional use permit . Any modification of the conditional use permit, the preliminary plat or the PUD Development Plan 3 . b 'd be :91 S66i '6Z'b0 S9Z£968-ZT9 N3L90NI1 Ald0 NUW330H NINNU 1 WO8d must be approved by the Planning Commission and the Council . The Council may approve the entire PUD or one or • more stages of the same and may establish conditions respecting the approval as provided in Section 900 .42 . iv. PUD Development Plan. If the Council approves the Conditional Use Permit for the Planned Unit Development, approval of the CUP shall include approval of a specific PUD Development Plan. The PUD Development Plan shall include: • A site plan for the PUD, including location, size and use of all lots, buildings, parking areas, ponding areas, parks and open spaces . • Building elevations illustrating uniform design elements, building materials and color schemes . • A plan for the installation of on-site and off- site public improvements (including utilities, streets, etc. ) necessary to serve the PUD. • A unified landscape plan including berms,. screening and landscaping materials . • A uniform signage plan including location, type and size of signage. • v. PUD Agreement . Approval of the CUP shall be contingent on execution by the developer of a PUD agreement in the form required by the City. The PUD Agreement shall incorporate the PUD Development Plan, identify the land uses to be permitted in the PUD and include such other conditions as the Council shall deem necessary or appropriate . D. Final Plat . If the conditional use permit is approved, the final plat shall be submitted to the City in accordance with the Subdivision Regulations and the provisions of this ordinance. The final plat shall not be released for recording until the PUD Agreement is executed by the Developer. • 4 . PKB:JS8s 'd b0 :9I 266T '0Z 'b0 S9Z2968-ZI9 N36SONI1 ? 1b NCWdaOH NI>Idb'1 WObd rkr A� ity of MEMORANDUM 1kRiver TO: Steve Ach, City Planner Louise Kuester, Planning Commission Chair ik FROM: Pat Klaers, City Administrator DATE: June 16, 1995 SUBJECT: 1996 Budget The 1996 proposed maximum tax levy must be certified to the county by September 15, 1995. In this regard, staff will be putting together its budget projections in July and will be holding City Council budget worksessions in August. The Planning Commission should review its 1996 budget proposal at its July meeting. The Planning Commission budget has typically provided for members to attend national, state, and local conferences or worksessions, and ID also, for Commission members to obtain training materials. Finally, the budget for the Planning Commission also provides for appropriate dues and subscriptions for Planning Commission members. The 1995 budget for the Planning Commission is in the amount of$6,450, and included funds for two members of the Commission to attend the national conference. At this time it is anticipated that the proposed 1996 budget will look very similar to the adopted 1995 budget. There may be some debate at the City Council level regarding the number of Commissioners that attend national conferences, but I do not know of any request for attendance at conferences that has been rejected by the City Council. If you have any questions regarding the status of your 1995 budget or any proposed 1996 expenditures, please feel free to contact me or Assistant City Administrator Lori Johnson. IP 13065 Orono Parkway • P.O. Box 490 • Elk River, MN 55330 • (612) 441-7420 • Fax: (612) 441-7425 BRC FINANCIAL SYSTEM 6/13/95 15: 18:27 Exn ^ Guideiine with Detaii FOR THE PERIOD(S) JAN 01 , 1.995 THROUG���mAY �����. ACT MTD POSTED 1995 ADOPTED ENCUMBERED AND IN PROCESS ----------------------------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- SOURCE-JE-ID VENDOR/CUSTOMER/EXPLANATION REF/REC/CHK INVOICE AMOUNT ------------ ------ ------------------------ ------ --------------- :1.0:1. 0 GENERAL FUND 4115 PLANNING CI OMMISSON ' 101 REGULAR PAY 1 ,500,00 0^00 0.00 102 OVER TIME PAY O^OO 0,00 0,00 :103 PART TIME PAY 0.00 O^OO 0,00 121 PE RA 0.00 0^00 0.00 122 FICA 0.00 0^00 0,00 131 HEALTH & LIFE INS^ O^OO 0^00 0.00 135 MEDICARE 0^00 O^OO 0^00 OTHER CHARGES & SERVICES 321 TELEPHONE 0,00 0.00 0,00 322 POSTAGE 100.00 O^OO 4, 15 D-051595-81:I. 015200 FRIDEN NEOPOST 029629 4^ 15 331 TRAVEL.*CONFERENCE & SCHOOLS 4,050^00 0^00 Ali,OO M-O51595-810 .09199 PLANNING CONFERENCE 1995 029545 lir 00 361 INSURANCE 500^00 0,00 0,00 TOTAL.: OTHER CHARGES & SERVICES 4,650^0O 0,00 i 1O9^ 15 CONTRACTUAL SERVICES 433 DUES & 8UBSCRIPTIONS 300,00 O^OO 0,00 TOTAL: CONTRACTUAL SERVICES 300^00 0^O0 0,O0 TOTAL: 1,:'LANNIN8 COMMISSION 6^450.00 O^OO 1O9. 15 S 6 /, ~_�~ | • ; 'i � ^ • CITY OF ELK RIVER � ' �• GL525R-VO4^30 PAGE 5 ���� 3^�����.995 ' | `�' /, . • •ACT YTD POSTED REMAINING . . AND IN PROCESS BALANCE PCT � ;^ {-------- --- -------------- --- _-_-__________ ^ DESCRIPTION P^O^ F 9 I"'T. ----------------------- ------ - - - ; |� � 0 0 1 ,5OO^OO O 362^65 362^65- 999 ---------- . ! ! ! 0.00 0^00 0 16.24 16^24- 999 ---------- ! ! ! ! 22.26 22^26- 999 ---------- ! ! ! ! 32^74 32.74- 999 ---------- � ! ! ! 5,20 5^2O- 999 ---------- ! ! ! ! 0^00 0,00 0 21 ,02 78,98 21 -- POSTAGE METER RENT-P COM N A ( 3 298, 14 751 ^86 81 -------- " IN8 CONFERENCE ' ��~-' � � ! 0^00 500^00 0 • | . 3,319^ 16 1 ,33O^84 x ' ` 0^OO 30^OO 0 0400 300 400 0 ^ ^ � i ,758,25 2,691 .75 58 � [ / | K i / . � . . ' ' \ |��� fL . . � : ` • . . * r . | ` i i i '` _ �J= �x [ .� Reprinted by permission of Land Development. BOOK REVIEW Copyright NAHB. 1201 15th Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20005 411, I With each passing year,we Ameri ginia and Maryland. He argues that cans consume ever-increasing Rural by Design: municipalities should resurrect the quantities of land for each new nearly forgotten concept of the"official • home, office, and store we build. In Maintaining Small map," with which the community— southeastern Pennsylvania, for exam- Town Character not individual developers—can decide ple,the amount of land consumed for the layout of streets and location of development increased by 32 percent by Randall Arendt public spaces. between 1970 and 1990 while the pop- with Elizabeth Brabec, In a chapter on affordable housing, ulation decreased by 3 percent. During Harry L.Dodson, Arendt notes that home prices have that same period,land consumption in Christine Reid, skyrocketed largely because houses and metropolitan Chicago increased by 46 and Robert Yaro. building lots are much larger than ever percent while the population increased (Chicago: Planners Press,1994). before. Building less extravagant by just 4 percent. The greater Seattle Hard cover,441 pp.,$84.95. homes on smaller lots can significantly area gained 36 percent more residents reduce housing costs,Arendt argues. but used up 87 percent more land to Review by Thomas Hylton "Attractive but modestly scaled homes accommodate them. built on relatively compact lots during "If American policy makers had de- the 1920s and 1930s can be found in liberately set out to construct the most only complied with the town's wishes every part of the country, providing wasteful, inefficient and land-con- but also demonstrated some unusual numerous examples of how pleasant sumptive pattern of development pos- creativity in the process. but affordable neighborhoods could be sible, they could have hardly been Arendt strongly recommends that created again," he writes. "The impor- more successful," writes Randall municipalities conduct a build-out tante of requiring developers to pro- . Arendt in Rural by Design,a treatise on analysis to show exactly how their corn- vide sidewalks and to plant deciduous building real communities rather than munity will look under current zoning street trees...cannot be overstated." sprawl. As former planning director of regulations. Residents are usually Numerous photographs and drawings the Center for Rural Massachusetts and amazed to find that,when fully imple- illustrate Arendt's points. The author now at the Natural Lands Trust in mented,their local zoning wipes out the also discusses the use of accessory Pennsylvania,Arendt has spent years scenic landscapes and open space they dwellings as well as Vermont's unique lecturing on techniques to accommo- cherish and replaces such features with program that links affordable housing date development in rural areas with- wall-to-wall sprawl. Only when the with land conservation. out destroying the areas' character. public is confronted with the inevitable In rethinking how we might guide Arendt has now put his ideas in book results of conventional zoning can resi- growth, Arendt reaches back to the form to aid local planners—both lay dents be persuaded to plan more astute- ideas of early 20th century planner and professional—in maintaining the ly for the future,Arendt suggests. Benton MacKaye,who foresaw the rise special identity of their communities. Americans need to start building of roadside strip development. Arendt Arendt emphasizes that sprawl is pedestrian-oriented towns again, the embraces MacKaye's proposal to re- the direct result of conventional plan- author says,a tradition that was largely strict development along highways and ping codes, which are largely con- abandoned after the 1920s.Arendt de- to center it in towns surrounded by trolled by local municipalities. But if scribes the principles that guided com- clearly defined open space. He notes local officials were to insist on better munity design in the late 1800s and that MacKaye's approach, which the planning standards and enforce those early 1900s and notes that such archi- Maine Planning Office unsuccessfully standards through zoning, they could tects as Andres Duany and Tony Ne- floated as recently as 1987, could be foster the kind of development they lessen are reviving these principles. implemented through a transfer-of-de- want. For example, even something as "What people yearn for these days,"he velopment rights scheme that would seemingly unalterable as the design of a writes, "is not another wave of'real es- free most highway frontage from de- McDonald's restaurant can be changed tate developments,' but rather the velopment and place it in carefully se- if the municipality stands firm. chance to live in a real human settle- lected nodes along the way. • Freeport,Maine, insisted that the local ment with a sense of place and a sense Most developers will likely agree McDonald's retain a farmhouse for its of belonging." In addition to describ- with Arendt's contention that conven- proposed restaurant and display only a ing the physical elements of a real tional codes require excessive residen- modest sign.As Arendt's photographs town, Arendt includes model village tial street widths.Widths of 18 to 20 ! demonstrate, the fast-food giant not design standards from counties in Vir- See BOOK REVIEW,page 34 Land Development/Winter 1995 27 off BOOK REVIEW Continued from page 27 r- �T, I �„ i - s 4 .' w s s{'� feet make perfect sense for residential I i II !! 1 ,; areas with little traffic,Arendt says,and . k�i { even enhance safety by encouraging •-- i, " . 4.4, . n 14 . x motorists to slow down. ' 41 - For those determined to build iso- , i lated developments in rural areas, ; a <. . Arendt provides a wide selection of clustering techniques that retain as -., ;.,, ;:, ,.,.. _... .. r.V- 1.- much open space as possible while pre- f_,- .:„..,..:.-.....i...“-.. , serving scenic views.Colored drawings ay.!'� • , ., v..,. ` .`� with aerial views of alternative devel- z w'' -..,..?,',„7- -,,,,„:.'`."""°"-•„ .,y, opment patterns illustrate how the - � s •aw�orr-r- 1. c ' ',qvsame amount of construction can vary '! ''"�"`" '1-;,:-.3 ' widely in its impact on the landscape. r .""'M Builders should find Arendt's chap- Via. �; ters on open space design, including ..i-.: " a .., r =� *N.. -. 1 tr greenways and buffers,of particular in- " ». terest.By encouraging the clustering of ..,. -mp '"-=`!, ti... - -r„•- + M homes through density bonuses, mu- ` . f nicipalities can preserve open land- s)'; ?• '' {` X 1 scapes,lower the cost of building and ,,x \ t maintaining subdivisions,and enhance • .+• ; the value of completed developments. • .•� '1 ' Arendt cites a growing body of evi- �:.�°f'� """ dence to note that housing clustered 4 ' ` { �'"c........--).:- -. .0,4 W ': around common open space or green- ways is cost-effective to build and ap- ._..Wetlands Mitigation Banking preciates more rapidly in value than Cohousing homes on conventional lots. Open-Space.Subdiuisions A The book is nothing if not thor- - • ough.It contains chapters on virtually _ §Supertunt Liability • every kind of commercial and residen- s >•' ibe"'*A:ez `cam`;,, .g.: _- - , ,. •. tial development—from in-fill con- -- �+• ` struction to subdivisions in the most rural areas.Separate chapters offer case town's timeless character. Rural by Design is far more read- studies of 40 outstanding residential A chapter by Brabec makes the eco- able than most tomes on planning, and commercial projects dating from nomic case for preserving open space. and its credibility is underscored by 1914 to the present.The liberal use of Citing numerous studies that date from myriad references to specific efforts photographs,drawings,and maps sup- Frederick Law Olmsted in the 1850s to across the country to conserve open ports the presentation. the present, Brabec argues that open space.It is accompanied by a lengthy Methods for preserving farmland, space pays for itself in terms of reduced bibliography. For people committed scenic roads, and open space are de- demand for government services, in- to designing better communities than scribed at length. Separate chapters by creased tourism,and an improved qual- we have seen in the last 50 years, Ru- Dodson and Reid discuss creative ways ity of life.Yaro,executive director of the ral by Design is a valuable reference to cluster development to ensure the Regional Plan Association of New York, work. ■ preservation of rural areas. A down- devotes a brief chapter to regional plan- town redevelopment plan for Edgar- ping initiatives,examining statewide ef- Thomas Hylton,a Pennsylvania • town on Martha's Vineyard illustrates forts such as Oregon's plan and site- journalist,won a Pulitzer Prize for editorials advocating the preservation of ways to accommodate new develop- specific regulatory bodies such as the farmland and open space in Chester ment without destroying an historic Cape Cod Commission. County,Pennsylvania. 34 Land Development/Winter 1995