(a) Purpose. The open space standards contained herein are established to provide for the reservation and protection of open spaces in both residential and non-residential developments located in the City of Asheville. Providing open space serves a variety of purposes, including promoting an environmental ethic by creating comfortable, welcoming, accessible spaces that provide for refuge, recreation, and contemplation in an outdoor environment. Open spaces support a livable city by providing places and tree cover for shade, stormwater mitigation, heat island mitigation, air quality, a diversity of wildlife habitat, social opportunities, and the associated mental health benefits.
(b) Applicability. These standards shall apply to:
1. Major or minor subdivisions
2. New construction meeting the threshold of a level I, II, or III development project
(c) Exemptions. The following are exempted from open space requirements.
1. Projects located in the following zoning districts: CBD, CBD EXP, River Arts Form District.
2. Properties with historic landmark designations.
3. Residential developments of seven or less units or lots
4. Building expansions or additions that are less than 50% of the pre-expansion gross floor area.
5. Major subdivisions that, as an alternative to providing open space, increase areas dedicated to Tree Canopy Preservation by an additional 10 percent.
(d) General.
1. Open space typologies.
a. Recreational open space. Open space may include active or passive recreation such as outdoor swimming pools, playgrounds, sport courts, dog parks, community gardens, parks, pavilions, courtyards, seating areas, outdoor dining areas, plazas or upper-level facilities such as shared or common balconies, rooftop decks or rooftop gardens.
b. Natural open space. Up to 50% of the required open space may include naturally-occurring resources such as open water, streams, riparian areas, wetlands, forested areas, tree canopy preservation areas, aquatic buffers/floodplains and designated steep slope areas. In order to qualify, natural open space areas must also provide pedestrian access on a path that must meet the following:
i. In addition to the path, at least one other amenity must be provided such as seating/ benches, picnic tables, or viewing platforms;
ii. The average slope of the path shall be less than 15 percent;
iii. Paths must measure at least 80% of the longest distance (length or width) of the open space or 500 feet, whichever is less.
c. Public amenities. Land set aside for public use including greenways, sidewalks, streetscape and hardscape areas that allow for public gathering such as sidewalk cafe areas, areas containing public art, and similar urban amenities that measure at least 14 feet wide may be counted in their entirety.
d. Stormwater control measures. Above ground land used for stormwater management (provided such land is not separately fenced) that is developed using stormwater green infrastructure design methods and integrated into the pedestrian experience (e.g. rain gardens, bioswales, green roofs or similar features). Dry and wet detention basins, constructed wetlands, or similar structures that have no pedestrian access (e.g. integrated trail, bench, overlook, or other similar feature) shall not count for more than 25% of the required open space.
e. Property line buffer. Land designated as a property line buffer when providing pedestrian access and with an average slope of less than 15 percent.
2. Designation of open space. Areas that are shown as open space shall be identified and recorded. Recorded documents may include: approved site plans, subdivision plats, easements, or deeds.
3. Subdivisions. Open space shall be located on its own lot, without any homes, and commonly owned and/or deed restricted as open space.
4. Availability. Open spaces may be restricted to owners, residents, or members of a community or organization that is related to the development for which the open space was required. If the open space is designated as a public amenity, it shall be made available to the public but may be privately maintained unless otherwise agreed to by the city.
5. Maintenance. The owner or lessee of the property designated as the open space shall be responsible for the maintenance of the open space area. Open space areas, furniture, and required vegetation, shall be maintained in good condition and shall be kept clear of debris and graffiti. Failure to maintain the area shall constitute a violation of this chapter and subject the violator to the penalty provisions of section 7-18-2. Alternatively, if approved and accepted by the city, the land may be dedicated for public use and thereafter maintained by the city.
6. Open space in perpetuity. All required open space shall be maintained in perpetuity in accordance with the approved plan, unless an amendment to the plan is approved.
(e) Standards. Open space shall be provided based on the following.
1. Quantity. The amount of required open space shall be based on the total parcel area, except that for subdivisions road rights-of-way shall be subtracted.
DEVELOPMENT TYPE | PERCENT OPEN SPACE | |
Less than 1 acre | 1 acre or more | |
Subdivisions (8+ lots) | 15%* | |
Multifamily Residential | 8-19 units: 10% 20-49 units: 15% 50+ units: 20% | 50%* |
Non-Residential | 10% | 50%* |
Mixed-use | 10% | 50%* |
* See Permitted reductions, below | ||
2. Dimensions.
a. Minimum dimension. The minimum dimension of any open space shall measure at least 10 feet in all directions, except that rooftop or balcony open spaces shall have a minimum dimension of seven feet in all directions.
b. Minimum area. The minimum size of individual areas designated as open spaces shall not be less than 400 square feet.
c. Setbacks. Required setbacks may be counted towards open space but shall not constitute more than 50 percent of the open space requirement.
d. Subdivisions. In residential subdivisions, open spaces shall have at least one side along street frontage that measures an average of at least 40 feet wide for a minimum depth of 20 feet. As an alternative, a path or trail measuring a minimum of 12 feet in width may be used to connect the street frontage to a designated open space. In this alternative of a path to open space, the required open space is increased to 120 percent of the required open space and must provide pedestrian access that shall be identified and recorded as such on the subdivision plat.
e. Greenways. Greenways that are constructed for open space shall meet the dimensional requirements as defined in the Standards and Specifications Details Manual (SSMD). Fee-in-lieu may be applied for greenway areas that do not provide sufficient open space on site.
f. Contiguity. Open space should adjoin any neighboring areas of open space, tree preservation areas, or other protected areas and non-protected natural areas. In addition, open space shall meet the following requirements:
i. At least 50 percent of the required open space must be located in one contiguous area.
ii. Open spaces containing retaining walls over 18 inches in height must provide a walkable connection that is a minimum of six feet wide.
3. Permeability. Open space areas shall not include surfaces that are more than 50 percent impervious. This shall not apply to greenways. For open space purposes, impervious surfaces that drain into designated open spaces using stormwater green infrastructure techniques (e.g. disconnected impervious surfaces, infiltration strip, bioswale, etc.) shall be considered pervious.
4. Special open space standards.
a. Projects in the Haywood Road Form District shall be subject to the open space standards enumerated in that district alone.
b. Projects located in the UV, NCD, and URD zoning districts shall follow the standards enumerated above in addition to the special standards identified in those zoning districts.
(f) Permitted reductions of required open space. As an incentive for design alternatives providing other public benefits, the open space requirements may be reduced according to the options below.
1. For development projects encompassing parcels one acre or more in size, open space requirements may be reduced to the standards assigned to parcels that are less than one acre if either:
a. Stormwater. A project elects to meet the stormwater requirements found in Sec. 7-12-2(f) or is otherwise required to meet those same requirements; in cases where the pre-development runoff coefficient value or curve number of the site is greater than 0.35 or 55, respectively, the pre-development runoff coefficient value/curve number to be applied shall be 0.35/55, or
b. Affordable housing. The project is predominantly (at least 50 percent) residential and over 30 percent of the units meet the city's affordable housing standard of being affordable to those at or below the percentage of area median income specified in the City's Land Use Incentive (LUIG) policy with half of the affordable units accepting rental assistance/housing choice vouchers.
2. Open space requirements may be reduced by five percent when meeting the following design elements:
a. Cohesion. At least 70 percent of the required open space is contiguous.
b. Slope. All required open space shall have an average slope of less than 15 percent with at least 50 percent of the open space maintaining an average slope that is five percent or less.
c. Shape. The shape of the open space shall be rectangular with the longest dimension less than 160 percent of the shortest dimension, unless the average width is greater than 40 feet.
d. Seating. Seating shall be provided for the open space. For every 250 square feet of required open space, one linear foot of seating shall be provided. Seating shall provide a mix of seating types, such as conventional seating with armrests and backs as well as informal seating (i.e. steps, edges of raised planters, boulders, etc).
3. Greenways. If any portion of the site of the proposed development is identified on the greenway master plan, and if the developer/applicant agrees to dedicate all of the land necessary to complete the section of the greenway through the subject property at no cost to the City, the open space requirement may be reduced per the following:
a. When the greenway easement is over ten percent of the site area, the open space requirement shall be satisfied.
1. When the greenway easement is less than ten percent of the site area, additional open space shall be provided to meet a cumulative total of at least ten percent, with a preference for the provision of open space to be adjacent to the greenway.
(g) Prohibitions. In no case shall open space contain any of the following:
1. Streets, driveways, or parking areas
2. Above-ground utility cabinets larger than two square feet
3. Fenced stormwater ponds
4. Structures, other than recreation community facilities such as outdoor pools, playgrounds, and open air gazebos and pavilions
5. Hazardous or toxic waste or materials as defined by state or federal regulations (except if covered by a city-approved mitigation plan)
6. Overhead electric transmission lines or their rights-of-way
7. Natural gas transmission line rights-of-way
8. Interior parking lot planting islands
(h) Fee-in-lieu for open space. For open space requirements of 5,000 square feet or less where the property does not contain a designated greenway as shown on the Greenway Master Plan, a property owner may elect to pay a fee-in-lieu of open space instead of providing the open space. In accordance with North Carolina Statutes, this fee shall be calculated by using the pro rata value of the designated open space based on the tax assessed value of the development or subdivision as established by Buncombe County and shall be used to acquire or develop recreation or open space areas serving residents of the development or subdivision for which the fee was collected or more than one subdivision or development within the immediate area. For open space requirements of more than 5,000 square feet, fee in lieu may not be used to satisfy the requirements.
(Ord. No. 2369, § 1, 5-27-97; Ord. No. 3328, § 1(l), 1-24-06; Ord. No. 3417, § 1(d), 11-28-06; Ord. No. 3492, § 1, 6-19-07; Ord. No. 4244, § 1, 10-22-13; Ord. No. 4560, § 1n, 2-14-17; Ord. No. 4361, § 1hh, 3-23-21; Ord. No. 4961, § 1e, 7-26-22; Ord. No. 5013, § 1, 5-9-23)