In order to promote the health and general welfare of the city and to preserve and make available open space, the Plan Commission may grant a developer the right to vary the residential building density within a tract to be developed, leaving a substantial area free of building lots; the right to vary density shall, however, be subject to the following conditions:
(A) An overall plan of the entire tract showing roads, lot lines, lot areas, easements, encumbrances, and other relevant data shall be submitted in accordance with this chapter.
(B) Overall density shall not exceed that of the zoning district in which the land occurs. The houses in the proposed subdivision shall be grouped in clusters. The minimum lot area shall be two-thirds of the minimum normally required in the zoning districts in which the land occurs. Minimum yard requirements in a cluster development shall be:
Front yard: 10 feet
Side Yard:8 feet (except that garages and carports upon adjacent lots may join at the property line or be grouped on land away from the individual lot)
Rear Yard:15 feet (or as otherwise determined to be in general compliance with the zoning ordinance)
(C) In cases where a developer has designed special groups of dwellings and garages, the Plan Commission, after inspecting plans and elevations, may grant smaller lot minimum sizes than those in division (B) above, provided that the sanitary systems are approved by the County Board of Health and/or the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, or appointed official, that the overall density does not exceed that permitted within the zoning district in which the land occurs, or that the layout is not detrimental to the health and general welfare of the community.
(D) The balance of the land not contained in the lots or within the road rights-of-way shall be contiguous and of such condition, size and shape as to be usable for recreation. The land shall be held in corporate ownership by the owners of lots within the development, and the developer shall incorporate into the deeds of all property within the development a clause, giving to the owners an interest in the open land which shall be used for recreational purposes only. (No structure except those incidental to the recreational use shall be permitted thereon.)
(E) Open land shall be a minimum of 1½ acres (and shall be subject to taxation). In the case of open tracts of three or more acres, the developer may petition the city to maintain the land to be used as open space.
(Ord. 466, § 4-8-12, passed 5-11-98) Penalty, see § 151.999