Subdivisions shall conform to the following public sites and open space requirements:
(a) Provision shall be made, if requested by the Planning Commission, for the allocation of areas for playgrounds, school sites, parks and other outdoor recreational facilities, as indicated on the adopted or amended City Comprehensive Plan of Parks, or any other plan of the area in which the subdivision is located, the same to be made available by one of the following methods as required by the Planning Commission:
(1) Parks, playgrounds, open spaces and recreational areas.
A. The dedication to public use, on the plat of the parcel proposed for subdivision, of a parcel of land equal to at least four percent of such parcel proposed for subdivision;
B. The conveyance by deed to an appropriate public body of a parcel of land equal to at least four percent of the parcel proposed for subdivision;
C. A conveyance or reservation to the owners of land within the proposed subdivision, of a parcel of land equal to at least four percent of the parcel proposed for subdivision for use by the property owners within such subdivision. The City will not be responsible for the continuing maintenance of this land.
A mandatory homeowners' association shall be created by the developer which encompasses the proposed subdivision in its entirety for the purpose of maintaining the required open space(s) within the subdivision. The homeowners' association shall be established prior to the sale of the first lot within the subdivision. The developer shall be considered the head of the homeowners' association until seventy-five percent of the lots in the subdivision have been sold.
D. Cash, equal to four percent of the raw land acquisition cost of the parcel proposed for subdivision, if the parcel was acquired within the last ten years; or
E. Such other method that may be mutually agreeable to the developer/subdivider and the Planning Commission.
(2) School sites.
A. The dedication for public use of land in such reasonable amount as may be determined by the Planning Commission;
B. The reservation for acquisition by the school district within which the land is located, within a period of eighteen months, of land in such reasonable amount as may be determined by the Planning Commission. Such reservation shall be made in such a manner as to provide for a release of the land to the subdivider in the event no public agency proceeds with the purchase. The eighteen months' reservation shall begin with the date all or any part of the proposed subdivision is officially recorded.
(3) Designation. Each public site, utility easement and other area to be dedicated, as designated on the plat, shall be so designated as to indicate the purpose of such dedication and to whom it is to be dedicated.
(b) Due regard shall be shown for preserving natural features, such as scenic spots, watercourses or mature groves of trees.
(Ord. 97-297. Passed 12-15-97.)