(a) Applicability. Except as set forth in Section 1165.09(c), for each residential unit that is to be constructed within a PD, the applicant or property owner shall be required to dedicate to the City, or it's designee, at no charge, 1,500 square feet of land area to be used and/or preserved as publicly owned parkland. A Preliminary Development Plan and/or Zoning Text shall make commitments to providing certain sizes and locations of parkland, but in all circumstances the actual locations and sizes of parkland shall be provided in Final Development Plan applications or CODA applications for review and approval. Notwithstanding the foregoing, parkland need not be located on the property but must be inside the city's municipal comprehensive planning area and which is the subject of a Final Development Plan application or a CODA application.
In order to ensure that reasonable amounts of common areas and green space are provided for within the PD District, common areas and green space areas shall be established and evaluated separately from the parkland requirement.
The Zoning Text, Preliminary Development Plan, and/or Final Development Plan shall provide details as to any proposed improvements within the privately owned open spaces, green spaces and common areas, whether such spaces shall be open to public use or are to be privately used, and the manner in which the proposed improvements shall be maintained
(b) Sizes and Specifications. No single dedication of parkland to the City shall be less than one acre in size. Wet and dry stormwater basins (existing or proposed by the applicant) shall not be considered to be parkland. Property that is dedicated to the City as parkland shall have frontage on an existing or platted public street, or shall be accessible from an existing or planned public street and sidewalk by vehicles and pedestrians by and through a permanent easement through other property or adjacent parkland. Parkland shall meet one or more of the following criteria:
(1) It shall contain significant tree stands, forested areas, watercourses, or other natural features which may be preserved by coming under public ownership;
(2) It shall provide adequate areas for the development and operation of active or passive recreational activities such as, but not limited to, playgrounds, leisure or other pedestrian trails, hiking, ballfields, and fishing; and/or
(3) It shall contain historical, archeological, or special geographical features which may be preserved by coming under public ownership.
(c) Fees In-Lieu of Parkland Dedication. Parkland dedications may be waived when City Council has adopted a resolution, for a particular applicant, to accept payment-in-lieu fees instead of accepting land dedication. Upon the request of an applicant, City Council may accept the payment-in-lieu fees if it determines that one of the following criteria have been met:
(1) The features of available parkland within the PD District are less desirable than other possible parkland acquisitions elsewhere within or near the City;
(2) The use of payment-in-lieu fees will serve a broader public purpose than dedication of parkland within the PD District by being available to acquire parkland in other locations should such opportunities arise;
Payment-in-lieu fees shall be placed into a designated City fund for future parkland acquisitions to benefit current and future residents. These fees shall be calculated by taking the product of (i) forty-five thousand dollars ($45,000.00) and (ii) the number of acres of parkland dedication that is to be offset by the payment. The dollar value in the immediately preceding subsection (i) automatically shall increase by seven percent (7.0%) over the then-effective value on the third (3rd) anniversary of the effective date of the original adoption of this Chapter 1165 and on each third (3rd) anniversary thereafter.
(d) Timing of Dedication(s). No zoning certificate shall be issued by the City for a residential unit until such time as the applicant has met the parkland dedication requirements or made payments-in-lieu of parkland dedication as required under this Section 1165.09.
(e) Operations and Maintenance.
(1) All parkland shall be preserved for its intended purpose as expressed in a Preliminary Development Plan, Final Development Plan, or in plans approved as part of a CODA application. No conservation area shall be cleared, graded, filled, or subject to construction.
(2) Dedication of parkland to the City is subject to formal acceptance by City Council. City Council may, but shall not be required to, accept undivided parkland provided:
A. Such land is accessible to all residents of the City; and
B. There is no cost of acquisition other than any costs incidental to the transfer of ownership such as title insurance; and
C. The City agrees to and has access to maintain such lands. Where the City accepts dedication of parkland that contains improvements, the City may require the posting of financial security to ensure structural integrity of said improvements as well as the functioning of said improvements for a term not to exceed eighteen (18) months from the date of acceptance of dedication. The amount of financial security shall not exceed fifteen (15) percent of the actual cost of installation of said improvements.
(3) The developer or owner of land within a PD District shall cause privately owned open space, green space, and common areas to be maintained by:
A. Establishing an association or nonprofit corporation of all individuals or corporations owning property within a designated area to ensure ongoing maintenance; and/or
B. Retaining ownership, control and maintenance .
(4) Land designated as parkland will be restricted by an appropriate legal instrument satisfactory to the City Attorney as parkland perpetually, or for a period of not less than ninety-nine (99) years. Such instrument shall be binding upon and enforceable by the City and the developer, and their respective successors and assigns, and shall constitute a covenant running with the land. Such instrument shall be in recordable form.
(5) All recreational facilities and amenities within privately owned open spaces, green spaces, and common areas shall be specifically included in the development schedule and shall be constructed and fully improved by the developer at an equivalent or greater rate than the construction of residential structures, or the development order will be in default.
(f) Ownership Standards. Should the developer elect to maintain privately owned open space, green space, and/or common areas through an association or nonprofit corporation, said organization shall conform to the following requirements:
(1) The developer must establish the association or nonprofit corporation prior to the sale of any lots or parcels that are governed thereby.
(2) The developer shall provide a description of the association, including the bylaws and methods for maintaining the privately owned open space, green space, and/or common areas, prior to the issuance of a building permit for the first development that is to be subject to the association or nonprofit corporation.
(3) Membership in the association or nonprofit corporation shall be mandatory for all property owners within the relevant development.
(4) The association or nonprofit corporation shall manage all recreational and cultural facilities and amenities that are not dedicated to the public, shall provide for the maintenance, administration and operation of said land, and shall secure adequate liability insurance on the land.
(5) The association or nonprofit corporation shall be responsible for maintenance of liability insurance and the payment of real property taxes relating to open space, green space, and common areas ,.
(6) The members of the association shall share equitably the costs of maintaining the open space, green space, and common areas.
(g) Maintenance Standards.
(1) In the event that the association, nonprofit corporation or any successor organization shall, at any time after establishment of a development containing privately owned open space, green space, and/or common areas, fail to maintain the same in reasonable order and condition in accordance with the development plan, the City may serve written notice of the failure upon the owner of record, setting forth the manner in which the owner of record.
(2) Failure to adequately maintain open space, green space, and/or common areas in reasonable condition constitutes a violation of this chapter.
(Ord. 10-2023. Passed 6-20-23.)