(A) The city has adopted by City Council action the Parks Master Plan, which provides planning policy and guidance for the development of a municipal park and recreation system for the city. The plan has assessed the need for park land and park improvements to serve the citizens of Mansfield. The plan has carefully assessed the impact on the park and recreation system created by each new development and has established a dedication and/or cost requirement based upon individual dwelling units. The plan constitutes an individualized fact based determination of the impact of new living units on the park and recreation system and establishes an exaction system designed to ensure that new living units bear their proportional share of the cost of providing park and recreation related services. Park land dedication requirements and park development fee assessments are based upon the mathematical formulas and allocations set forth within the plan. A summary table of the dedication and cost requirements is set forth in a park land dedication table attached to Ord. OR-2333-23 and incorporated herein for all purposes as attached in Exhibit “B” to Ord. OR-2333-23, and as hereafter amended from time to time by City Council.
(B) When developing residential properties, the owner or developer shall be responsible for a fee simple dedication of park land for each proposed dwelling unit in an amount established by the park land dedication table referenced in division (A) above and attached to Ord. OR-2333-23 as Exhibit “B.”
(C) Any proposed plat submitted to the city for approval shall show the area required to be dedicated under this section. In the event a plat is not required, the dedication of land required under this section shall be conveyed to the city through a warranty deed and approved by the city as to form and substance prior to the issuance of a building permit.
(D) Each corner of the park land dedication shall have an iron rod or pin set in accordance with other lot corners in the subdivision. In the absence of a plat, the location of iron rods or pins set for corners shall be identified on a recordable land survey completed by a land surveyor registered in the State of Texas, provided to the city by the developer, and approved by the city as to form and substance.
(E) The owner or developer shall meet with the Director of Parks and Recreation or his/her designee (hereinafter referred to the “Director”) to ensure compliance with the requirements in this section prior to platting. An application for plat approval shall not be accepted unless it is accompanied by written review comments from the Director.
(F) The City Council and the Mansfield Park Facilities Development Corporation generally consider that development of an area less than five acres for neighborhood park purposes may be inefficient for public maintenance. Therefore, if fewer than five acres are proposed as park land dedication, the Director shall have the option to:
(1) Accept the land dedication;
(2) Require the developer to pay the applicable cash in lieu of land amount as provided in § 156.05 below; or
(3) Reject the land dedication and grant credit for a private park as provided in § 156.07.
(G) The Director, prior to plat submittal, will define the optimum location of the required park land dedication based upon the proposed park being located adjacent to current or future park land and based on the Parks Master Plan. If there is not an opportunity for the proposed park land dedication to be adjacent to current or future park land, then the Director and Developer will work together to define an optimum location for the park land dedication. If an optimum location cannot be determined, then the Director shall accept the cash in lieu of land option as outlined in § 156.05.
(H) In the case of a multi-phase development, if the developer dedicates all the park land required by this chapter in the first or early phase(s) of the development, no additional park land dedication will be required in later phases unless additional lots that are not shown in the original preliminary plat are included in the later phases of the development.
(I) Unless approved by the Director, no construction materials shall be disposed of or deposited within the dedicated park land by the developer or its contractors, subcontractors, employees, or agents at any time while the subdivision is being built. If materials are deposited or disposed of within the park, the developer shall remove such materials within 72 hours of written notice by the city. If the developer fails to remove the materials after notice, the city may do so at the developer's expense and no building permits shall be issued for the subdivision(s) until that debt is paid to the city by the developer.
(Ord. 1421, passed 4-14-03; Am. Ord. OR-2227-21, passed 11-8-21; Am. Ord. OR-2333-23, passed 12-11-23)