This District is intended to provide more development flexibility than is possible through the application of customary zoning regulations. In recognition of both the rapid changes in design and technology in the building industry and new demands in the housing market, it is deemed necessary to meet those changes in a manner that will be consistent with the best interests of the county.
(A) Statement of purpose.
(1) To encourage a more creative approach in land and building site planning;
(2) To encourage an efficient, aesthetic and desirable use of open space;
(3) To promote variety in the physical development pattern of the community;
(4) To achieve flexibility and incentives for residential development which will produce a wider range of choice;
(5) To encourage renewal of older areas where new development and restoration are needed to revitalize the areas;
(6) To permit special consideration of property with unique features, such as historical significance, unusual topography, landscape amenities and size and shape;
(7) To recapture bypassed land so poorly planned and developed as to be a public liability; and
(8) To simplify processing of development proposals for developers and the Commission by providing for concurrent review of land use, subdivision, public improvements and siting considerations.
(B) Applicability.
(1) The provisions of this section shall apply to a tract of land of at least four acres in area for undeveloped areas within the jurisdiction of the Commission; provided, that said provisions may apply to a proposed development in which the primary or entire use is residential, business or enclosed industrial use when such proposal is deemed to be in the best interests of the county.
(2) Any residential lot within a planned unit development shall consist of not more than one single-family dwelling and shall be on not less than three acres with 300 feet of road frontage.
(3) The provisions of this section shall apply only to proposed new developments and shall not apply to any part of an area contained within a subdivision previously approved (and recorded) in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 151 of this code, prior to the time of passage of the ordinance comprising this chapter, or any unit development plan which is now fully or partially developed, nor to any such development for which a final authorization has been granted pursuant to a previous ordinance; provided, however, that a petitioner may, upon application and approval of the commission, become subject to all the benefits and burdens of this section, subject to such rights as shall have been vested in the owners of the area affected by development under such ordinance; provided further that any plat shall first be vacated.
(4) Uses permitted in a residential unit development plan may include and shall be limited to:
(a) Dwelling units in detached, semi-detached, attached or multi-storied structures or any combination thereof;
(b) Nonresidential uses of a religious, cultural, recreational and business or enclosed industrial character, which uses are an integral part of a residential development logically oriented to and coordinated with the total planned unit. Such uses shall be planned and gauged primarily for the service and convenience of the anticipated population of the unit development; and
(c) No business use, nor any building devoted primarily to a business use or enclosed industrial use, shall be built or established prior to the residential buildings or uses it is designed or intended to serve.
(5) The basic land unit of a unit development is the block, parcel, tract, combination of lots or acreage, and not the lot; provided, however, divisible geographic sections of the entire planned unit development may be designated.
(a) A proposed unit development plan shall be designed to produce an environment of stable and desirable character in keeping with the principles of good neighborhood design, and must provide standards of open space, efficiency in street patterns and areas for parking adequate for the occupancy proposed, or equal to the requirements of this chapter.
(b) Before approval of a preliminary unit development plan, a detailed determination of land use intensity shall be declared, and the Commission shall make a finding that said intensity is consistent with the Comprehensive Development Plan of current adoption and the best interest of the county.
(C) Recording. An approved detailed unit development plan and modifications thereof shall be recorded in the appropriate plat books in the office of the County Recorder within to two years after approval by the Commission.
(D) Permit. No improvement location permit shall be issued for a UD District by the Building Inspector unless all recording required by § 156.032 of this code has been effected, and no certificate of occupancy shall be issued for a UD District unless the approved detailed unit development plan, with modifications, if any, is adhered to, all in compliance with the purposes of this chapter.
(E) Covenants and maintenance.
(1) Covenants shall be required by the Commission as an ingredient for stability and longevity of the unit development plan, and shall set forth, in detail, provisions for the ownership and maintenance of facilities held in common so as to reasonably ensure their continuity and conservation. Said covenant provisions shall include special remedies in the event facilities held in common are permitted to deteriorate or are not maintained in a condition consistent with the best interests of the county, and in such event the county shall take those remedial steps provided for in such provisions.
(2) The Commission may require the recording of covenants for any reasonable public or semi-public purpose, including, but not limited to, the allocation of land by the petitioner for public thoroughfares, parks, schools, recreational facilities and other public and semi-public purposes wherever necessary in conformity with the Comprehensive Plan of current adoption. Such covenants shall provide that if a governmental unit or agency thereof does not proceed with acquisition of allocated land within a specified period of time, the covenants shall automatically terminate. If such termination occurs, the petitioner shall then submit for approval by the commission a modified detailed site plan for such land consistent with the approved, preliminary unit development plan. Such modified detailed site plans, when approved, shall be treated in the same manner as approved detailed site plans for an entire unit development plan.
(3) The Commission may require the recording of covenants for any other reasonable purpose, including, but not limited to, imposing standards for development of property in a unit development plan. Such development standards may include, but are not limited to, requirements as to the following:
(a) Lot area;
(b) Floor area;
(c) Ratios of floor space to land area;
(d) Area in which structures may be built (building area), including areas for cluster type residential development without lot lines;
(e) Open space;
(f) Setback lines and minimum yards;
(g) Building separations;
(h) Height of structures;
(i) Signs;
(j) Off-street parking and loading and unloading areas;
(k) Design standards; and
(l) Phasing of development.
(4) The petitioner shall provide financial assurance for the satisfactory installation of all public facilities in the form of bonds or such other assurances as are required in the normal procedures of platting pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 151 of this code.
(5) Adequate provisions shall be made for a private organization with direct responsibility to, and control by, the property owners involved to provide for the operation and maintenance of all common facilities including private streets jointly shared by such property owners if such facilities are a part of the unit development plan, and, in such instance, legal assurance shall be provided which shows that the private organization is self perpetuating and adequately funded to accomplish its purposes.
(6) (a) Common facilities which are not dedicated to the public shall be maintained to standards assuring continuous and adequate maintenance at a reasonable and non-discriminatory rate of charge to the beneficiaries thereof.
(b) Common facilities not dedicated to the public shall be operated and maintained at no expense to any governmental unit.
(7) All private streets shall be maintained by the aforesaid private organization in such a manner that adequate access is provided at all times to vehicular traffic, so that fire, police, health, sanitation and public utility vehicles can serve the properties continuous or adjacent thereto, and so that said vehicles can have adequate turning area. Said private streets shall be developed in accordance with the standards set forth in Chapter 151 of this code.
(F) Limitation on rezoning. The Commission shall not initiate any amendments to the Zoning Code concerning the property involved in the unit development plan before completion of the development as long as development is in conformity with the approved, detailed unit development plan and proceeding in accordance with the time requirements imposed herein.
(Ord. 8-7-12-3, passed 10-10-1961; Ord. passed 12-12-2002; Ord. passed 1- -2004)