(A) Purpose and intent. The purpose of this District is to encourage innovative and flexible development design that will create and promote a sustainable and harmonious community. It is the intent of the District to promote more economical and efficient use of the land while encouraging variety in housing choices, neighborhood commercial uses, and accessory light industrial areas, while at the same time, maintaining the greatest amount of open area that results in the least disturbance to natural features. The guidelines for this District shall be implemented by approval of an overall Master Plan of development.
(B) Permitted uses. The Residential, Mixed Use District is devoted to diverse uses that contribute to a coordinated balance of activities which encourage and promote a suitable environment for family life and potentially provides convenience shopping and job opportunities within a planned community. The primary uses are residential in nature as follows:
(1) Single-family detached or attached dwellings;
(2) Two-family dwellings;
(3) Multifamily dwellings which may include apartments, townhouses, condominiums, or similar development that provides more than two dwelling units per building;
(4) Accessory structures as defined;
(5) Facilities necessary for rendering local public utility service. Buildings, treatment plants, water storage tanks, pumping or regulating stations, storage yards and substations, county sanctioned recycling centers and refuse collection centers shall be considered as part of the Master Plan for development. Underground utility service shall be required except where shown to be not feasible;
(6) Community recreation uses, including clubhouses, golf courses, pools, tennis courts, boating facilities, and similar recreational improvements and facilities; and/or
(7) Manufactured home park.
(C) Secondary uses. Secondary uses allowed that provide a higher level of amenities and community features. These uses are permitted to accompany the residential uses and the provisions of this section are not intended for creation of areas primarily devoted to these secondary uses:
(1) Churches;
(2) Schools;
(3) Childcare or day care center, including preschool classes;
(4) Business uses provided that such businesses are designed to serve primarily the needs of the planned development in which they are located. Business uses and associated off-street parking and loading areas shall not exceed 5% of the gross area of the planned development; and/or
(5) Industrial uses that are designed to provide jobs primarily for residents within the planned development. These industrial areas shall be allowed if shown to be compatible with the character and scope of the planned development and shall not exceed 5% of the gross area of the planned development.
(D) Area, bulk, and density requirements.
(1) The permitted overall size of any Residential, Mixed Use Development shall be considered as part of the Master Plan approval for the development.
(2) The permitted height of the buildings and required setbacks from property lines and required distances between structures within a Residential, Mixed Use Development shall be determined as part of the Master Plan approval. The preliminary site plan shall include an accurate accounting of the proposed building locations, heights, setbacks, and separations.
(3) The maximum density of a Residential, Mixed Use Development shall not exceed an average of one dwelling unit per gross acre. Land devoted to business, industrial, and other nonresidential uses shall not be included to determine the density ratio for the development as a whole. The Board of Supervisors may permit an increase in the density of the development when it can be demonstrated that such an increase is warranted by conditions specifically applicable to the parcel or plan of development; provided, that such increase will not have any adverse impact on the character of the surrounding property, cause any potential health or safety hazards, or generate traffic that will be excessive for adjoining streets.
(4) No minimum lot size restriction shall be placed on development with the Residential, Mixed Use District. This flexibility is offered to encourage innovative site designs that are in accord with the District’s intent of promoting efficient use of land, variety in housing choices, higher levels of amenities, and preservation of open spaces and natural features.
(E) General standards.
(1) The Residential, Mixed Use Development shall conform to the goals, objectives, and policies of the adopted County Comprehensive Plan.
(2) The Residential, Mixed Use Development shall be of such design that it will result in a development achieving the stated purposes of this chapter and this section.
(3) The Residential, Mixed Use Development shall efficiently utilize the available land and shall protect and preserve to the extent possible all scenic assets and natural features such as trees, streams, and topographic features.
(4) The Residential, Mixed Use Development shall be designed to minimize injury to the use or value of existing surrounding property, and shall not hinder, deter, or impede the use or development of surrounding properties in accordance with the adopted Comprehensive Plan.
(5) Within a Residential, Mixed Use Development particular emphasis shall be placed on the provision of recreational amenities and a comprehensive system of pedestrian, bicycle, and/or bridle paths which shall be carefully coordinated with the provisions for open spaces, public facilities, vehicular access routes, and similar facilities on adjacent tracts.
(6) The Residential, Mixed Use Development shall be located in an area in which transportation facilities, police, and fire protection, other public facilities and public utilities including sewerage are or will be available and adequate for the uses proposed; provided, however, that the applicant may provide such facilities or utilities which are not presently available or sufficient to service the development. Written assurances are required and shall be considered at the review of the preliminary site plan for the development.
(7) The developer shall provide for and establish an organization or other legal entity for the perpetual ownership and maintenance of any common open space and other similar areas designated on the preliminary site plan, including pedestrian ways, play lots, swimming pools, bathhouses, tennis courts, parking lots, water, and/or sewage systems and roads. Such organization shall be created by covenants running with the land, and such covenants shall be included as a part of the final site plan and subject to approval by the County Attorney and the Board of Supervisors. Furthermore, the developer shall provide to the county proof of financial stability.
(8) Where several parcels of land in the same ownership or land in different ownership are shown on a preliminary site plan, adequate assurances including, if necessary, covenants running with the land and/or bonds sufficient to cover the cost of development shall be provided to assure the public facilities shown will be developed.
(9) The developer shall identify the name and residence of the individuals who are the owners of the development.
(F) Procedures. Amendments to this chapter, which includes rezoning of property, shall be processed in accordance with DMP-B as described in § 157.060(B)(2) and the following.
(1) Informal submissions for comment.
(a) A potential applicant who wishes to apply for changes of zoning of property to the Residential, Mixed Use District is encouraged to arrange a pre-application conference with the Land Use Administrator in keeping with § 157.061(B).
(b) The applicant may also elect to schedule an informal sketch presentation before the County Planning Commission for the purpose of guidance and comment concerning the proposed development. The Planning Commission shall take no official action concerning the sketch presentation.
(2) Submittal of application for general development plan and rezoning.
(a) Phase one - general development plan and rezoning.
a. A certified plat of the subject property showing metes and bounds of all property lines;
b. Proposed land uses to be developed;
c. The approximate total number, density, type, and price range of all proposed residential uses;
d. The general location, use, and size of proposed open space or recreational areas;
e. The general location, size, and type of business and/or industrial areas to be developed;
f. The general location and character of the proposed major roads, trails, public utilities, and storm drainage systems;
g. A statement of the proposed development schedule;
h. A written analysis of the public facilities, roadway improvements, and public utilities that will be required to serve the development; and
i. Any additional information as deemed reasonably necessary by the Land Use Administrator.
2. The general development plan and rezoning shall be processed in accordance with DMP-B and tentatively approved if found to be in keeping with the purpose and intent of this District. The applicant shall have not more than 12 months after receiving official notification concerning tentative approval of a general development plan and rezoning to submit an application for phase two - preliminary site plan approval. Failure to do so shall make the tentative general development plan and rezoning approval null and void. The Land Use Administrator may grant an extension of this time limit for a total of no more than one year if requested to do so in writing, provided sufficient justification is given by the applicant.
(b) Phase two - preliminary site plan approval.
1. With phase one approval, the applicant can proceed with a higher level of confidence to phase two - preliminary site plan approval. The preliminary site plan shall be submitted in accordance with § 157.061 and processed in accordance with DMP-B as described in § 157.060(B)(2). The following additional information shall be submitted along with the preliminary site plan:
a. A vicinity map at a scale of not less than two inches equals a mile;
b. A statement which confirms the ownership of the property, the nature of the applicant’s interest in same, and the place of record of the latest instrument in the chain of title for each parcel constituting the subject property;
c. An aerial photograph of the subject property and all adjacent properties within at least 500 feet;
d. A tabulation of the total number of acres in the project and the percentage thereof proposed to be devoted to the several dwelling types, business and industrial uses, other nonresidential uses, off-street parking, streets, parks, schools, churches, and other reservations;
e. A statement setting forth the maximum number of dwelling units that are proposed, the overall project density in dwelling units per acre, a breakdown of the approximate number of units by type, and the range of approximate lot sizes for single-family detached and attached dwellings;
f. A delineation of those general areas that have scenic assets or natural features deserving of protection and preservation and a statement of how such will be accomplished;
g. A statement or visual presentation of how adjacent and neighboring properties shall be protected from any adverse effects prompted by the proposed development, to include vehicular access plans, proposed measures and types of screening, and dimensions of all buffers that will be provided;
h. A statement setting forth the maximum height of all proposed buildings and the general location of all those buildings where the height is proposed to exceed 40 feet;
i. A statement of those special amenities that shall be provided within the Residential, Mixed Use Development;
j. A report setting forth the proposed development schedule indicating the sequence of development of the various sections and the approximate starting and completion date for the construction of each stage; and
k. Any additional information as required by the Land Use Administrator or other plan-approving authority necessary to evaluate the character and impact of the proposed project.
2. The applicant shall have not more than six months after receiving official notification concerning approval of a preliminary plat/plan to submit an application for final plat/plan approval. Failure to do so shall make preliminary approval null and void. The Land Use Administrator may grant an extension of this time limit for a total of not more than one year if requested in writing, provided sufficient justification is given by the applicant. Remaining sections of a phased development plan shall not become null and void as long as final plats/plans are submitted for approval with no lapse exceeding three years in time between the submittal of final sections.
(c) Final site plan requirements. The final site plan shall be processed in accordance with DMP-C as described in § 157.060(B)(3) and shall comply with the approved preliminary site plan. The required submission documents are detailed in § 157.079 and may include any other requirements as determined by the Board of Supervisors.
(G) Effect of final site plan approval for a residential, mixed use development. A single black-line print and a film positive of an approved final site plan shall be submitted to the Land Use Administrator for filing. An approved final site plan shall be null and void if, in the opinion of the Land Use Administrator, no significant work is done or development is made on the site within 12 months after the date of site plan approval. A single one-year extension upon written request of the applicant with sufficient justification may be granted by the Land Use Administrator.
(H) Adjustments to an approved final site plan for a residential, mixed use development.
(1) After a site plan has been approved, minor adjustments to the site plan, which comply with the spirit of this chapter and with the general purpose of the Comprehensive Plan for development of the area, may be approved by the Land Use Administrator with notice of the change given to the original plan-approving authorities. Deviation from an approved site plan without the written approval of the Land Use Administrator shall void the plan and the applicant shall be required to resubmit a new site plan for consideration.
(2) Any major revision of an approved site plan may be made in the same manner as originally approved and any requirements of this chapter may be waived by the Land Use Administrator in specific cases where such requirement is found to be unreasonable and where such waiver will not be adverse to the purpose of this chapter.
(Ord. passed 11-9-1995) Penalty, see § 157.999