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 and the Towns of Vevay and Patriot.
(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 by-passed land so poorly planned and developed as to be a public liability; and
(8) To simplify processing of development proposals for developers and the Plan 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 three acres in area for undeveloped areas within the jurisdiction of the Plan Commission; provided, that said provisions may apply to a proposed development in which the primary or entire use is business or enclosed industrial use when such proposal is deemed to be in the best interests of the county and the applicable town.
(2) 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 the Area Subdivision 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 Plan 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.
(3) 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 designated or intended to serve.
(4) 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 Plan 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 and the incorporated towns.
(C) Procedure. The authorization of a unit development plan shall be subject to the procedures expressed herein.
(1) Upon a petition of the owners of property of 50% or more of the area involved in the petition, or upon a petition initiated by the Plan Commission, a preliminary plan for any area proposed for development as a unit development plan shall be first presented to the Executive Director. At such presentation, three copies of a preliminary plan of the proposed development, containing the following information, shall be submitted for advice:
(a) Proposed dimensioned layout to scale not to exceed 100 feet equals one inch of any streets, buildings, open space, property divisions, and other elements basic to the proposed use in relationship to site conditions;
(b) Proposed locations, amounts, and types of nonresidential uses within the area proposed to be developed;
(c) Proposed plan for handling vehicular traffic, parking, sewage disposal, drainage, water supply, site perimeter treatment, and other pertinent development features;
(d) The preliminary plan may be an approximate drawing, but it shall include any other graphic mediums which will explain the features to be contained within the development of engineering feasibility;
(e) If the unit development plan is to supersede an original plat or subdivision being vacated, the original plat shall be shown by dotted lines in relationship to the lines of the new plan, the new plan being clearly shown in solid lines;
(f) The plan shall show the boundary lines of adjacent subdivided and unsubdivided land and the existing zoning of the area proposed to be developed, as well as the land adjacent thereto. In the case of a petition by owners, the plan shall also show which property within the area proposed for development is owned by such owners;
(g) An enumeration of covenants, in general terms, proposed to be made a part of the unit development plan; and
(h) A statement expressing the order and estimated time of development.
(2) Within 15 days after such presentation, the Executive Director shall consult with the petitioner regarding the preliminary plan. After such consultation, the petitioner may make modifications to the petition which are deemed appropriate.
(3) Application for approval of the planned development shall then be submitted to the Plan Commission with a letter of recommendation from the Executive Director, accompanied by six copies of the preliminary plan (with modifications, if any) and any other desired supporting documents at a regular meeting of the Plan Commission as a petition for amendment of the Area Zoning Code and subject to the procedures applicable thereto. The Plan Commission may approve the plan as amended or disapprove the plan. The Plan Commission may impose any reasonable conditions upon its approval, including the recording of covenants. If approved, the preliminary plan with amendments, if any, shall be stamped approved preliminary unit development plan and be signed by the president and Secretary of the Plan Commission, and one copy shall be permanently retained in the office of the Plan Commission.
(4) The approved preliminary unit development plan shall then be certified to the Board of County Commissioners or the Town Council of Vevay or Patriot, as the case may be, for adoption as a UD Unit Development Plan District pursuant to the laws governing amendment of the this chapter.
(5) Upon adoption by the respective authority, the planned development shall be returned to the Plan Commission which shall thereafter exercise continuing jurisdiction. Before any development takes place, the Plan Commission shall approve a detailed site plan, specifying the exact location, composition, and general engineering features of all lots, drainage, sewage, water supply facilities, recreational facilities, site perimeter treatment, and other pertinent site development features including general locations and features of proposed buildings. Such approval shall be conditional upon finding by the Plan Commission that the detailed site plan is consistent with the approved preliminary unit development plan. The approved detailed site plan shall be stamped approved detailed unit development plan and be signed by the President of the Plan Commission, and one copy shall be permanently retained in the office of the Plan Commission.
(a) Approval of a detailed site plan shall be obtained within one year after adoption by the Board of County Commissioners or the applicable Town Council, unless the Plan Commission, upon proper application, for good cause shown, grants an extension of time for such period as it deems is in the public interest; provided, however, only the approved detailed unit development plan shall be required within the said one-year period, and platting for recording purposes of all or an appropriate part of the unit development plan may be undertaken in sections or phases at a later time.
(b) An approved detailed unit development plan may mean and be designated the same as a plat which has been granted secondary approval in accordance with the requirements of the Area Subdivision Code.
(c) A refusal by the Plan Commission to approve a detailed site plan shall not be construed as a denial, and any such refusal shall not operate as a limitation on the right of the petitioner to continue to seek approval nor shall it impair the right of the petitioner to obtain an extension of time for approval.
(d) In the event that approval of a detailed site plan is not obtained with the one-year or an approved extension of time, the Plan Commission shall initiate an amendment to the Area Zoning Code so that the land will be zoned into the category or categories it held before being reclassified as a UD District.
(6) The Commission may allow the petitioner to develop the property involved in phases. If such phasing is permitted, the Plan Commission may allow the petitioner to submit partial detailed site plans which correspond to the phases involved. Such partial detailed site plans, when approved, shall be treated in the same manner as approved detailed site plans for an entire unit development plan.
(7) Where a platting, replatting, or vacation of streets within all or a portion of the land involved is contemplated, the Plan Commission shall handle such matters in accordance with its regular procedures in accordance with law.
(8) No construction or installation work shall be done on any public improvements until satisfactory plans and specifications therefor have been submitted to the Commission in accordance with the provisions of the Area Subdivision Code, and the petitioner has, at least 24 hours in advance, notified the Executive Director of his or her intention to begin such work, in order that inspections may be made as the work progresses.
(9) In the exercise of its continuing jurisdiction, the Plan Commission may from time to time modify the approved detailed unit development plan in a manner consistent with the approved preliminary unit development plan, to allow for changed circumstances and conditions unforeseen at the time of its original approval.
(10) All development shall be in conformity with the approved detailed unit development plan. In the exercise of its continuing jurisdiction, the Plan Commission shall take cognizance of any material deviations from the approved detailed unit development plan and take appropriate enforcement action.
(11) Approval by the Commission shall expire after a period of five years from the approval of a detailed unit development plan, unless the development is 50% completed in terms of public improvements, including streets, parks, walkways, and utility installations, in which instance an extension of time may be granted by the Plan Commission not to exceed five successive periods of two years each.
(12) All proceedings brought under this section shall be subject to the rules of procedure of the Plan Commission, where not inconsistent with the procedure otherwise stated herein, except that notice for proceedings related solely to approval and modification of a detailed unit development plan.
(D) Abandonment or expiration. Under the abandonment of a development authorized under this section (abandonment shall be deemed to have occurred when no improvements have been made pursuant to the approved detailed unit development plan for 24 consecutive months, or under the expiration of five years from the approval by the Plan Commission of a detailed unit development plan for a development which has not been completed or the expiration of an extension granted by the Plan Commission), the Plan Commission shall initiate an amendment to the Area Zoning Code so that the land will be zoned (or reclassified) into a category or categories which most nearly approximate its then existing use or such other zoning category or categories which it deems appropriate.
(E) 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 two years after approval by the Plan Commission.
(F) Permit. No improvement location permit shall be issued, for a UD District by the Executive Director unless all recording required by division (E) above 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 the this code of ordinances, when the improvement is located in the unincorporated area; and by the code of ordinances of the Town of Vevay, or the Town of Patriot, as the case may be, when the improvement is located within those towns.
(G) 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 or applicable town, and in such event the county or applicable town shall take those remedial steps provided for in such provisions.
(2) The Plan 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 whenever 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 the 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 Plan 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) (a) The Plan 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.
(b) Such development standards may include, but are not limited to, requirements as to the following:
1. Lot area;
2. Floor area;
3. Ratios of floor space to land area;
4. Area in which structures may be built (building area), including areas for cluster type residential development without lot lines;
5. Open space;
6. Setback lines and minimum yards;
7. Building separations;
8. Height of structures;
9. Signs;
10. Off-street parking and loading and unloading areas;
11. Design standards; and
12. 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 the Area Subdivision Control Code.
(5) Adequate provision 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) 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. Common facilities not dedicated to the public shall be operated and maintained at no expense to any governmental unit.
(7) (a) 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 contiguous or adjacent thereto, and so that said vehicles will have adequate turning area.
(b) Said private streets shall be developed in accordance with the standards set forth in the Area Subdivision Control Code.
(H) Limitation on rezoning. The Plan 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. passed - -1996)