(A) In the RA, R-20 and R-8 districts, an owner of real property totaling 20 or more contigu ous acres in area, and having existin g direct access to public water and sewera ge, may apply to the Board of Adjustment for a conditional use permit to create a planned conservation subdivision. Conservation subdivisions are characterized by dedicated common open space and clustered compact lots. The purpose of a conservation subdivision is to protect farmland, open space and/or natural resources and features, and to provide for a viable and attractive alternative housing environment with the same maximum number of residences, consolidated infrastructure and reduced development costs.
A Typical Existing Rural Landscape
(B) The conserva tion subdivisi on (also known as rural cluster development ) option provides property owners a way to subdivide their land while substantial ly retaining its rural character and scenic beauty, and preserving open space and environmentally significant areas. This option permits clustered residential lots in exchange for the preservation of significant open space features. For example, a conventional development might subdivide a ten-acre tract into ten one-acre lots. Using the conservation subdivision option, those same ten homes might be placed on half-acre lots, with the remaining five acres being permanently preserved as open space. Development costs for roads and other amenities are decreased, while new residents and the community benefit from the preservation of open space in environmentally sensitive areas. The illustrations on the next page provide a comparison between conventional large lot subdivisions and the conservation subdivision option.
(Ord. passed 9-3-1986; Ord. passed 5-6-2008)