Louisa City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XIV
Planned Unit Development District PUD
§ 165-91 Statement of intent.
A.
Planned unit development districts are intended to provide for variety and flexibility in design necessary to implement the varied goals of the Town as set forth in the Comprehensive Plan. Through a planned unit development district approach, the regulations of this article are intended to accomplish the purposes of zoning and other applicable regulations to the same extent as regulations of conventional districts. Additionally, planned unit development districts are intended to implement the specific goals enunciated by the Comprehensive Plan.
B.
It is intended that planned unit development districts be established along major corridors and in growth areas as designated in the Comprehensive Plan. Planned district master plans should demonstrate a unified development with an interconnected system of internal roads, sidewalks, and paths as well as manage access points along existing roads in order to maximize safety and the efficiency of existing roads. Pavement widths of internal and external roads shall minimize paving requirements as described in the Comprehensive Plan while accommodating projected traffic generated from the district. Planned developments allow for a higher density of development for a more efficient use of the designated growth areas, and to more effectively preserve the remaining open spaces within the Town boundaries. Other benefits of a planned development include less infrastructure costs, more efficient provision of public safety services, less environmental impact, and through the provision of affordable housing, achieve significant economic and social integration.
§ 165-92 Application for rezoning.
A.
The applicant shall file an application for rezoning with the Town of Louisa Zoning Administrator. The application shall consist of three primary sections: a narrative, an existing conditions map, and a master plan.
(1)
Narrative.
(a)
A general statement of objectives to be achieved by the planned district, including a description of the character of the proposed development and the market for which the development is oriented;
(b)
A list of all adjacent property owners;
(c)
Site development standards, including, but not limited to, density, setbacks, maximum heights, and lot coverage;
(d)
Utilities requirement and implementation plan;
(e)
Phased implementation plan;
(f)
Comprehensive sign plan;
(g)
Statements pertaining to any architectural and community design guidelines shall be submitted in sufficient detail to provide information on building designs, orientations, styles, lighting plans, etc.
(3)
Master plan. The preliminary master plan shall be of sufficient clarity and scale to accurately identify the location, nature, and character of the proposed planned unit development district. At a minimum, the preliminary master plan shall include the following:
(a)
Proposed layout of the Planned Unit Development District, including the general location of uses, types of uses, and density range of uses;
(b)
Methods of access from existing state-maintained roads to proposed areas of development;
(c)
General road alignments;
(d)
General alignments of sidewalks, bicycle and pedestrian facilities;
(e)
A general water layout plan indicating the intended size and location of primary lines and the general location of fire hydrants (e.g., one every two blocks, etc.);
(f)
A general sanitary sewer layout indicating the size and location of primary lines, and the location of pump stations; and
(g)
A general plan showing the location and acreage of the active and passive recreation spaces, parks and other public open areas.
B.
Additionally, an environmental impact study and a traffic study are also required to be submitted as part of the application package.
C.
The Town Attorney shall review any property owner's or other association's charter and regulations prior to final site plan approval.
D.
The Planning Commission shall review the preliminary master plan for the proposed Planned Unit Development District in light of the goals enumerated in the Comprehensive Plan, consider it at a scheduled public hearing, and forward its recommendation along with the preliminary master plan to the Town Council for consideration. The Town Council shall hold a public hearing thereon, pursuant to public notice as required by the Code of Virginia, § 15.2-2204, after which the Town Council may make appropriate changes or corrections in the ordinance or proposed amendment. However, no land may be zoned to a more intensive use classification than was contained in the public notice without an additional public hearing after notice required by the Code of Virginia, § 15.2-2204. Such ordinances shall be enacted in the same manner as all other ordinances. The plan approved by the Town Council shall constitute the final master plan for the Planned Unit Development District.
E.
Upon Town Council approval, the final master plan, and all accepted conditions and elements of the plan, shall be binding upon the applicant, the owner, where the owner is different than the applicant, and the real property which is subject to the final master plan, and shall be thereafter enforceable by the Zoning Administrator.
F.
The Zoning Administrator shall approve or disapprove a final site development plan within 60 days from the receipt of such plan. The plan shall be in substantial conformance with the approved final master plan. Such final site development plan may include one or more sections of the overall Planned Unit Development District, and shall meet all applicable federal, state, and county regulations and shall contain specific details of information required generally in the preliminary plan.
§ 165-93 Character of development.
A.
The goal of a Planned Unit Development District is to encourage a development form and character that is different from conventional suburban development by providing the following characteristics:
(1)
Pedestrian orientation;
(2)
Neighborhood-friendly streets and paths;
(3)
Interconnected streets and transportation networks;
(4)
Parks and open space as amenities;
(5)
Neighborhood centers;
(6)
Buildings and spaces of appropriate scale;
(7)
Relegated parking;
(8)
Mixture of uses and use types;
(9)
Mixture of housing types and affordability;
(10)
Environmentally sensitive design; and
(11)
Clear boundaries with any surrounding rural areas.
B.
An application is not necessarily required to possess every characteristic of the Planned Unit Development District in order to be approved. The size of the proposed district, its integration with surrounding districts, or other similar factors may prevent the application from possessing every characteristic.
§ 165-94 General permitted uses.
All uses permitted by right in the Residential Limited, Residential General, Light Commercial and General Commercial Districts shall be permitted by right uses in the Planned Unit Development District. In the event that the applicant shall seek approval of uses specifically enumerated in the final master plan, and which are not currently set forth as permitted by right uses in the hereinabove described districts, the application for rezoning shall contain a request for amendment of this section to add said requested uses as additional permitted uses for the Planned Unit Development District for which approval is being sought, and which request shall be subject to approval by the Town Council.
§ 165-95 Specially permitted uses.
One or more uses permitted by conditional (special) use permit in any zoning district may be permitted in the Planned Unit Development District, if documented in the master plan and with application for special use permit by the applicant and which shall require approval thereof by the Town Council.
§ 165-96 Mixture of uses.
A variety of housing types and nonresidential uses is strongly encouraged. The mixture of uses shall be based upon the uses recommended in the Comprehensive Plan. This mixture may be obtained with different uses in different buildings or a mixture of uses within the same building.
§ 165-97 Minimum area for a planned unit development.
Given the unique boundaries of the Town, the minimum area required for the establishment of a Planned Use Development District shall be seven acres or more. Additional area may be added to an established Planned Unit Development District if it adjoins and forms a logical addition to the approved development. The procedure for the addition of land to the Planned Unit Development District shall be the same as if an original application was filed and all requirements shall apply except the minimum lot area requirement as set forth above.
§ 165-98 Open space.
Open space promotes attractive and unique developments that are also environmentally conscious. Planned unit developments shall include the following:
A.
Not less than 30% of total acreage shall be open space, whether dedicated to public use or retained privately.
B.
A minimum usable area of 5% of the total area within the planned unit development shall be provided for active or passive recreational activities, which can include, but need not be limited to parks, dedicated walking trails, tot lots and the like.
C.
Open space shall be dedicated in a logical relationship to the site and in accordance with any guidance from the Comprehensive Plan regarding open space.
D.
Improvements shall be configured to accommodate permitted, accessory and conditional uses in an orderly relationship with one another, with the greatest amount of open area and with the least disturbance to natural features.
§ 165-99 Densities.
[Amended 5-18-2010]
The gross and net residential densities shall be shown on the approved final master plan by area and for the development as a whole in dwelling units per acre, and shall be binding upon its approval. The overall gross density so approved shall be determined by the Town Council with reference to the Comprehensive Plan, but shall not exceed 15 dwelling units per acre. Nonresidential density should be expressed in terms of total square footage by area and for the development as a whole. There is no maximum square footage for nonresidential uses but the proposed uses should be in proportion to the overall intent and functionality of the planned district concept.
§ 165-100 Setback regulations.
A.
Within the Planned Unit Development District, minimum setback ranges shall be specifically established during the review and approval of the concept plan. Specific setbacks may be approved administratively in the site plan process if they are in conformance with the established ranges or a rezoning will be required. The following guidelines shall be used in establishing the building spacing and setbacks:
(1)
Areas between buildings used as service yards, storage of trash, or other utility purposes should be designed so as to be compatible with adjoining buildings;
(2)
Building spacing and design shall incorporate privacy for outdoor activity areas (patios, decks, etc.) associated with individual dwelling units whenever feasible; and
(3)
Yards located at the perimeter of the Planned Unit Development District shall conform to the setback requirements of the adjoining district, or to the setback requirements of the planned district, whichever is greater.
B.
In no case shall setbacks interfere with public safety issues such as sight lines and utilities, including other public infrastructure such as sidewalks, open space, etc.
§ 165-101 Height of buildings.
§ 165-102 Parking.
Within the Planned Unit Development District, the applicant shall establish parking regulations for consideration by the Town Council. The proposed regulations should be based on a parking needs study or equivalent data. Such regulations shall reflect the intent of the Comprehensive Plan to decrease impervious cover by reducing parking requirements, considering alternative transportation modes and using pervious surfaces for spillover parking areas. Shared parking areas, especially with nonresidential uses, is encouraged.
§ 165-103 Utilities.
All new utility lines, electric, telephone, cable television lines, etc., shall be placed underground.
§ 165-104 Waivers and modifications.
Where sections of this chapter or Chapter 143, Subdivision of Land, are deemed to be in conflict with the goals of the final master plan, the rezoning application shall be considered a waiver or modification to these sections if specified in the final master plan. Otherwise, the applicant must provide a clear explanation as to why certain regulations are in conflict with the final master plan, demonstrate that the public's health, safety and welfare will not be compromised, and request the specific waivers or modifications to be considered by the Town Council after a public hearing.