The Open Space Development District is intended to apply to tracts of land of 50 acres or more located in the Residence C District and owned by one or more property owners where flexible development controls will allow residential uses and accessory uses incident thereto, which will preserve common open spaces, natural resources, or agricultural lands to the extent of at least 40% of the tract in accordance with the overall goals of the Marion Land Use Plan and the Marion Open Space Plan. Residential uses other than single-family homes on individual lots will be allowed within an Open Space Development District subject to assurances that such development will enhance the amenities in the neighborhood in which it occurs.

There shall be no minimum lot area, frontage or yard requirements within an Open Space Development District. However, no building shall be erected within 40 feet of an existing public way or boundary line or an Open Space Development District.

The Open Space Development District is intended to offer incentives to property owners through the offering of options to develop under standards which are unique to the site and not limited by the standards which generally apply to development within the Residence C District.

The Open Space Development District allows for the construction of single-family (detached and attached) and multiunit structures of all types. The flexibility permitted with respect to types of ownership and housing types in an Open Space Development District should allow for a range of housing costs. The total number of residential units allowable on the site proposal for an open space development shall not exceed the number that would be allowed in the Residence C District. The Open Space Development District, however, also provides for an increase in density up to a maximum of 15% if a certain number of affordable housing units are provided in the district.

Unless and until any portion of the Residence C District is placed in an Open Space Development District, the permitted uses shall be those in effect from time to time in the Residence C District.

Upon the submission of a preliminary open space development plan pursuant to § 230-12.3 and compliance with other requirements of this Article XII, any portion of the Residence C District of 50 acres or more may be placed, by a two-thirds vote of the Marion Town Meeting, in an Open Space Development District. Open Space Development Districts shall be numbered sequentially at the time of the Town Meeting vote.

The Open Space Development District shall be considered an overlay district. If site plan approval is obtained for land within an Open Space Development District, the provisions of the overlay district shall apply thereafter.

All of the definitions set forth in Article XI, and the provisions of any other overlay district in which such land may be located, shall apply within any Open Space Development District, and the requirements of other provisions of the Zoning Bylaw not limited in application to particular underlying zoning districts shall apply except to the extent expressly and conspicuously otherwise stated in the written portion of the preliminary open space development plan.

Rezoning land to the Open Space Development District shall be initiated by the preparation of a preliminary open space development plan application submitted, along with a filing fee, to the Select Board and signed by all of the owners of the affected land or their authorized representatives.

Prior to filing the preliminary open space development plan application, the applicant shall attend a pre-submission conference with the Planning Board to review the information and specifications the applicant must submit and the amount of the filing fee. With respect to the fee, the Planning Board may be guided in part by the provisions of § 230-9.15, Application fee. The fee shall be sufficient to recompense the Town and the Planning Board for any or all of the out-of-pocket costs of reviewing and analyzing the application.

Within five days of receipt of such application and petition for a revision in the Zoning Bylaw, the Select Board shall forward copies of the preliminary open space development plan application to the Planning Board for review and the conduct of the public hearing. Additional copies of the preliminary open space development plan application also shall be forwarded within five days to the Conservation Commission, Board of Health, Public Works Administration, Police and Fire Departments, and such other boards and commissions as the Select Board may designate, for review and comment to the Planning Board.

The preliminary open space development plan application shall include the information which the Planning Board requires for the submission of a site plan under Article IX of this bylaw, and, as appropriate, information covered by § 230-10.13, Ownership of contiguous open space. The Planning Board, in the interest of encouraging this type of development, may, following a pre-submission conference, relax some of the submission requirements to the extent that they will not adversely influence the ability of the Town Meeting to make a reasoned decision in voting on the creation of an Open Space Development District. Since the Planning Board will review a final open space development plan under Article IX requirements as well as additional standards and criteria as listed in § 230-12.7, extensive detail may not be necessary or appropriate for a project which must be presented at Town Meeting.

The preliminary open space development plan application shall provide information to allow a determination of the number of lots that could be developed on the land by utilizing a conventional subdivision plan in accordance with the Rules and Regulations Governing the Subdivision of Land in Marion.[1] Wetlands, as defined under the Wetlands Protection Act, water bodies, and any land otherwise prohibited from development by local bylaw or regulation shall not be included in the overall area in calculating density. The burden of proof shall be on the applicant in determining the allowable number of dwelling units.

The preliminary open space development plan application may provide that the number of dwelling units obtained through the computations described in the preceding subsection may be increased by 15% if between 15% and 30% of the dwelling units within the open space development plan are affordable (as defined in Article XI), "independence housing," or "starter housing.

The preliminary open space development plan application shall include a statement identifying all respects in which the proposed development will not comply with any provision of the bylaw, not limited in application to the Residence C District.

The applicant shall recognize that the preliminary open space development plan as submitted with the application will be in the form of a plan which will be the basis for binding action by the Town Meeting. The applicant may provide specifications beyond those required by the Planning Board. Such additional specifications shall be binding to the same extent as those required by the Planning Board.

Pursuant to the provisions of MGL c. 40A, § 5, the Planning Board shall give notice and hold a public hearing within 65 days after the submission of the preliminary open space development plan application to the Planning Board by the Select Board.

In addition to the notices required by law, a description of the preliminary open space development plan and notice of such hearing, including reproductions of architectural renderings and of the site plan, all in a form approved by the Planning Board, shall be mailed to each registered voter of the Town at least 14 days prior to such hearing. The applicant shall pay the cost of reproduction and mailing of such notice. Failure of notice by mail shall not be a bar to action on the plan unless actual prejudice is shown.

The preliminary open space development plan application shall be presented to the Town Meeting which considers the creation of an Open Space Development District for the area covered by the application, and shall be identified in any motion to create such a district. In the event that the procedures followed with respect to a preliminary open space development plan application do not conform in all of the requirements of this Article XII, such nonconformity may be waived upon the favorable recommendation of the Planning Board, by a two-thirds vote of the Town Meeting.

The preliminary open space development plan application, as submitted to the Town Meeting, may be amended on the floor of the Town Meeting to add restrictions, limitations or requirements.

Final open space development plan. After the approval by the Town Meeting for the designation of an Open Space Development District and approval of a preliminary open space development plan application, the Planning Board may grant site plan approval for a final open space development plan for the development of the land within the Open Space Development District. At its option, the Planning Board may coordinate its site plan approval of a final open space development plan with any required subdivision review for land located within an Open Space Development District.

The procedures outlined in Article IX, Site Plan Review and Approval, shall be followed in the issuance of site plan approval. In addition to the findings that the Planning Board may require under site plan review and approval, the Planning Board shall approve a final open space development plan if it finds the plan: