Silverton City Zoning Code
§ 153.15
PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT PUD.
(A) Purpose.
(1) It is the purpose and intent of this Planned Unit Development District (PUD) to permit and encourage the orderly, cooperative, and flexible development and expansion of certain medical, office, retail, and residential land uses in a planned environment. It is further the intent of this district:
(a) To insure compatible relationships between land use activities;
(b) To insure the compatible orientation of one building to another in regard to building bulk, architecture and open space;
(c) To provide for visually pleasing and functional treatment of open areas;
(d) To provide for an efficient and safe circulation system for pedestrians, bicycles and vehicles;
(e) To provide adequate and flexible parking space for immediate and future needs;
(f) To ensure that signs are adequate, but properly controlled to prevent them from detracting from the appearance of the development;
(g) To encourage cooperation among individual owners, and/or developers to achieve the above listed objectives;
(h) To permit flexibility of design in the placement and use of buildings and open spaces, circulation facilities and off-street parking areas, and to more efficiently utilize potentials of site characterized by special features of geography, topography, size or shape; and
(i) To provide flexibility in the application of certain provisions of this Zoning Code.
(2) Because of the special characteristics of a PUD, special provisions governing the development of land for this purpose are required. Whenever there is a conflict or difference between the provisions of this section and those of other sections in this chapter, the provisions of this section shall prevail for the development of land for PUD developments.
(B) Scope and applicability.
(1) The intent of the PUD regulations is to provide a means for applying comprehensive and flexible planning and design techniques on properties substantially sized to accommodate such a plan. As such, the minimum size of any PUD project or plan shall be one acre.
(2) Any Planned Unit Development District (PUD), Planned Institutional Development District (PID), or Planned Mixed Use Development District (PMUD) approved prior to the effective date of this amendment shall carry forward with the approved plans and be considered a PUD. All future construction or changes in previously approved PUDs, PIDs, or PMUDs shall comply with the applicable approved plan unless a modification is required, in which case, the modification shall be reviewed in accordance with this section.
(C) Project ownership. The project land may be owned, leased, or controlled by a single person or corporation, or by a group of individuals or corporations. Such ownership may be by a public or private corporation.
(D) Application procedure; zoning approval process. Whenever PUD is proposed, before a permit for the erection of a permanent building in such PUD shall be granted, and before a subdivision plat of any part thereof may be filed in the office of the Zoning Enforcement Officer, the applicant or their authorized agent shall apply for and secure approval of such PUD in accordance with the following procedures:
(1) Step 1 - Pre-Application Meeting Required.
(a) Prior to filing an application for a PUD, an applicant shall meet with the Zoning Enforcement Officer for a pre-application conference to provide an opportunity to conceptually discuss a proposed development and to provide general guidance to assist in the preparation of a formal site plan. The Zoning Enforcement Officer may invite additional city staff or review agencies to participate in the discussion.
(b) An applicant may also request a pre-application meeting with Planning Commission or City Council to discuss the concept of the proposed development. The applicant may request such meeting by submitting a written request, along with any supporting documents, to the Zoning Enforcement Officer for placement on the agenda of the next regularly scheduled meeting or any special meeting that may be called by Planning Commission or City Council.
(c) No action can be taken by the administrative staff, Planning Commission, or City Council until the applicant submits an PUD application. Therefore, all discussions that occur between the applicant and/or applicant’s representative(s) and staff, Planning Commission, or City Council that occur prior to the submission of an actual application are not binding on the city and do not constitute official assurances or representations by the city or its officials regarding any aspects of the plan or application discussed.
(2) Step 2 – PUD Development Plan and Zoning Map Amendment Review.
(a) Application.
1. Applications for a PUD shall be submitted to the Zoning Enforcement Officer with all fees and application content required pursuant to § 153.02(D) and (E).
2. After determining a PUD application is complete, the Zoning Enforcement Officer shall transmit copies of the plans to individual departments and agencies to solicit comments to be transmitted to the Planning Commission prior to their review.
(b) PUD Development Agreement Submission. As part of the information to be transmitted to the Planning Commission, the Zoning Enforcement Officer shall provide the Planning Commission with a draft of the PUD Development Agreement. The development agreement will provide for various development related items, including, but not limited to:
1. PUD waivers as mutually negotiated between the city and the applicant;
2. Operational details of the proposed uses for the site;
3. Site inspection details and procedure;
4. Project construction phasing details; and
5. Any other details relevant to the timing and construction of the proposed development as agreed upon by the city and the applicant.
(c) PUD Development Plan Review and Zoning Map Amendment Review.
1. The PUD Development Plan approval procedure involves a zoning map amendment to rezone the subject property to a PUD with an approved PUD Development Plan.
2. The procedure for this stage shall comply with the requirements of § 153.02(F).
3. In accordance with the zoning map amendment review procedure, the Planning Commission shall hold a public hearing to review the PUD Development Plan and make a recommendation to City Council to approve, approve with modifications, or deny the application. The recommendation shall be made based on review of the application using the criteria contained in § 153.15(E). The Planning Commission may, in its recommendation to City Council, authorize that zoning permit applications (Step 3) may be submitted in stages upon evidence assuring completion of the entire development in accordance with the PUD Development Plan and a phased development schedule.
4. In accordance with the zoning map amendment review procedure, City Council shall hold a public hearing on the PUD Development Plan and PUD zoning map amendment and decide to approve, approve with modifications, or deny the recommendation of the Planning Commission using the criteria contained in § 153.15(E).
5. In making its recommendations or decisions, the Planning Commission and/or City Council may impose such conditions of approval as are in its judgment necessary to insure conformity to the applicable criteria and standards of this zoning code and to the Comprehensive Plan. In so doing, the Planning Commission and/or City Council may require that the applicant to revise the plan and resubmit it as a PUD Development Plan within 60 days of such action.
(d) PUD Development Agreement Action.
1. As part of the PUD Development Plan review and decision, the City Council shall also act on the PUD Development Agreement. Upon an approval of the PUD Development Plan, the applicant shall cause the final PUD Development Agreement document to be recorded at the Hamilton County Recorder's office no later than 90 days upon the date the PUD zoning map amendment is legal as evidenced by the running of the mandatory 45-day referendum period.
2. In the event a valid referendum petition has been submitted and the question is certified as a ballot issue being placed on the next eligible general election, the applicant shall not have the responsibility to record the PUD Development Agreement document until such time as the PUD may be approved by the voters at the next eligible general election.
(3) Step 3 – Zoning Permit Review.
(a) Zoning permits shall be required for any PUD development activities, as established in § 153.02(G).
(b) The applicant may submit a zoning permit application after approval of the PUD Development Plan and zoning map amendment, however, no such permit may be issued during the mandatory 45-day referendum period.
(c) A zoning permit shall not be issued until the lot or applicable subdivision has been fully recorded in the office of the Hamilton County Recorder’s Office, and public improvements have been installed in accordance with the applicable subdivision regulations.
(d) Zoning permits shall only be issued when the application demonstrates compliance with the approved PUD Development Plan.
(E) PUD review criteria and factors for consideration. The Planning Commission and City Council may call upon other public and/or private consultants necessary to provide a sound review of the plan. The Planning Commission and City Council shall consider the following criteria in making their recommendations and decisions:
(1) Land use and density compliance with the Silverton Comprehensive Plan;
(2) Adequacy and arrangement of vehicular traffic access and circulation, including intersections, road widths, channelization structures and traffic controls;
(3) Adequacy and arrangement of pedestrian traffic access and circulation including: separation of pedestrian from vehicular traffic and pedestrian convenience;
(4) Location, arrangement, appearance and sufficiency of off-street parking and loading;
(5) Location, arrangement, size and placement of the lot layout, buildings and lighting;
(6) Arrangement of landscape features;
(7) Adequacy of storm water and sanitary waste disposal facilities;
(8) Adequacy of structures, roadways in areas with moderate to high susceptibility to flooding and ponding and/or erosion;
(9) Reasonable demands placed on municipal services and infrastructure.
(10) Adequacy of methods for sewage and refuse disposal and the protection from pollution of both surface water and groundwater. This includes controlling soil erosion both during and after construction;
(11) Protection of abutting properties from any undue disturbance caused by excessive or unreasonable noise, smoke, vapors, fumes, dust, odors, glare, storm water runoff, and the like. The performance standards set forth in § 153.18(G) may apply to the application;
(12) Minimizing the area over which existing vegetation is to be removed. Where tree removal is required, special attention shall be given to planting of replacement trees;
(13) The applicant's efforts to integrate the proposed development into the existing landscape through design features such as vegetative buffers, roadside planting, and the retention of open space;
(14) The building setbacks, area and location of parking, architectural compatibility, signage, and landscaping of the development, and how these features harmonize with the surrounding landscape;
(15) Conference with other specific changes of the Council which may have been stated in the zoning resolution; and
(16) In its review, the Planning Commission and City Council may consult with representatives of county, federal and state agencies (including the Soil Conservation Service and the Department of Conservation). The Planning Commission and City Council may also require such additional provisions and conditions that appear necessary for the public health, safety and general welfare.
(F) Time limits.
(1) An approved PUD Development Plan shall be valid for a period of two years after the date of approval by City Council. If construction of 25% of the total cost of the project or 25% of the construction cost for the first phase of a project has not been completed within two years after approval is granted, the approved PUD Development Plan shall lapse and be of no force and effect.
(2) Two one-year extensions of the time limit set forth in division (F)(1), above, may be granted by the Planning Commission if such extension is not in conflict with the most current comprehensive land use plan and if such extension is in the best interests of the entire community. The developer/owner shall apply for an extension and shall state the reason for the extension.
(3) If an approved PUD Development Plan lapses as provided in this section, then notice of such lapse shall be filed by the Planning Commission and forwarded to the City Council.
(4) Voiding of the PUD Development Plans shall not rezone the property. After such plans are voided, the Planning Commission, City Council, or property owners may initiate a rezoning to a base zoning district in accordance with § 153.02(F), or the property owner, or their agent, may resubmit a PUD Development Plan in accordance with the procedures of division (D) of this section.
(G) Changes to approved PUDs.
(1) A PUD shall be constructed and completed in accordance with the approved PUD Development Plan including all supporting data and conditions. The PUD Development Plan and supporting data, together with all recorded amendments, shall be binding on the applicants, their successors, grantees and assignees, and shall limit and control the use of premises (including the internal use of buildings and structures) and the location of structures in the PUD as set forth therein.
(2) Where a property owner on a lot in a PUD seeks a variance from the applicable standards for an individual property that will not apply to any other property in the PUD, the property owner shall request such variance in accordance with § 153.05.
(3) Any request to change or otherwise modify the approved PUD Development Plan as it applies to more than one property owner, shall be reviewed based on whether the change is considered major or minor, in accordance with this division. The Zoning Enforcement Officer shall have the authority to determine if a proposed change is a minor or major change.
(4) Minor changes.
(a) Minor changes are those proposed by the developer/owner which do not disturb or affect the basic design and approved PUD Development Plan, and which are essentially technical in nature, as determined by the Zoning Enforcement Officer.
(b) Examples of minor changes include, but are not limited to, changes in the intensity of lighting, changes in the size or location of water and sewer lines within approved easements, and changes in the location or number of fire hydrants.
(c) Additionally, the Zoning Enforcement Officer shall have the authority to approve structural dimensional changes that do not increase density, that do not change building height by more than five feet, or that do not change building or perimeter setbacks by more than five feet when necessary to accommodate minor shifts in the location of improvements or infrastructure.
(d) The Zoning Enforcement Officer shall have the authority to forward any change to the Planning Commission and City Council if they cannot make a determination that the proposed change is minor.
(e) The Zoning Enforcement Officer shall notify the Planning Commission of all such approved minor changes.
(5) Major change. Major changes to a PUD require the prior approval of the Planning Commission and the City Council in the same process, and with the same hearings, as was used to review of the PUD Development Plan in division (D)(2)(c) of this section. Major changes include any change that is not determined to be minor pursuant to this section.
(H) Permitted principal uses.
(1) Only those uses listed in this code, under the various zoning districts, as a permitted use, whether permitted as-of-right, permitted with standards, or permitted as a conditional use, may be considered in the application of a PUD.
(2) In general, any standards that apply to a specific use in this code shall also apply to those same uses in a PUD. However, the Planning Commission and City Council may adjust or waive any of those use-specific standards as part of the PUD Development Plan approval based on unique circumstances specific to the applicable development.
(3) As part of any approval, the Planning Commission and/or City Council may restrict the uses permitted within an individual PUD by adopting a list of uses permitted within the PUD, particularly for nonresidential buildings where uses may change in the future.
(4) Any changes in uses within an approved PUD shall be required to be reviewed as part of a major PUD amendment.
(5) The following uses are explicitly prohibited from being established in a PUD District:
(a) Single-family detached dwellings;
(b) Drive-thru or drive-in restaurants;
(c) Gas stations unless secondary and accessory to another principal use;
(d) Free-standing pharmacies that are not located in a building containing a principal use. Pharmacies that are accessory to another principal use, and where the pharmacy is located within the building are permitted; and
(e) Any use that the Zoning Enforcement Officer determines is not listed as a permitted use or a conditionally permitted use in any other zoning district (i.e., not listed as allowed anywhere in the city).
(I) Permitted accessory uses. Any accessory use that the Zoning Enforcement Officer determines to be a traditional accessory use to a principal use allowed in the PUD.
(J) Development standards. This PUD District allows for a master planned blend of commercial and residential uses within a property, area, or building. Development proposed under this PUD District shall comply with the development standards herein and any other applicable zoning regulation or standard provided in this Zoning Code, unless specifically waived by the Planning Commission and City Council as part of the review process. The Planning Commission and City Council shall have the authority to waive any zoning requirement as part of the PUD Development Plan approval. Development standards shall include, but are not limited to the following:
(1) Minimum lot size. There shall be no specific minimum lot area required in a PUD District except that there shall be sufficient area to satisfy any off-street parking loading or landscaping requirements as established in this Zoning Code.
(2) Height. Structures shall provide for adequate light and air, and shall provide for considerations of solar access from adjacent properties. The maximum height of a principal structure located in this district shall be 55 feet and contain no more than five occupied stories.
(3) Density. The maximum density of a development shall be set by the approval of the PUD Development Plan. In general, the following guidelines shall apply:
(a) Densities shall reflect the recommendations of the Silverton Comprehensive Plan.
(b) Residential density of PUDs surrounded by R-1 Districts shall not exceed five units per acre.
(c) Residential densities of PUDs surrounded by R-1 and R-2 Districts shall not exceed 12 units per acre.
(d) Residential densities that are adjacent to nonresidential zoning districts shall not exceed 16 units per acre.
(e) Planning Commission and City Council may approve increased densities from those established above based on the specific design of the PUD and the provision of adequate buffering from less intense uses.
(4) Setbacks.
(a) Principal buildings may have a build-to line of zero feet except that the front or corner side street facades of such buildings may be set back to accommodate pedestrian oriented outdoor uses and amenities, as determined are appropriate to an urban setting, such as outdoor patio dining areas, plazas and courtyards, fountains, public art, entry forecourts, and landscaping.
(b) The scale and relationship to the development pattern of adjoining property shall be used to evaluate the required setback. Design emphasis shall be placed on enhancing a pedestrian environment with adequate sidewalk width, street trees, and pedestrian scaled signs and building facades.
(c) The PUD review process shall be used to assure that buildings are designed and oriented on lots to provide adequate light and air, assure sufficient distance between adjoining uses to minimize any incompatibility, and to promote excellence of development.
(d) The PUD shall be designed to have sufficient setbacks and buffering between adjacent properties with a less intense use.
(5) Yards/setbacks.
(a) Buildings with ground floor residential uses shall have a maximum front yard and corner side yard of ten feet to accommodate stairs, landings, porches, covered architectural entry features, and similar building features.
(b) When provided, the front or corner side yard shall include landscaping or a hard-surface expansion of the sidewalk. Walkway connections to building entrances shall include special paving treatment or materials. The use of awnings, canopies, and arcades shall be incorporated as appropriate to provide visual interest, shade, and protection of pedestrians from the elements.
(c) All other buildings shall generally have no required yard and be located adjacent to the sidewalk to facilitate pedestrian access to the public realm. Portions of the front or corner-side street facades may be set back to allow for pedestrian-oriented outdoor areas and amenities only, such as plazas and courtyards, outdoor patio dining areas, public art, fountains, entry forecourts, landscaping, or other amenities appropriate to an urban setting. When provided, such yards shall generally be no more than ten feet, except where ground floor building space is occupied by retail or other pedestrian-oriented uses with entrances opening directly to a plaza or courtyard. In such cases, the plans may allow for the maximum front or corner-side yard to be extended.
(6) Lot coverage. There shall be no specific maximum lot coverage in this zoning district except as follows:
(a) Sufficient space shall be provided to satisfy off-street parking and loading area requirements;
(b) Undeveloped areas and redeveloped areas shall be designed with low impact development principals where possible; and
(c) Standards for open space are met.
(7) General site planning. The location of structures and other site improvements shall create a pedestrian-oriented environment with safe, pleasant, convenient, and accessible pedestrian routes to public sidewalks, transit facilities, and adjacent uses. Site planning shall incorporate the following when feasible:
(a) Structures shall be sited along street frontages of sites with parking in the rear or in limited circumstances to the side. Placing parking areas behind rather than in front of buildings helps preserve an attractive streetscape and improves pedestrian access to surrounding activities and uses. It also provides an urban border for the street.
(b) Placement of structures, entrances, and open space areas, such as plazas and courtyards, shall be oriented to provide direct access to public sidewalks, and provide midblock corridors and streets to the maximum extent possible to facilitate pedestrian access and movement between adjacent uses.
(c) Buildings shall be arranged to create a sense of unity and overall harmony with adjacent structures. A visual link between separate structures can be established through the use of an arcade system, trellis, or similar feature.
(d) Buildings shall be sited in a manner that maximizes visibility of plazas, courtyards, streets, and alleys to provide opportunities for people engaged in their normal behavior to observe the spaces around them.
(e) The location of outdoor spaces shall have clear, recognizable shapes that reflect careful planning and are not simply left over areas between structures. Such spaces shall provide pedestrian-oriented amenities such as shaded areas, art, benches, fountains, landscaping, and the like.
(8) Privacy for residences.
(a) Windows should be oriented away from loading, service, recycling and solid waste disposal areas.
(b) Views from public right-of-way or other businesses or residences into primary living areas should be avoided by:
1. Locating residences on the upper floor(s);
2. Orienting windows away from other adjacent windows;
3. Using translucent, louvered or offset windows;
4. Incorporating privacy screening with landscaping, fencing or in combination with garden walls for outside private open space areas.
(c) To the extent residential windows face the windows of an adjacent dwelling unit, the windows shall be offset or incorporate other features to provide privacy.
(9) Mixed use buildings programming. Where there is a mix of uses in a single structure that includes residential uses, the ground floor land uses situated along public street frontage shall include permitted nonresidential uses only. Permitted ground floor residential uses situated along public street frontage may be permitted if approved by the Planning Commission. Residential dwellings, storage and parking should be oriented at the rear or interior building frontages. Residential dwellings may be allowed above the first floor or to the rear or side of the commercial use on the ground floor.
(a) The main building entrance or entrances shall be oriented to the street or plazas, as applicable, to maximize natural surveillance and provide "eyes on the street." The main entries to buildings shall be clearly demarcated, visible and accessible from the street or pedestrian walkways. Main entries shall be recessed or framed by a sheltering element such as an awning, arcade, porch, or portico. Such entrances shall open directly to the outside and shall not require a pedestrian to first pass through a garage, parking lot, or loading area to gain access to the entrance from the street. Secondary building entries may be from parking areas.
(b) All residential dwellings fronting on streets shall have a main entrance opening onto the front or corner side facade of the dwelling at the ground floor level. Such an entrance shall open directly to the outside. The entrance may be above grade level through a porch, stoop, portico, or similar architectural feature. Ground floor single-family attached dwellings fronting on a street shall have separate entries directly from the sidewalk or a pedestrian walkway. Upper story and ground floor residential dwelling units in a multifamily or mixed-use building fronting on streets may share one or more entries accessible directly from the street.
(c) Multifamily residential buildings with facades over 150 feet in length facing a street frontage shall provide a minimum of two or more pedestrian building entrances on that frontage.
(d) Entrances to residential units shall be physically separated from the entrance to the permitted commercial uses and clearly marked with a physical feature incorporated into the building or an appropriately scaled element applied to the facade.
(e) Structures and buildings with ground floor residential uses shall have a front and corner side yards of at least five feet, but no greater than ten feet. Stairs, landings, patios, unenclosed porches and architectural entry features, landscaping and similar features may occupy such yards.
(10) Mass, scale and facade.
(a) The mass and scale of a new development shall be compatible with adjacent neighborhoods and surrounding developments and not overwhelm them with disproportionate size or a design that is out of character or obstructs solar access.
(b) Building scale shall be reduced through the proper use of window patterns, structural bays, roof overhangs, awnings, moldings, fixtures, and other details that promote a human scale.
(c) Building design shall avoid large monotonous facades, long straight-line building fronts, plain box shapes, and barren exterior treatment. All building facades visible from streets or public areas such as plazas shall be highly articulated, and incorporate the chosen design theme in a consistent manner.
(11) Pedestrian orientation.
(a) Windows on public street frontages should be at a height that enables pedestrians to easily view retail products and services within the building.
(b) Darkly tinted and mirrored windows that obstruct two-way visibility are prohibited on the ground floor facing streets and pedestrian corridors.
(c) Pedestrian linkages between buildings and uses shall include features such as walkways, corner entrances, paseos, outdoor patios, water features, benches and tangible public art in mixed-use developments.
(12) Treatment adjacent to residential districts.
(a) To provide privacy for adjacent dwelling units, windows on the second and higher floors of buildings, which directly face or abut residential zones, should be designed either as translucent, louvered, offset from existing residential windows, or utilizing another solution to achieve privacy for the adjacent dwelling units.
(b) Parking areas shall be located and designed to be convenient in order to minimize parking problems in adjacent residential neighborhoods.
(c) Building facades and garages that face existing dwelling units shall be designed to be compatible with the setbacks and scale of the existing development.
(13) Signs. Signs shall be allowed in accordance with § 153.22 unless otherwise modified through the PUD Development Plan approval.
(14) Other site development standards.
(a) All public and private utility facilities and structures required to be newly constructed or relocated as a result of the project shall be placed underground within the project area and within any public right-of-way located adjacent to the project boundaries. Appurtenances to these systems which can be effectively screened may be excepted from this requirement if it is determined that such exemption will not violate the intent or character of the proposed planned development.
(b) All external light fixtures and mounting structures shall conform to the standards set for in § 153.06(E)(2).
(d) A traffic impact study shall be a requirement for the PUD Development Plan application if the expected trip generation of the land use is 100 or more cars per hour as identified in the Institute of Traffic Engineers (ITE) Manual. The proposed project's land uses as provided for on the Stage II Preliminary Development Plan shall be used to calculate any traffic impact study analysis. The traffic impact study standards set forth in § 153.06(E)(4) shall apply.
(e) All permitted uses in the PUD district must be conducted within completely enclosed buildings unless otherwise expressly authorized. This requirement does not apply to off-street parking or loading areas, automated teller machines, or outdoor seating areas.
(K) Architectural and exterior material standards.
(1) Architectural standards.
(a) All new principal and accessory structures permitted in this zoning district should be designed to conform to the following architectural standards in order to achieve a uniform and well-planned community appearance.
(b) As a category of structural types, nonresidential buildings may house a variety of uses or uses that maintain a high level of land use intensity, and as such, often present unattractive and monotonous facades. However, there are a variety of design techniques that can be utilized to promote visual variety and facilitate a cohesive, attractive design statement:
1. Avoid long, blank building facades, particularly on walls visible from the public right-of-way. Facades with varied setbacks are encouraged, if possible, wall planes should not run in one continuous direction for more than 50 feet without an offset.
2. All elevations to a building should be architecturally treated to avoid monotonous overall design.
3. Window and doors are key elements of a building's form and should relate to the scale of the facade on which they appear. Windows and doors can help establish character by their rhythm, spacing, and variety. Recessed openings further work to provide depth and contrast on elevation planes.
4. Metal buildings should be architecturally designed, providing variety and visual interest to the streetscape.
5. All roof-mounted equipment should be screened from public view by materials similar to those used in the overall structure. Mechanical equipment should be located below the highest vertical element of the building.
6. Building entries should be readily identifiable through the use of canopies, marquees and architectural treatment.
7. Glass windows or some similar architectural treatment should occupy at least 10% of the front elevation of a building.
8. Design elements which are undesirable and should be avoided include:
a. Highly reflective surfaces.
b. Large blank, unarticulated wall surfaces.
c. Exposed, treated block walls.
(2) Exterior building materials. All principal buildings and accessory structures in PUD shall be subject to the same exterior material standards as the R-1 District, unless waived by the Planning Commission and City Council as part of the PUD Development Plan approval. See § 153.09(J)(2).
(L) Common open space.
(1) A minimum of 5% of the total land area developed in any PUD project shall be reserved for common open space for the users of the area being developed.
(2) Functional use of open space should be developed in favor of placement of landscaping in unusable areas or passive landscape area.
(3) The design of the common usable open space shall complement the street pedestrian realm with plazas, pocket parks, public gathering spaces, street furniture, multi-purpose drainage facilities and landscaping.
(4) Nonresidential and mixed-use projects are encouraged to incorporate plazas and courtyards, which are oriented to the public realm/sidewalks, into their design. Buildings may be clustered to create usable pedestrian areas.
(5) The design shall provide visual and physical cues that demark the public space from the private space.
(6) To integrate new buildings within the surrounding area, such buildings are encouraged to provide passageways that allow for light and air to adjacent buildings.
(7) In mixed-use residential and residential projects, common usable open space shall be provided in large, meaningful areas that are visible from the residential dwellings they serve.
(8) Common open space areas shall be convenient to the majority of dwellings and shall contain amenities appropriate to the project's size.
(9) In mixed use and residential projects, private usable open space shall be contiguous to the dwelling unit it serves and be screened from public view for privacy. All balconies and patios that front a public street shall be designed to screen items being stored on the balcony or patio.
(10) Rooftop open space may be used as common usable open space or private usable open space, when directly accessible to the dwelling unit(s) it serves.
(11) Disposition of open space. The required amount of common open space reserved under a planned unit development shall either be held in corporate ownership by owners of the project area for the use of each owner who buys property within the development, or be dedicated to the city and retained as common open space for parks, recreation and related uses. All land dedicated to the city must meet the Planning Commission's requirements as to size, shape, and location. Public utility and similar easements and rights-of-way, for water courses and other similar channels, are not acceptable for common open space dedication to the city, unless such land or right-of-way is useable as a trail or other similar purpose and approved by the Planning Commission. City Council shall have the discretion to accept or deny any common open space proposed to be dedicated to the city.
(12) Maintenance of open space. The responsibility for the maintenance of all open spaces shall be specified by the developer as part of the Development Agreement.
(M) Utility requirements. All public and private utility facilities and structures required to be newly constructed or relocated as a result of the project shall be placed underground within the project area and within any public right-of-way located adjacent to the project boundaries. Appurtenances to these systems which can be effectively screened may be excepted from this requirement if the Planning Commission finds that such exemption will not violate the intent or character of the proposed planned unit development.
(N) Financial responsibility for public improvements. No building permits or zoning permits shall be issued for construction within a PUD until required public improvements are installed or performance bond posted in accordance with the same procedures as provided for by the City Engineer. Other such requirements may also be established from time to time by the City Engineer.
(O) Public improvements security. If the applicant is required to install any public infrastructure at a condition of an approved plan or Development Agreement under this PUD section, the city shall require the posting of a surety bond, letter of credit or other similar performance guarantee to ensure that required infrastructure improvements within the public right-of-way are completed in the event that the project is abandoned. This security must be established prior to a zoning permit or building permit being issued. The city may suspend the zoning permit when work is not performed as required by an approved PUD plan.
(Ord. 2025-10, passed 5-1-25)