A. Allow development of land subject to critical areas while at the same time preserving the natural characteristics of a site, including topography, native vegetation, streams, wetlands, views, and other natural amenities of value to the community.

B. Create and/or preserve useful open space for recreation and aesthetic enjoyment of residents.

D. Provide for choices in the layout of streets, utility networks, and other public improvements through superior site design and the use of clustering.

E. Encourage infill within areas of the City which have existing development.

A. This chapter shall apply to single-family detached and attached residential developments which are proposed on property on Single-Family (SF) and Low Density Residential (LDR) land use designation areas that are subject to critical areas whose presence will result in a reduction in the developable density by normal subdivision action by at least one dwelling unit within the proposed development project boundary. This chapter may be applied to existing subdivisions on which no development has yet occurred. This chapter shall not be applied to single-family residential lots incapable of further subdivision due to lot size or as a means to avoid other procedures more appropriately reviewed as applications for variances. Planned residential developments may consist of individual lots or may have common building sites.

B. The planned residential development process (PRD) shall be available as a mutually exclusive alternative to traditional development under subdivision standards provided in this title under Chapter 14.215 SMC.

C. Approval of a PRD shall be subject to the process for a preliminary plat in accordance with Chapter 14.215 SMC.

D. The application shall include information as to the design of the residential units to be included within the PRD. The level of detail required for approval shall not extend to specific floor plans but shall depict the conceptual building elevations, general size of units, their general appearance and their relationship to one another in sufficient detail to guide future building permit review and approval by City staff. It is expected that any PRD development of six (6) or more residential units will include sufficient design elements to promote architectural variety within the development. (Ord. 2338, 2017; Ord. 2420, 2021)

A. The City Engineer shall determine whether the internal streets shall be public or private. If the streets are to be public, they shall be dedicated and constructed to adopted public street standards. If the streets are to be private, they shall be constructed to standards adopted by the City, and provisions shall be made for perpetual maintenance and repair of the same at the cost of the property owners.

B. Curbs, gutters and sidewalks shall be required in all PRDs and shall be constructed to adopted City standards.

A. Off-street parking spaces shall be provided in accordance with Chapter 14.235 SMC.

B. All driveways shall be constructed according to adopted City standards.

A. A PRD located adjacent to an existing housing development may be required to locate housing of the same type adjacent to that development.

B. Structures located on the perimeter of the PRD project may be set back two (2) feet for each one (1) foot in height above twenty (20) feet. This additional setback, if imposed, shall be in excess of the basic setback requirement.

A. Permitted density within a PRD shall be based on the allowed density in the underlying land use designation area as specified below:

The maximum number of dwelling units permissible within the PRD shall be the maximum number of units permitted by the underlying land use designation area as indicated above.

B. The minimum lot size within a PRD shall be four thousand (4,000) square feet.

C. The minimum lot width shall be forty (40) feet. To provide flexibility for innovative lot layouts and use of common space, at the City’s discretion and on a case-by-case basis the minimum lot width at the road frontage may be reduced to twenty (20) feet.

D. Minimum setbacks:

E. The floor area ratio or gross floor area divided by the area of the lot shall not exceed one-half. (Ord. 2420, 2021)

A. Within a PRD, a minimum of 20 percent of the gross site area shall be established as total open space;

B. Total open space shall be used for:

C. Where possible, open space tracts shall be located adjacent to permanently designated open space areas on adjacent properties;

D. Total open space shall be permanently established in clearly designated, separate tracts from residential units. Tracts shall be owned by:

E. Total open space shall be protected in perpetuity by a recorded covenant, in a form approved by the City;

F. The recorded covenant must restrict uses of the total open space to those specified in the approved PRD recorded site plan and must provide for the maintenance of the total open space in a manner which assures its continuing use for the intended purposes;

G. The applicant shall propose a method for establishing clearly defined permanent boundaries to separate private use areas from adjacent open space tracts within the PRD that is acceptable to the City. The type of permanent marking of the open space tracts proposed shall provide a clear and distinctive separation of properties at the open space boundary.

H. Usable open space shall be provided as a component of total open space and shall be consistent with the following standards:

A. Existing trees and other natural and unique features shall be subject to the significant tree preservation requirements of SMC 14.240.030 Existing Vegetation. The location of these features must be considered when planning the open space, location of buildings, underground services, walks, paved areas, playgrounds, parking areas, and finished grade levels.

B. The City shall inquire into the means whereby trees and other natural features will be protected during construction. Excessive site clearing of topsoil, trees and natural or unique features before commencement of building operations may disqualify the project as a PRD.