The developer shall dedicate at least 20 percent of the land in a residential development as NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS, OPEN SPACE connecting within the development with community OPEN SPACE if practical, unless certified as impractical by an architect or engineer) and/or PLAYGROUNDS for subdivisions of 6 or more. For subdivisions of 5 or fewer, the required dedication shall be at least 10 percent. Such amenities, of adequate size and correctly sited will facilitate new development that is built to the scale and character of the community.

A.

Neighborhood Parks.

1.

NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS are generally located in the center of the neighborhood, within walking distance of most residents, and are placed for recreation and social gatherings. Such parks are typically OPEN SPACES intended to provide unstructured recreation but may also include PLAYGROUND equipment, picnic areas, court game facilities, and community gardens.

2.

Access to the NEIGHBORHOOD PARK shall be through OPEN SPACE within the development that is interconnected within the development and interconnected with planned or existing community greenways if practical, unless certified as impractical by an architect or engineer.

3.

Every residential development in the AR or DR district defined as a major subdivision under the City of Watkinsville Subdivision Regulations shall include a NEIGHBORHOOD PARK within the development. All development applications for the DR or AR districts shall be accompanied by a NEIGHBORHOOD PARK conceptual design. NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS shall be developed by the APPLICANT.

4.

NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS shall have at least 60 percent of their perimeter fronting rights-of-way.

5.

NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS shall be no narrower than a 1:4 ratio and no NEIGHBORHOOD PARK shall be less than 25 feet in width.

6.

NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS shall be owned and maintained either by the developer or the homeowners association or the developer may deed the NEIGHBORHOOD PARK to the City.

B.

Open Space.

1.

OPEN SPACE within any development shall be interconnected with NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS and OPEN SPACE within the development and with existing and planned community greenways if the community GREENWAY abuts the property being developed, if practical, unless certified as impractical by an architect or engineer.

2.

No area of a LOT constituting the minimum LOT area nor any part of an existing or future road, RIGHT-OF-WAY, off STREET parking, LOADING SPACE, buffer, or area immediately underneath electrical transmission lines be counted as OPEN SPACE.

3.

Areas designated as OPEN SPACE shall be both visibly and physically accessible with access provided to all neighborhood OPEN SPACE, natural and developed, directly from the PUBLIC STREET and greenway system.

4.

BUILDINGS shall front public OPEN SPACE. Development adjacent to OPEN SPACES shall front onto the area as much as possible so that the areas are not enclosed by back yards.

5.

Buffering and SETBACKS shall be used between environmental resources and proposed development to ensure that the proposed development does not degrade the existing habitat. Developers shall provide an OPEN SPACE buffer zone around all natural areas. The depth of the buffer zone shall be 25 feet.

6.

Areas designated as OPEN SPACE shall be protected by a deed restriction or other appropriate method to ensure that they cannot be subdivided or developed in the future and remain open in perpetuity. They may be dedicated to the public or held in private ownership. Appropriate ownership must be determined and approved by the City through the development review process.

7.

OPEN SPACE shall:

a.

Not include required SETBACKS;

b.

Not include disconnected remnants of land created by division of sites into LOTS or parcels that do not qualify as functional OPEN SPACE.

No more than 50% of land designated as OPEN SPACE shall be comprised of UNBUILDABLE LAND.

8.

A preliminary OPEN SPACE plan at a scale no greater than 1" = 200' shall be submitted with the preliminary plat. The intent of the preliminary OPEN SPACE plan is to discuss the details of how the OPEN SPACE will be used to organize the overall project design, illustrate how it will function in the overall neighborhood and define long-term maintenance requirements and responsibilities. The plan shall include the following specific information:

a.

Scale, north arrow, site boundary.

b.

Existing and proposed STREETS.

c.

Existing and proposed utilities and easements.

d.

Existing contours (2' intervals).

e.

Existing site features including ditches, trees, shrubs and native ground covers and any drainage ways on the site. Indicate which plants will be preserved and method of preservation and which will be removed.

f.

Indicate floodplains, wetlands, endangered species, archaeological/historic areas or other resources and how they will be preserved and integrated into the overall site design.

g.

Show the bank, shoreline, and high water mark of any perennial stream or body of water on the site.

h.

Illustrate how the OPEN SPACE network and pedestrian/bike circulation system will function within the proposed development and surrounding neighborhood.

i.

Show how the property will relate to the NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS, GREENSPACE, sidewalks, and bikeways in the area.

j.

Indicate which areas will be irrigated, if any, and method of irrigation.

k.

Define areas to be considered OPEN SPACE.

l.

Indicate how OPEN SPACE will be used and maintained, including erosion control, revegetation, irrigation, and weed management both during and after construction.

m.

Conceptual design of NEIGHBORHOOD PARK, if applicable.