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Article 3: Zoning Districts
Section 3.7. Planned Development Districts
3.7.1. General
June 2013
Morrisville, NC
Page 3-64
Unified Development Ordinance - Public Hearing Draft
SECTION 3.7.
PLANNED DEVELOPMENT DISTRICTS
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3.7.1.
General
A.
General Purposes of Planned Development Districts
The Planned Development (PD) districts are established and intended to encourage innovative land
planning and site design concepts that support a high quality of life and achieve a high quality of
development, environmental sensitivity, energy efficiency, and other Town goals and objectives by:
1.
Reducing or diminishing the inflexibility or uniform design that sometimes results from strict
application of zoning and development standards designed primarily for individual lots;
2.
Allowing greater freedom in selecting the means of providing access, open space, and design
amenities;
3.
Allowing greater freedom in providing a well-integrated mix of residential and nonresidential
land uses in the same development, including a mix of housing types, lot sizes, and densities;
4.
Allowing more efficient use of land, with smaller networks of streets and utilities, and thereby
lowering development and housing costs; and
5.
Promoting quality design and environmentally sensitive development that respects surrounding
established land use character and respects and takes advantage of a site’s natural and man-
made features, such as trees, wetlands, floodplains, and historic features.
B.
Classification of Planned Development Districts
Land shall be classified into a PD district only in accordance with the procedures and requirements set
forth in Section 2.5.3, Rezoning, and this section.
C.
Relationship to Existing Planned Development Districts
Lands designated PD District on
[insert effective date]
are subject to the standards and conditions
included within the previously adopted master plans, development agreements, and other
requirements related to their approval. These developments may proceed subject to their original
approvals in accordance with Section 1.6, Transitional Provisions. If the PD district authorization
expires, or a modification other than a minor modification of the district is proposed, the provisions in
this Ordinance shall apply.
D.
Organization of Planned Development Zoning District Regulations
Section 3.7.1.E, General Standards for All Planned Development Districts, sets out general standards
applicable to all types of PD districts. The following sections set out, for each type of PD district, a
purpose statement, a list of the types of intensity and dimensional standards to be applied as part of
the PD Plan/Agreement, and references to applicable use, development, and environmental
standards.
E.
General Standards for All Planned Development Districts
Before approving a PD zoning district classification, the Town Council shall find that the application for
the PD zoning district classification, as well as the PD Plan/Agreement included as part of the
application, comply with the following standards:
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This section sets out general standards for PD districts, then sets out a purpose statement and identifies parameters for
standards for a single PD district (Mixed Use Planned Development). It keeps this separate structure to facilitate the possible future
addition of new PD districts.