Secondary and Cumulative Impacts Master Management Plan - 2014

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Article 5: Development Standards
Section 5.5. Common Open Space and Public Recreation Area
5.5.1. Common Open Space
Morrisville, NC June 2013
Unified Development Ordinance - Public Hearing Draft Page 5-13
B. Applicability310
1. General
The standards in this section shall apply to all new
development subject to Planned Development
Rezoning (Section 2.5.3), Conceptual Master Plan
Approval (Section 2.5.4), Special Use Permit (Section
2.5.5), Major Subdivision Preliminary Plat Approval
(Section 2.5.6.B), Minor Subdivision Plat Approval
(Section 2.5.6.D), Major Site Plan Approval (Section
2.5.7.B), or Minor Site Plan Approval (Section
2.5.7.C) unless such new development is expressly
exempted in accordance with subsection
2. Exemptions
The following development is exempt from the
standards of this section:
a. Development directly associated with a
permitted agricultural use;
b. Residential subdivisions (which are subject to
public recreation area standards in Section
and
c. Development of a single-family detached,
duplex, or manufactured home dwelling on an
existing lot.
C. Required Open Space Area
1. Required Total Common Open Space Area311
A development shall provide the minimum area of common open space identified in Table
based on the development‘s base zoning
district and use classification.
Table
Use Classification
Minimum Total Common Open Space Area
(as percentage of development site area)
Transit-Oriented
Development (TOD) and
Town Center Districts
All Other Districts
Residential Uses 10% 20%
Mixed-Uses 5% 15%
Institutional Uses 5% 10%
Commercial Uses 5% 10%
Industrial Uses 5% 5%
310 This includes most new development, including all nonresidential subdivisions, but excludes residential subdivisions and
individual lots developed for single-family detached, duplex, and manufactured home dwellings (which are exempt from Site Plan
Approval) and agricultural uses.
311 NOTE: As recommended by the Assessment Report, this requires a minimum amount of common open space in terms of a
percentage of development site area, which varies with the development use classification. It sets lower standards for the TOD
District and Town Center districts to recognize the higher intensities and greater design flexibility needs of development in those
districts. The percentages shown are relatively modest, and could be increased.
COMMENTARY
As recommended in the Assessment Report
(p. 25), this new section supplements the
Subdivision Ordinance‘s recreation area
dedication requirements for residential
subdivisions with requirements that all new
other development (nonresidential as well
as residential development other than
subdivisions) set aside a portion of the
development site as private common open
space. Such open space may serve a
number of purposes, from preservation of
natural resources to providing recreation
opportunities to creating various amenities
for development occupants and users. The
section includes new standards requiring
provision of common open space in most
developments other than residential
subdivisions. They are followed by more
narrowly applied standards for
dedication of recreation area in
residential subdivisions. These carry
forward regulations in Article VII of the
current Subdivision Ordinance. The section
concludes with common standards that
authorize alternative compliance through
off-site provision or a payment in lieu of
on-site provision, and set out provisions for
the ownership, management, and
maintenance of required common open
space and recreation area.