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 5-15
Table
Area Counted as Common
Open Space
Description Design and Maintenance Requirements
Squares, Forecourts, Plazas, and Outdoor Dining Areas
Squares, forecourts, plazas, and
outdoor dining areas that provide
gathering places or active and
passive recreational opportunities
 Squares, forecourts, plazas, and outdoor dining areas
shall be at least 200 square feet, but no more than one
acre, in area.
 Such features shall have at least one direct access to a
principal building, or to a street, bikeway, or walkway
accessible to the public or the development‘s occupants
and users.
 Surrounding principal buildings shall be oriented
toward the square, forecourt, plaza, or outdoor dining
area where possible.
Public Access Easements
Public access easements that are
available for passive recreational
activities such as walking, running,
and biking
 Such public access easements shall include at least one
direct and signed access from a street, bikeway, or
walkway accessible to the public or the development‘s
occupants and users.
Required Buffer and Landscape Areas
All areas occupied by required
perimeter and streetyard buffers,
and landscaping, except
landscaped area within parking
lots
 See perimeter and streetyard buffer standards
(Section 5.6) and landscaping standards (Section 5.12).
3. Areas Not Allowable as Required Common Open Space
The following areas shall not be allowed as required common open space:
a. Private yards not subject to an open space or conservation easement;
b. Street rights-of-way or private access easements, including sidewalks located within those
rights-of-way or easements;
c. Open parking areas and driveways;
d. Land covered by structures, unless designated for active recreational uses;
e. Designated outdoor storage areas; and
f. Stormwater ponds not located and designed as a site amenity (e.g., with low fencing,
vegetative landscaping, gentle slopes, fountain or other visible water circulation device, and
pedestrian access or seating).