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Item 8A AGENDA ITEM #8A SEPTEMBER 13, 2004 ~• CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH CITY COMMISSION STAFF REPORT AGENDA ITEM: Planned Unit Developments (PUDs) SUBMITTED BY: Sonya Doerr, AICP ~,[~/ ~"" Community Development Director DATE: September 2, 2004 BACKGROUND: Over the past thirty years, PUDs have become one of the most common development approval procedures used across the country. Many local governments in fact require all new development projects to be approved through the PUD process. PUD ordinances began to appear in local zoning codes during the 1970s in response to the need to provide more flexible, yet binding, zoning controls than those set forth in traditional zoning .codes, which ~. typically establish one-size-fits-all development requirements. The City of Atlantic Beach has few PUDs, simply because most of the City was platted and developed before the emergence of PUDs. The City's first PUD regulations were adopted in 1972 and were almost word-for-word ~• identical to PUD regulations found anywhere. PUDs are most commonly used for new residential developments and for mixed-use developments, although some local governments have adopted sepazate Mixed Use Zoning District categories. The final product resulting from the creation of a PUD depends greatly on the requirements of the PUD regulations, and how the individual PUD is crafted and monitored as development progresses. The overall intent of a PUD is to establish specific and unified development standards that are planned and tailored to fit a particular piece of land, and which aze appropriate to address the use(s), the environmental conditions and any unique characteristics ~"' of that land on the front end, before any approvals and permits are issued. If administered properly, PUDs provide a valuable tool through which to more specifically """' regulate new development as opposed to the conventional zoning district ordinance. Using City of Atlantic Beach regulations as an example, if a property were to be rezoned to CG (Commercial General), any use in the CG district would be allowed, and only the minimum ""' zoning standazds could be enforced. Depending on the location of that property, it might be desirous to prohibit certain more intense commercial uses either because they are incompatible with nearby existing uses, or there might already be too many of a particular use in a given area. '"'" Pazks and recreation facilities, and typical residential amenities, might not be needed in a commercial or mixed-use PUD, but lighting or sign criteria, use restrictions, access and driveway limitations, additional landscaping -beyond that required in standard zoning regulations -might be needed. These individualized issues can be addressed. and enforced through a PUD. In response to the Commission's questions about size thresholds, a residential PUD should be '"' large enough to accomplish the various aspects of awell-planned and good neighborhood, such as open space, recreation amenities, and a consistency of site design. The City's 10-acre requirement for residential PUDs is fairly typical. For a new commercial or mixed-use project, ""~ however, this 10-acre requirement might bind the City's ability to regulate specific aspects of project beyond what the standard zoning regulations allow. During changes made to Chapter 24 September 13, 2004 regular meeting AGENDA ITEM #8A SEPTEMBER 13, 2004 several years ago, this was the consideration by the Community Development Board in not ~, requiring an acreage threshold for mixed-use projects. Since the City does not have aMixed- Use Zoning District, Small Area Plan or Site Plan regulations, the PUD effectively provides the only mechanism to pre plan a new non-residential project before it reaches the permitting stage. „~,,, The PUD regulations and requirements were also significantly strengthened at that time to require more provision for and information related to environmental features, archaeological or historic resources, open space, sidewalks and recreation facilities. While we have few PUDs, we have both good and bad examples. The Fairway Villas and Selva Linkside PUDs are rather poor examples. In looking at the zoning map, clearly these projects contain little more than small lots and streets, and representations made related to open space and recreation recreation were not properly committed when these projects were approved many years ago. On the other hand, Ocean Walk and Fleet Landing provide good examples of very different, but very well-planned communities. Without question, PUDs require that the City closely monitor not only the approval and development phases of a project, but also impose a post-development responsibility to insure that the commitments made in a PUD ordinance are honored. BUDGET: No budget issues. RECOMMENDATION: Discussion; no action required. ATTACHMENTS: Copy of the City's PUD regulations, and publications from the Planning Commissioner's Journal and the ICMA's Practice of Local Government Planning related to PUDs. REVIEWED BY CITY MA ~. 2 September 13, 2004 regular meeting AGENDA ITEM #8A SEPTEMBER 13, 2004 PLANNING LAW PRIMER Planned- Unit Developments by Mary McMaster, Esq. O ne type of development that planning commissioners are often required to evaluate is the planned unit development, typically referred to as a "PUD." The PUD allows for more flexible development practices than traditional "grid" zoning. Essentially, PUD zoning permits a developer to meet overall community density and land use goals without being bound by rigid requirements such as minimum lot standards and use categories. For example, a community may require the same overall density within a residential PUD as that of the surrounding area. However, the community may allow development within the PUD to be massed or clustered so that the individual lots are smaller but more open space is preserved than would occur under traditional zoning. The PUD concept can also be applied to encourage creative mixes of land uses, by permitting certain nonresidential uses (or a mix of different kinds of residences -- single and multi-family) in the development. Probably the most popular form of PUD is the planned residential development or "PRD." PRDs are limited to only residential uses, so they do not provide for a mix of uses otherwise allowed under a PUD plan. However, like the PUD the PRD allows for much greater creativity and flexibility in design and layout. The planned unit development concept has been used primarily for new subdivisions of vacant developable land. By allowing developers to depart from "cookie cutter" lot forms and set- back requirements, more creative use of open space and urban design is possible. An important benefit of allowing PUDs in undeveloped areas is that they can aid in the preservation of areas containing natural resources. A PUD developed in such a way that more of the wetland or natural area is preserved than would occur under standard zoning practices. This is accomplished by allowing the developer to make use of smaller lots in exchange for preserving the natural area. Of course, even under standard zoning, communities can require park and open space dedications and discourage development from occurring in environmentally sensitive areas such as wetlands. PUDs, however, have the significant benefit of enabling much more open space or natural features to be preserved than might otherwise be legally or politically feasible. Again, this is accomplished by permitting the developer to build more densely on the remainder of the site than would otherwise be allowed under the community's standard zoning. For example, assume that there are regulations in place that allows a local government to require one acre of parkland dedication for a twenty acre subdivision. If there is a ten acre subdivision which happens to contain a two acre area that is rich in bird habitat, under traditional zoning it might be difficult to preserve that habitat without the community having to purchase it. On the other hand, if a PUD develop- men[ were allowed, the two acre site could be set aside in exchange for slightly more dense development on the remaining eight acres. Recently PUD zoning has also become a popular technique for use in infill areas. In such areas, a PUD designation can help address concerns relating to the need for mixed uses in an already developed urban area or problems with nonconforming uses in a transitional area. In the City of Benicia, California, the planned unit development concept is being used to allow for infill in an industrial area in which warehouses are being converted into artist live-work spaces, studios and galleries. Prior to the enactment of the PUD provision, the warehouse conversions were not permissible under the city's zoning ordinance. While the community wanted to re-zone the area in a way that would facilitate and encourage new uses of the warehouse buildings, it also wanted to maintain some review of the developments (without imposing rigid restrictions on them). To accomplish this the community rezoned the area as a planned unit development. Under the new PUD designation, even the owner of a small warehouse can redevelop with a flexible mix of commercial, residential and studio space as a small planned unit development. It should be noted, however, that although the community's PUD zoning of the area does provide for a great deal of flexibility in terms of design and uses, community needs dictated that certain performance standards be imposed. For instance, since parking in the area is problematic, minimum parking ratios are imposed on all PUD developments. PREPARING A PUD, ORDINANCE Most communities having PUD ordinances allow PUD developments only in certain zoning districts, as PLANNING COMMISSIONERS JOURNAL ® ARTICLE REPRINT project which incorporates a wetland or other area of particular concern can be Gr: "overlay' zones. This approach typically gives the developer the option of either requirements of the "underlying" zoning district (i.e., the zoning district in which the property is located) or submitting an application that takes advantage of the flexibility allowed by the ordinance's PUD provisions. Typically, a PUD ordinance contains the following provisions: • A short statement of the goals of the ordinance. For example, goals of the Los Angeles County Residential Planned Development Zone are: "to promote residential amenities beyond those expected under conventional develop- ment, to achieve greater flexibility in design, to encourage well-planned neighborhoods through creative and imaginative planning as a unit, and to provide for appropriate use of land which is sufficiently unique in its physical characteristics or other circumstances to warrant special methods of development." • A statement of where the ordinance will apply and any special restrictions such as minimum project sizes. • A statement of the uses permitted. In addition to residences these may include neighborhood oriented com- mercial uses, hiking or bike trails, golf courses, or other uses the community wishes to integrate with residential uses. • Standards for overall project density, building coverage and parking. Some communities may want to impose minimum lot sizes that are smaller than would otherwise be required in order to ensure that even with shared open space each residential unit will still have some private open space. • Standards for landscaping and maintenance of the project. • Provisions for regulating the development of the project if it is to be built in more than one phase. It is a good idea to make sure that either in the PUD ordinance or elsewhere in the zoning code the community has the authority to prevent a developer from building only the higher density areas of an overall project and then "walking away" from the project. submitting an application that conforms with the dimensional and use • Criteria to be applied if the community wishes to allow for higher density or permit certain uses in special circumstances. • The procedures for applying to develop under the PUD provision, and how the PUD application will be processed. I.n most communities PUD develop- ments must be approved by the locality's planning commission with right of appeal to the governing body. Because of the greater flexibility permitted under a PUD zone, evaluating PUD projects is more subjective than traditional evaluations required by most development projects. However, the inclusion of clear review standards and criteria, as outlined above, will serve to minimize the potential for arbitrariness. Early communications, and meet- ings, between planning staff and potential PUD applicants is strongly advised. This will ensure that applicants are aware of the PUD objectives and approval criteria and that planning staff understand the goals of the applicant and the constraints that he or she is working under. SUMMING UP: A well conceived PUD ordinance, by allowing for increased flexibility in the design and siting of projects, can provide both community residents and developers with greater benefits than might be possible using traditional zoning criteria. Planning commissioners should consider PUD projects an opportunity to creatively implement planning concepts. Mary McMaster is an attorney with the law firm of Oliver, Barr ~ Vose in Los Angeles. Her practice focuses on environmental and land use law. McMaster has a Master's degree in urban planning from UCLA, and served as editor of the Ecology Law 2uarterly while at the University of California, Berheley, Law School. AGENDA ITEM #8A SEPTEMBER 13, 2004 PLANNING COMMISSIONERS JOURNAL ® ARTICLE REPRINT AGENDA ITEM #8A SEPTEMBER 13, 2004 ~ Zoning and Subdivision Regulations 357 regulatory requirements unjustified by conventional health and safety criteria. ,~. Exclusionary zoning may be intentionally designed to keep out low- and moderate-income residents, or it may have more benign purposes-for ex- ample, to maintain an area's low-density rural character-but less benign ef- fects. Characteristics of exclusionary zoning include extraordinarily large lot "-"' .sizes, prohibition of multifamily dwellings and mobile homes, limits on the number of bedrooms in apartments (to restrict family size), minimum floor area requirements that are excessive and unrelated to dwelling unit occupancy, ~.. and refusal to zone adequate amounts of land for higher-density single- and multifamily housing. Second, local governments tend to make parochial zoning decisions at the expense of regional interests. Because local governments depend on the prop- erty tax to fund a large portion of basic services, many use "fiscal zoning" to promote commercial and industrial development and expensive residences, of- ten to the exclusion of affordable housing.11 When a local government approves a zoning change to allow development of. a regional shopping center but fails to zone adequate land for housing development for the people who work there, it is effectively obtaining the benefits of development while exporting the costs. Moreover, since some local governments may not feel an obligation to ensure ~'" that their zoning decisions do not adversely affect neighboring jurisdictions, the cumulative effects of many such projects, such as traffic congestion, air pollution, and the loss of such valuable resources as wetlands, are similarly ~. exported across jurisdictional boundaries. Third, zoning can be bureaucratic, overly detailed, and resistant to admin- istradve reform. Zoning ordinances may contain lists of permitted uses that are so narrowly drawn that a conditional use permit (and a hearing) are required ~"" for most changes of use. Special development procedures and standards for every new type of land use may add layers of review, ambiguity, and expense to the development process. Development approvals may move at a sluggish ww pace through the local legislative and administrative structure. Local govern- ments may resist changes to zoning ordinances and approval procedures be- cause of bureaucratic inertia ("we've always done it this way, why change now?"). As a consequence, planners are now being challenged to "treat every- !"' one like a customer and provide them with effective planning services."12 A way to do this is to provide clear, accurate information to development permit applicants and prompt decisions on permits once the application is deemed ~,,, complete. Finally, zoning may lack a planning framework. As noted earlier, the rela- tionship required between the local comprehensive plan and the zoning ordi- nance and. zoning decisions varies by state. Where state statutes allow an op- ~""' tional role for the plan or where local governments simply ignore the plan, zoning may occur on aparcel-by-parcel basis and [he community may fail to take broader needs into account. Innovative or specialized zoning tectrniques Criticisms of zoning, and particularly of the rigid framework of conventional zoning, have prompted the need for more flexibility in land use regulation. A number of innovative or specialized zoning techniques have evolved that can be applied in various combinations to pezmit creative approaches to W development. Planned unit developments Planned unit developments (PUDs), which are also known as planned residen- tial developments or, simply, planned developments, allow more leeway in the 358 7Tze Practice of Local Governrnent Planning AGENDA ITEM #8A SEPTEMBER 13, 2004 application of the zoning ordinance to a tract of land. PUD regulations may allow mixed uses, flexibility in the placement of buildings, and relaxation of development standazds (see Figure 14-10 j. Under the regulations governing PUDs, the approved PUD plan fixes the nature and location of use: and build- ings or. the entire site. A PUD can (: j improve site design, (2;) preserve amen- ities such as open space by allowin; buildings to be eIustered. and (3') lower the costs of constructing streets and~extendinR utilities to the development by reducing frontages. Cluster development is a form of PUD in which buildings, usually residences, are grouped together on part of the site to preserve open space or environmentally sensitive areas, such as wetlands. At a site in BeI :tir, Maryland, clustering was used to protect more than 90 percent of the wetland acreage at the site (see Figure 14- I1 j. Because residential lots are set back from the wetlands, impacts on the wetlands are primarily limited to road crossing points. Where no other alternative exists, crossings are placed at the Village Homes Site Plan N Figure 14-10 Site plan of Village Homes, a planned unit development of single- family homes. apartments, open space, a communit}~ center, and commercial and office buildings in Davis, California. _.~~~ ;)717Iii 111!'(1' i I.i - -x e• AGENDA ITEM #8A SEPTEMBER 13, 2004 Zoning anti Subdivision Regulations 359 Figure 14-17 Use of clustering to preserve wetlands in Bel Air, Maryland. point of minimum impact, which is usually at the narrowest point of the wet- land azea. Overlay zones Overlay zones, which are imposed over existing zoning districts, provide an additional layer of development standards to address special land use needs. Historic preservation regulations are usually administered through overlay dis- tricts. In such districts, new buildings, additions, and modifications are subject to design standards that ensure compatibility with the appearance of existing buildings. Hillside development regulations protect areas where there are steep slopes by encouraging development that respects the constraints and natural amenities associated with topographically challenging sites.13 Such regulations may in- clude standards that limit allowable densities on the basis of the steepness of the slopes and the suitability of the soil, among other factors. Flood hazard or floodplain zones, another form of .overlay, control devel- opment on land that is susceptible to being inundated by water from any source. The floodplain designation is typically divided into two parts: (1) a floodway, which encompasses the channel of a river or other watercourse and adjacent land azeas that must be reserved to dischazge a 100-year flood (i.e., a flood that has a 1 percent chance of occurring each year}, and (2) the floodway fringe, which is land outside the floodway that is subject to inundation by relatively low velocity flows and shallow water depths. Land within floodway zones is subject to special review to ensure that development does not obstruct the channel of the river or watercourse carrying the flood. Floodplain regulations may prohibit all habitable structures in the floodway, requiring that they be constructed instead above the floodplain elevation, or they may require that buildings and structures be flood-proofed. The federal National Flood Insurance Program provides affordable insurance for property owners in flood hazard areas if the local government adopts floodplain regulations that meet federal criteria.1° Initial site plan Location of wetlands Approved site plan