February 17, 2005

Council approves revised PUD rules

By Robert Mihalek

Village Council last week approved a major revision of the Village’s Planned Unit Development regulations, which Village administrators and public officials have characterized as more flexible than the previous PUD ordinance.

The zoning chapter states that the new standards permit PUDs that “deviate from the rigid established patterns of land use” while producing a development “equal to or better than that resulting from traditional lot-by-lot land use development.”

Appropriate for multi-dwelling developments of one acre or more, the new regulations provide much room for the Village to negotiate with developers and encourage creative building designs and use of land. They also establish procedures for developers to receive feedback on their projects from Village staff and the Village Planning Commission — before the project would come up for a vote.

The new PUD rules also allow a developer to simultaneously take two steps necessary for getting a project approved: rezone property, with one of three PUD designations, and receive approval for development plans, Village Planner Phil Hawkey, who helped design the PUD proposal, has said.

In addition, the PUD regulations were expanded to allow for residential, commercial or industrial developments, including a combination of residential and business facilities on the same property. The Village’s previous PUD standards only applied to residential uses.

The new regulations are another step in Council’s efforts to increase development in Yellow Springs.

At its meeting Feb. 7, Council unanimously approved the second reading of an ordinance creating a new PUD chapter, 1264, in the Village Zoning Code and repealing another section of the code, Site Plan Review, listed as Chapter 1262, which the Village had used to approve smaller development projects.

Council’s action followed a recommendation for adoption by the Village Planning Commission, which, with the assistance of a paid consulting firm, Edward and Kelcey, created the new PUD standards.

There were surprisingly few comments made on the amended PUD regulations during Council’s meeting last week. George Pitstick, who represents Council on the Planning Commission, was the only Council member to speak on the ordinance, saying that the new PUD gives the Village “more control and opportunities” for development.

Pat Murphy, the executive director of Community Service, Inc., which hopes to create its own housing development, said that the new regulations “can be very positive for the village.” He emphasized that the zoning rules would allow for “a lot of things people are concerned with,” such as mixed-use developments and cluster housing, or homes that are concentrated closely together.

The zoning chapter states that a PUD is a “floating, permissive zoning classification throughout Yellow Springs” and may be applied to land around town.

The new zoning guidelines allow for three types of PUDs:

• Residential, or PUD-R: permits residential, educational and recreational uses.

• Business, or PUD-B: incorporates retail, service and office establishments, as well as residential, educational and recreational uses. It permits multiple nonresidential buildings on one lot, subject to review by the Planning Commission and approval by Council.

• Industrial, or PUD-I: includes multiple uses, including manufacturing, processing, warehousing and industrial services; retail, service and office establishments; and educational uses. Allows multiple buildings on one lot, subject to review by the Planning Commission and approval by Council.

PUD-R and PUD-B allow up to eight single-family or two-family homes per acre or 12 multifamily dwellings per acre.

As an example of the flexibility allowed under the new regulations, none of the three PUDs contains specific lot-width or setback standards, though yards that border another zoning district would have to conform to yard requirements in the adjacent district. The PUD districts allow lot widths to vary “to permit a variety of structural designs,” and would encourage setbacks to vary, the regulations state.

In addition, the Planning Commission is required to provide feedback to a developer on his development plans, and ask for changes of those plans, before holding a formal vote. In fact, the zoning regulations say that the plan board will not hold a public hearing on a project until development plans “have been approved in principle” or an applicant says no more negotiations are needed.

Planning Commission would hold two public hearings, the first on what the zoning chapter calls “preliminary plans,” which include information on proposed land uses, lot layout, the number and size of housing units, and a statement of principal uses for commercial or industrial PUDs; and the second on “final development plans,” which would include more detailed information, such as engineering designs.

Council would be required to hold a public hearing and approve a PUD’s preliminary plans. The plan board would have the option of forwarding the final development plans to Council for its approval.

Each PUD would require a development to contain common open space “fully accessible” by those living or working in the district or the public; land zoned PUD-R would be required to have 25 percent open space; and land zoned PUD-B or PUD-I, 20 percent.

The Planning Commission has the authority to approve the location, shape and size, among other elements, of common open space. The regulations also permit the plan board to waive open space requirements on PUD sites of less than two acres, the ordinance states, if the property contains “exceptional design” and “significant landscaping elements.”