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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002-2546 - Ordinance - 01/24/2002ORDINANCE NO. 2546 AN ORDINANCE REPLACING "CHAPTER 9 SUBDIVISIONS, SECTION 10, REQUIREMENTS FOR PARK LAND DEDICATION" OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF COLLEGE STATION. TEXAS. WITH THAT SET OUT BELOW IN EXHIBIT "A"; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND DECLARING A PENALTY. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS: PART 1: That "Chapter 9 Subdivisions, Section 10, Requirements for Park Land Dedication", of the Code of Ordinances of the City of College Station, Texas, be replaced with that set out in Exhibit "A". attached hereto and made a part of this ordinance for all purposes. PART 2: That if any provisions of any section of this ordinance shall be held to be void or unconstitutional, such holding shall in no way effect the validity of the remaining provi- sions or sections of this ordinance, which shall remain in full force and effect. PART 3: That any person, firm, or corporation violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punishable by a fine of not less than Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) nor more than Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00). Each day such violation shall continue or be permitted to continue, shall be deemed a separate offense. Said Ordinance, being a penal ordinance, becomes effective six (6) months after its publication in the newspaper, as provided by Section 35 of the Charter of the City of College Station. PASSED, ADOPTED and APPROVED this 24th day of January, 2002 A.TTEqT: /~ CONNIE HOOKS, City Secretary City Attorney APPROVED: ~'NN'I~IclLHP~NE~, Mayor / EXHIBIT "A" That "Chapter 9, Subdivisions, Section 10, Requirements for Park Land Dedication" is hereby amended in its entirety to read as follows: SECTION 10: REQUIREMENTS FOR PARK LAND DEDICATION 10-A. Purpose 10-A. 1 This section is adopted to provide recreational areas in the form of neighborhood parks as a function of subdivision and site development in the City of College Station. This section is enacted in accordance with the home rule powers of the City of College Station, granted under the Texas Constitution, and the statutes of the State of Texas, including, but not by way of limitation, Texas Local Gov't Code Chapter 212 (Vernon 1988; Vernon Supp. 1999). It is hereby declared by the City Council that recreational areas in the form of neighborhood parks are necessary and in the public welfare, and that the only adequate procedure to provide for same is by integrating such a requirement into the procedure for planning and developing property or subdivisions in the city, whether such development consists of new construction on vacant land or rebuilding and remodeling of structures on existing residential property. 10-A.2 Neighborhood parks are those parks providing for a variety, of outdoor recreational opportunities and located within convenient distances from a majority of the residences to be served thereby. The park zones established by the Parks and Recreation Department and shown on the official Parks and Recreation map for the City of College Station shall be prima facie proof that any park located therein is within such a convenient distance from any residence located therein. The primary cost of neighborhood parks should be borne by the ultimate residential property owners who, by reason of the proximity of their property to such parks, shall be the primary beneficiaries of such facilities. Therefore, the following requirements are adopted to effect the purposes stated above and shall apply to any land to be used for residential purposes: ! 0-B General Requirement Dedications shall cover both land and development costs for neighborhood parkland for all types of residential development. 10-B-I Land Dedication Whenever a final plat is filed of record with the County Clerk of Brazos County for development of a residential area in accordance with the planning and zoning regulations of the City, such plat shall contain a clear fee simple dedication of an area of land to the City for park purposes. For single family developments this area shall be equal to one (1) acre for each one hundred and one [ 101) proposed dwelling units. For duplex and other multi-family development this area shall be equal to one (1) acre for each one hundred and twenty-five (125) proposed dwelling units. For methodolog)' refer to ,4ppendix 1 attached herein and incorporated and made a part of this ordinanceJbr all purposes. Any proposed plat submitted to the City for approval shall show the area proposed to be dedicated under this section. The required land dedication of this subsection may be met by a payment of money in lieu of land when permitted or required by the other provisions of this section. In the event a plat is not required this dedication shall be met prior to the issuance of a building permit. 10-B.2 Fee in Lieu of Land A land owner responsible for dedication under this section may elect to meet the requirements of 10-B.I. in whole or in part by a cash payment in lieu of land, ~n the amount set forth below. Before making this election, the land owner must obtain approval for the cash payment in lieu of land from the Planning & Zoning Commission pursuant to the plat approval procedures set out in Chapter 9, Section 6. Such payment in 10-B.3 10-B.4 10-B.5 10-B.6 10-B.7 lieu of land shall be made at or prior to the time of filing the final plat for record at the Courthouse or prior to the issuance of a building permit where a plat is not required. The fee in lieu of land dedication requirement shall be met by a payment of a fee set from time to time by resolution by the City Council, suffiment to acquire neighborhood parkland. Unless changed by the City Council, such per-acre price shall be computed on the basis of one hundred and ninety-eight dollars ($198) per dwelling unit for single family development and one hundred and sixty dollars ($160) per dwelling unit for duplex and multi-family development. Refer to ,4ppendix 1. Cash payments may be used only for acquisition or development of a neighborhood park located within the same zone as the development. Park Development Fee In addition to the land dedication, there shall also be a fee set from time to time by resolution of the City Council sufficient lo provide for development of the land to Ineet the standards for a neighborhood park to serve the zone in which such development is located. Unless changed by City Council this per-acre fee shall be computed on the basis of three hundred and fifty-eight dollars ($358) per dwelling unit for single family developments and two hundred and ninety-two ($292) for duplex and multi-family developments. Refer to Appendix 1. Cash payments may be used only for development or acquisition of a neighborhood park located within the same zone as the development Park Development in Lieu of Fee A developer has the option to construct the neighborhood park improvements in lieu of the park development fee. Development plans and specifications shall be reviewed and approved by the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. All improvements shall either be financially guaranteed or accepted by the City prior to the filing of a plat in the case of platted developments or prior to issuance of certificates of occupancy in the event that platting is not required. The process of financial guarantee shall be the same as that found in section 7 of the Subdivision Regulations and shall be used whether a plat is required or not. Once improvements are accepted by the City the developer shall deed the property and improvements to the City. In instances where an area of less than five (5) acres is required to be dedicated, the Planning and Zoning Commission shall have the right to accept the dedication for approval on the final plat, or to refuse same, after consideration of the recommendation of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. The City shall have the fight to require payment of cash in lieu of land in the amount provided above, if it determines that sufficient park area is already in the public domatn in the area of the proposed development, or if the recreation potential for that zone would be better served by expanding or improving existing parks. The dedication required by this section shall be made by filing of the final plat or contemporaneously by separate instrument unless additional dedication is required subse- quent to the filing of the final plat. If the actual number of completed dwelling units exceeds the figure upon which the original dedication was based, such additional dedication shall be required, and shall be made by payment of the cash in lieu of land amount provided above, or by the conveyance of an entire numbered lot to the City. For multi-family development or development where parkland was neither previously dedicated not payment made with the filing of a plat, the additional dedication or payment in lieu of land required by this section shall be made at the time of the building permit application. The City may from time to time decide to purchase land for parks in or near the area of actual or potential development. If the City does pumhase park land in a park zone, the City shall have the fight to require subsequent park land dedications for that zone to be in cash only. This will be to reimburse the City its purchase cost. Once the City has been reimbursed entirely for all such park land within a park zone, this subsection shall cease to apply, and the other subsections of this section shall again be applicable. 10-C Prior Dedication; Absence of Prior Dedication 10-C. 1 Credit shall be given for land and/or money dedicated pursuant to Ordinance 690 or 983. I 0-C.2 If a dedication requirement arose prior to passage of this section, that dedication requirement shall be controlled by the ordinance in effect at the time such obligation arose, except that additional dedication shall be required if the actual density of structures constructed upon property is greater than the former assumed density. Additional dedica- tion shall be required only for the increase in density and shall be based upon the ratio set forth in 10-B. of this section. 10-C.3 At the discretion of the Planning & Zoning Commission. any former gift of land to the City may be credited on a per acre basis toward eventual land dedication requirements imposed on the donor of such lands. The Planning and Zoning Commission shall consider the recommendation of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board in exercising its discretion under this subsection. IO-D Special Fund; Right to Refund 10-D.I There is hereby established a special fund for the deposit of all sums paid In lieu of land dedication under this section or any preceding ordinance, which fund shall be known as the park land dedication fund. 10-D.2 The City shall account for all sums paid in lieu of land dedication under this section with reference to the individual plats involved. Any funds paid for such purposes must be expended by the City within five (5) years from the date received by the City for acquisition and/or development of a neighborhood park as defined herein. Such funds shall be considered to be spent on a first in, first out basis. If not so expended, the owners of the property on the last day of such period shall be entitled to a prorata refund of such sum, computed on a square footage of area basis. The owners of such property must request such refund within one (1) year of entitlement, in writing, or such right shall be barred. IO-E Comprehensive Plan Considerations 10-E.I The Park and Open Space Plan is intended to provide the College Station Parks and Recreation Advisory Board with a guide upon which to base future decisions. Because of the need to consider specific characteristics in the site selection process, the park locations indicated on the Plan are general. The actual locations, sizes, and number of parks will be determined when development occurs. The Plan will also be used to locate desirable park sites before development occurs, and those sites may be purchased by the City or received as donations. 10-E.2 Park Zones are established by the City's Comprehensive Plan and are configured to indicate service areas for neighborhood parks. Zone boundaries are established that follow key topographic features such as major thoroughfares, streams, and city limit lines. 10-F 10-F. 1 Additional Requirements; Definitions Any land dedicated to the city under this section must be suitable for park and recreation uses. Consideration will be given to land that is in the floodplain or may be considered "floodable" even though not in a federally regulated floodplain as long as, due to its elevation, it is suitable for park improvements. (a) Neighborhood park sites should be adjacent to residential areas in a manner that serves the greatest number of users. (b) (c) Neighborhood park sites should be located so that users are not required to cross arterial roadways to access them. Sites should not be severely sloping or have unusual topography which would render the land unusable for organized recreational activities. lO-F.2 IO-G. IO-H. (d) Sites should have existing trees or other scenic elements. Detention / retention areas will not be accepted as part of the required dedication, but may be accepted in addition to the required dedication. If accepted as part of the park, the detention / retention area design must be approved by the C~ty staff and must meet specific parks specifications. Parks should be easy to access and open to public view so as to benefit area development, enhance the visual character of the city, protect public safety and minimize conflict with adjacent land uses. The following guidelines should be used in designing parks and adjacent development. (a) Where physically feasible, park sites should be located adjacent to greenways and/or schools in order to encourage both shared facilities and the potential co- development of new sites. A proposed subdivision adjacent to a park may not be designed to restrict reasonable access to the park from other area subdivisions. Street and greenways connections to existing or future adjoining subdivisions may be required to provide reasonable access to parks. (c) Where a non-residential use must directly abut a park, the use must be separated by a screening wall or fence and landscaping. Access points to the park may be allowed by the Planning and Zoning Conunission if public benefit is established. (d) It is desirable that a minimum of fifty percent (50%) of the perimeter of a park should abut a public street. In all cases, the City shall approve the proposed street alignment fronting on city parks. (e) Streets abutting a park shall be built in accordance with the thoroughfare plan and the standards of this ordinance; however, the City may require any residential street built adjacent to a park to be constructed to collector width to ensure access and prevent traffic congestion. Developer may request oversize participation in such instance. Consideration and Approval Any proposal considered by the Planning and Zoning Commission under this section shall have been reviewed by the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and its recommendation given to the Commission. The Commission may make a decision contrary to such recommendations only by a concurring vote of at least five (5~ members. Review of Dedication Requirements The City shall review the fees set forth in this section every three (3) years. The City shall take into account inflation as it affects land and park development costs as well as the City's targeted level of service for parkland per one thousand population. Fees shall be set by resolution of the City Council. II. APPENDIX 1 PARK LAND DEDICATION FEE METHODOLOGY Current Level of Service 7 Acres Neighborhood & Community Park Land per 1,000 Population 3.5 Acres per 1,000 (Neighborhood Parks) 3.5 Acres per 1,000 (Conununity Parks) Land Requirements Neighborhood Parks 3.5 Acres/l,000 1 Acre per 285 people 2000 CENSUS Figures - Total Population - 67,890 2.80 Persons per Household (PPH) for Single Family and 2.28 Persons per Household for Multi- Family based on census information for owner and renter occupied units. The overall average from the Census is 2.52 persons per household (dwelling unit). SINGLE F,4MIL Y 285 people / 2.80 PPH = 101 DUs I Acre per 101 DUs MUL TI-FAMIL Y 285 people/2.28 PPH= 125 DUs I Acre per 125 DUs IIL Neighborhood Park Acquisition Costs (Determines Fee in Lieu of Land) (.4ssumption) ! acre costs $ 20, 000 to purchase SINGLE FAMILY MUL TI-FAMIL Y $20,000 / 101 DUs = $198 per DU $20,000 / 125 DUs = $160 per DU IV. Neighborhood Park Development Costs (Determines Fee for Development) · Cost of Average Neighborhood Park in College Station is $300,000. · One Neighborhood parks serves 2,341 people based on a Census population of 67,890 being served by 29 parks (count includes neighborhood parks and 6 mini parks}. · It costs $128 per person to develop an average intergenerational neighborhood park. Single Family $128.00 X 2.80 PPH = $358 per DU V. Total Fee Multi-Family $128.00 X 2.28 PPH = $292 per DU Single Family Multi-Family $198 + $358 = $556 $160 ~- $292 = $452