23-1 Purpose and Intent

The purpose of the Planned Development Overlay is to establish a process to foster creative, efficient, and comprehensive design of site development and to provide a means whereby real property may be developed with greater latitude in site standards, common areas, and open space than is allowed through traditional zoning controls. It is the intent of this overlay to provide land use and design regulations using performance criteria so that small-to-large scale neighborhoods or portions thereof, may be developed with a variety of residential types and non-residential uses, which are planned and developed as a unit. These regulations provide flexibility in site design in order to: A. Encourage imaginative design and the creation of permanent open space. B. Encourage affordable housing to be integrated in new developments. C. Encourage the conservation of natural site features, wildlife habitat, and sensitive lands. D. Combine and coordinate architectural styles, building forms, and structural/visual relationships within an environment that allows mixing of residential types and other land uses in an innovative and functionally efficient manner. E. Encourage land development that, to the greatest extent possible, preserves open space areas and respects natural topographic and geologic conditions. F. Encourage the development of street, pedestrian and bicycle paths that contribute to a system of fully connected routes, local trails and the City Trails System Master Plan. G. Promote a more efficient utilization of land than what might be obtained through other development procedures (clustering). H. Facilitate the economical and adequate provision of public services. I. Provide adequate on and off-street parking. J. Provide unique and unusual land uses to be planned for and located in a manner that ensures harmony with the surrounding community. K. Ensure that development occurs at proper locations, away from environmentally sensitive areas, and on land physically suited to construction.