8.1 Purpose

The purpose of this Chapter is to provide an alternative to the standard subdivision development pattern within Wallsburg Town in a manner that: 1. Protects constrained and sensitive lands, including those areas containing sensitive and undevelopable features such as steep slopes, floodplains and wetlands, by setting them aside from development; 2. Conserves conservation and open space land, including those areas containing unique or natural features such as meadows, grasslands, tree stands, streams, stream corridors, flood walls, berms, watercourses, farmland, wildlife corridors and/or habitat, historical buildings and/or sites, archeological sites, and green space, by setting them aside from development; 3. Provides greater design flexibility and efficiency in the siting of services and infrastructure, including the opportunity to reduce length of roads, utility runs, and the amount of paving required for residential development; 4. Reduces erosion and sedimentation by the retention of existing vegetation and the minimization of development on steep slopes and other constrained and sensitive lands; 5. Provides for a diversity of lot sizes to accommodate a variety of age and income groups and residential preferences, so that the community=s population diversity may be enhanced; 6. Provides incentives for the creation of greenway systems and open space within the Town for the benefit of present and future residents; 7. Implements adopted Town policies to conserve a variety of irreplaceable and environmentally sensitive resource lands as set forth in the Comprehensive General Plan; 8. Implements adopted land use, environment, natural hazards, transportation, and community policies, as identified in the Comprehensive General Plan; 9. Protects areas of the Town with productive agricultural soils for continued agricultural use by conserving blocks of land large enough to allow for viable farm operations; 10. Creates neighborhoods with direct visual and/or recreational access to constrained, sensitive and conservation land; 11. Provides for the conservation and maintenance of constrained, sensitive and conservation land within the Town to achieve the above-mentioned goals; 12. Provides incentives and design alternatives for landowners to minimize impacts on environmental resources such as, sensitive lands, wetlands, floodplain, and steep slopes, and to minimize disturbance of natural or cultural features such as, mature woodlands, tree lines, wildlife habitats and corridors, historic buildings, and floodplain walls; 13. Provides standards accommodating to some extent the varying circumstances and interests of individual landowners and the individual characteristics of their properties; and 14. Conserves scenic views and elements of the Town=s rural and scenic character and minimizes perceived density by minimizing views of new development from existing roads. 2