[Amended 3-13-2001 ATM; 3-9-2010 ATM by Art. 4]
The purpose of this article is to allow an alternative to the
basic provisions of conventional residential subdivision practices.
This alternative encourages the environmentally sound development
of land and provides for the preservation of open space, the protection
of natural resources and the creation of attractive living environments
and provides for a diversity of lot sizes, building densities and
housing choices to accommodate a variety of age and income groups
and residential preferences, so that the community's population diversity
may be maintained.
In order to achieve the purpose of this article, the specific
objectives are to:
A.
Allow flexibility and creativity in design 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.
B.
Discourage development sprawl and consumption of rural and/or agricultural
land. To protect areas of the community with productive agricultural
soils for continued or future agricultural use by conserving blocks
of land large enough to allow for efficient farm operations.
C.
Create residential environments which provide adequate open space
amenities adjacent to living areas.
D.
Facilitate the economical, efficient and environmental provision
of public services.
E.
Provide a more efficient use of land in harmony with its natural
characteristics.
F.
Preserve usable contiguous open space, agricultural land, tree cover,
recreation areas, scenic vistas, undeveloped lengths of shore front
and wildlife habitats.
G.
Conserve open land, including those areas containing unique and sensitive
natural features such as woodlands, steep slopes, streams, floodplains,
wetlands, wildlife corridors and winter deer yards by setting them
aside from development.
H.
Provide multiple options for landowners in order to minimize impacts
on environmental resources (sensitive lands such as wetlands, floodplains
and steep slopes) and disturbance of natural or cultural features
(such as mature woodlands, tree lines, critical wildlife habitats,
historic buildings and fieldstone walls).
I.
Conserve scenic views and elements of the Town's rural character
and minimize perceived density by minimizing views of new development
from existing roads.
J.
Reduce erosion and sedimentation by the retention of existing vegetation
and the minimization of development on steep slopes.
K.
Implement adopted Town policies to conserve a variety of irreplaceable
and environmentally sensitive resource lands as set forth in the Town's
Master Plan.
A.
Exempt subdivisions. A subdivision shall be exempt from the conservation
subdivision requirement if the Director of Planning and Development
determines that the proposal meets one of the criteria set forth below.
If the Director determines that a subdivision is exempt, the Director
shall provide written notice to the applicant, all abutters, the Chair
of the Planning Board, and the Chair of the Conservation Commission
within five business days after making the determination. An applicant,
an abutting property owner, or the Conservation Commission may appeal
the Director's determination to the Planning Board. The appeal shall
be made in writing within 30 days of the Director's determination.
The Planning Board shall hold a public hearing on the appeal. The
review by the Planning Board shall be based upon the materials submitted
to the Director and the testimony at the public hearing. The Planning
Board may affirm or change the decision of the Director. Until the
appeal is decided, the Planning Board shall not process an application
for the approval of a conventional residential subdivision for the
subject site.
B.
Exemption criteria. The Director of Planning and Development shall
find that a proposed subdivision is exempt from the requirement that
a subdivision be developed as a conservation subdivision only if the
proposed subdivision meets one of the following criteria. In determining
if the criteria are met, any lot that has been or will be transferred
to a qualified conservation organization as such term is defined in
Section 170(h)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (code) or any
successor section, and the regulations promulgated thereunder, which
organization is organized and operated primarily for one of the conservation
purposes specified in Section 170(h)(4)(A) of the code, and will be
restricted to conservation use in perpetuity, shall not be counted
as a lot for the purpose of this provision.
[Amended 3-13-2012 ATM by Art. 4]
(1)
The subdivision will consist of three or fewer lots accommodating
a total of not more than three dwelling units and there will be no
potential for the future subdivision of the parcel or any of the lots
created by the subdivision nor for the construction of additional
dwelling units on any of the lots; or
(2)
The subdivision will consist of lots, all of which will have
a minimum lot area of 400,000 square feet, and there will be no potential
for the future subdivision of the parcel or any of the lots created
by the subdivision nor for the construction of additional dwelling
units on any of the lots; or
(3)
The subdivision will consist of three or fewer lots accommodating
a total of not more than three dwelling units, there is additional
land that may be developable in the future for which a conceptual
long-range development plan meeting the requirements of this chapter
will be prepared, all lots being created as part of the exempt subdivision
will be consistent with and incorporated into the long-range plan
as part of a conservation subdivision, and no additional lots will
be created in the future that are not part of a conservation subdivision;
or
(4)
The subdivision will create not more than one additional lot
accommodating one dwelling unit and no other lots have been created
from the parcel within the preceding seven-year period; or
(5)
The proposed conventional subdivision creates a total number
of lots that are less than 50% of the permitted development density,
is fully compliant with all underlying zoning requirements and the
owner imposes a restriction prohibiting any additional subdivision
of the created parcels.
The conservation subdivision option shall be required in all
residential districts when the parcel size noted below has been met:
|
Minimum Lot Size
(underlying zoning)
(acres)
|
Parcel Size Triggering
Required Open Space
(acres)
|
|---|---|
|
1
|
10
|
|
2
|
20
|
|
3
|
30
|
|
5 to 10
|
50
|
Where specific development requirements are addressed in this
article, they shall supersede any other Town regulation. Where specific
development requirements are not addressed in this article, the most
stringent of any other Town regulation shall apply.
The development of land under this article is deemed a subdivision
under RSA 674:35.
A.
Proposal review. The proposal shall be reviewed by the Planning Board
to meet all of the provisions provided for under RSA 674:36, II, as
the Board deems applicable. In addition, development proposals shall
be reviewed under the procedures and requirements of the Subdivision
Regulations,[1] as amended. The Board shall consider the special nature of this type of development and shall determine prior to approval that the purpose and objectives in §§ 175-146 and 175-147 above have been met.
B.
Ownership. The tract of land may be held in single and separate ownership
or in multiple ownerships. However, when a tract is held in multiple
ownerships, it shall be planned as a single entity with common authority
and common responsibility.
C.
Site suitability. As evidenced by the Existing Resources/Site Analysis
Map, the conceptual preliminary plan and the final plan, the tract
incorporating this design option shall be suitable for supporting
development in terms of environmental conditions, its size and its
configuration.
D.
Legal document requirement and review. The Board shall require any
and all legal associations, agreements, and documents considered necessary
to assure that the objectives of this article are met. This may include
but not be limited to:
E.
Conservation land.
(1)
Conservation land that is required to be reserved and created
through the subdivision process shall be subject to permanent conservation
easements prohibiting future development and defining the range of
permitted activities. For example, the clearing of woodland habitat
shall generally be prohibited, except as necessary to create trails
and active recreation facilities or to install subsurface septic disposal
systems.
(2)
All conservation land shall be permanently restricted from future
subdivision and development.
F.
Maintenance. Unless otherwise agreed to by the Town, the cost and
responsibility of maintaining common facilities and open space shall
be borne by the property owner, condominium association, homeowner
association, or conservation organization.
A.
Permitted uses.
(1)
Permitted uses shall be as follows:
|
Use
|
Non-Shore Front Buffer Area
|
Shore front Buffer Area
| |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Conservation open space
|
P
|
P
| |
|
Limited use open space
|
P
|
P
| |
|
Active open space
|
SP
|
SP
| |
|
Road rights-of-way
|
SP
|
SP
|
|
KEY:
| |
|---|---|
|
P: Permitted uses.
| |
|
SP: Permitted of discretion of the Board.
|
(2)
Permitted uses, excluding the required buffer areas as restricted above, shall be those as provided for under the permitted uses sections of Articles VIII through XX of Part 1, notwithstanding the following provisions:
(a)
Duplexes, where permitted, shall have direct access at the ground
level and share a common wall with the other unit.
B.
Permitted density.
(1)
The following steps shall determine the maximum density. Areas
within road rights-of-way and/or easements shall be excluded from
density calculations.
(2)
Shore Front Residential District density. The maximum number
of single-family detached dwellings permitted shall not exceed one
unit per 150 feet of shoreline.
C.
Minimum lot size. The minimum lot area for residential dwelling sites
shall be flexible to allow for consideration of dwelling sites and
types, landscape and topography, adjacent open space and access.
D.
Tract frontage and access.
(1)
The original tract shall have a minimum frontage of 100 feet
on a Class 5 or better highway or private street platted by the Planning
Board.
(2)
The frontage may be divided in two fifty-foot frontage widths
to provide two points of ingress/egress.
(3)
Not more than two ingresses/egresses shall be permitted for
the first 50 acres of the tract and one additional ingress/egress
may be permitted for each additional 25 acres.
(4)
A maximum of five ingresses/egresses shall be permitted per
open space subdivision.
(5)
No proposed lot, building envelope or building sites shall have
direct access, via a private driveway, to the public highway or private
street the tract fronts on.
(6)
The open space subdivision shall be developed in such a manner
that all lots, building envelopes or building sites front on roads,
driveways or travelways that are internal to the open space subdivision.
E.
Yard requirements.
(1)
Front yard setbacks. Front yard setbacks shall be a minimum
of 25 feet from the right-of-way or 30 feet from the edge of pavement,
whichever distance is greater. Front yard requirements for lots fronting
on an access road shall be in character with existing building setbacks.
(2)
Side and rear yard setbacks for dwelling unit sites shall be
flexible to allow for the consideration of proximity of other building
sites, landscape and topography, adjacent open space, and view protection.
(3)
A minimum distance of 20 feet shall be maintained between buildings
on separate lots. A minimum distance of 20 feet shall be maintained
between buildings on the same lot.
F.
Discretionary density bonuses. Additional density may be allowed
by the Board when one of the following public benefits is proposed:
G.
Buffer area.
(1)
A buffer area consisting of open and undeveloped land shall
be maintained along the perimeter property boundary(ies) of the original
tract. Use of the buffer area shall be limited to conservation open
space or limited use open space. The Planning Board may, upon a finding
that the objective for the buffer is met, allow active use open space
and road rights-of-way within the buffer areas.
(2)
Buffer areas may be part of separately designated lots or building
areas and must be clearly designated on the plan as such with a notation
indicating the specific uses permitted within the buffer area.
(3)
Shore front buffer. A buffer area shall be created to include
land within 100 feet of the mean high-water mark of all lake or pond
shore front property.
H.
Open space.
(1)
A minimum of 50% of the total tract area, excluding road rights-of-way
or easements, shall be required to be permanently dedicated as open
space.
(2)
The Planning Board shall require that all environmentally sensitive
areas be dedicated as conservation open space.
(3)
Sensitive area disturbance. The proposed design shall strictly
minimize disturbance of environmentally sensitive areas. Lands within
the one-hundred-year floodplain, wetlands or having slopes in excess
of 25%, and rock outcroppings constitute such environmentally sensitive
areas, where disturbance shall be strictly minimized. Demonstration
by the applicant that these features will be protected by the proposed
application shall be prerequisite to approval of both the conceptual
preliminary plan and the detailed final plan.
(4)
The applicant shall submit a proposal for the use of the remainder
of the required open space. The Board shall then determine, upon consideration
of the character of the land, the type of development, the location
of the development, the surrounding neighborhood and the proximity
of adjacent open space uses, the proportion of the open space to be
limited use open space and active open space.
(5)
In Shore Front Residential District areas, including buffer
areas, a minimum of 50% of the land area shall be required to be permanently
dedicated as limited use or conservation open space. The Planning
Board may require permitted uses in the active open space within the
Shore Front Residential District Buffer Area to be clustered and may
limit the amount of beach area and the number and type of docks.
(6)
Conservation lands shall be laid out in general accordance with
Wolfeboro's Master Plan Natural Resource Chapter Maps to ensure that
an interconnected network of open space will be provided.
I.
Conceptual long-range development plan. When a conservation subdivision
will not utilize the entire parcel and there is potential for future
subdivision or development of the parcel or any of the lots being
created, the application for subdivision approval shall include a
conceptual long-range development plan showing the potential utilization
of the lots and the balance of the parcel not being subdivided. The
long-range plan is intended to be conceptual in nature, to rely on
published data about natural resources relevant to the parcel and
the built environment, and to demonstrate that the current subdivision
proposal will not compromise important conservation values or the
long-term development of the parcel as a conservation subdivision.
This plan shall show the relationship of the proposed subdivision
area to the balance of the parcel and to adjacent land. This plan
shall analyze the conservation and development potential of the remaining
area of the parcel and shall show, in general terms, the potential
street network, open space areas, and development areas in a manner
that demonstrates that both the proposed development and the future
development can occur so that it conforms to the requirements for
conservation subdivisions and preserves the significant natural resource
and conservation values of the entire parcel.
Preexisting structures on the original tract designated for
open space residential development may be incorporated within the
design. Structures falling within buffer areas may remain in their
existing location. Existing dwelling units must be incorporated in
the overall density calculations.
