Designation of Open Space
To qualify as part of the required 30 percent, 50 percent, or
80 percent open space, land shall be capable of meeting the criteria
of one or several of the following categories and shall be labeled
as such on the preliminary plat. Land that does not fit within any
of these categories shall be included in the buildable area.
Land that is designated as open space within any of these categories
may be retained as part of an undivided open space parcel, or may
be subdivided as individual open space parcels, provided that each
parcel is capable of meeting one or several of the criteria listed
below and is at least 20 acres in size. In no case may designated
open space, whether held as a single parcel or subdivided into several
parcels, be eligible for future development.
i.
Farm Reserve - land that has been cleared for use as cropland,
pasture or meadow and which shows up as cleared area on the most recent
aerial photography and which is of adequate size and configuration
to continue to function as cropland, pasture or meadow.
ii.
Woodland Reserve - the portion of a pre-existing and/or afforested
forest that is to remain contiguous and undisturbed by roads, buildings,
and lawns and which is of sufficient acreage to allow for timber production
or wildlife management.
iii.
Conservation open space - wetlands, floodplains, steep slopes,
streams and their buffers.
iv.
Community Recreation open space - recreational open space as
required in Section 7-1.06.P.
v.
Public Access Open Space:
Land that is to be deeded to a government agency or non-profit
land trust which agrees to provide public access to any dedicated
open space it owns or manages for the purpose of providing space for
parks, playgrounds, green spaces or other recreational purposes and/or
for the protection of sensitive areas.
vi.
Forest buffer open space - land that meets the criteria for
buffer areas listed in Section 5-2.01.D.5.b.