The purposes of the Campus Style Development (CSD) District are to permit the clustering of industrial and commercial uses upon a development site in those areas most suited for development, to avoid strip development, to mitigate the impacts of industrial and commercial development and to preserve open land. The open land set aside pursuant to this article may buffer adjacent uses or residential zoning districts or provide recreational amenities for the occupants of the parcel or residents of the town. The clustering of the uses on the development site shall be designed to be consistent with landscapes which are traditional to New England and Hopkinton. It is the intent of this article that the development site will be designed to preserve the existing streetscape by clustering the uses away from public ways and providing a visual buffer from streets. It is the further intent that the uses on the development site will be clustered away from residential uses and will not be within view from lakes and other long views.
[Added 5-6-1996 ATM by Art. 36]
[Amended 5-7-2007 ATM by Art. 26; 5-4-2009 ATM by Art. 25]
Campus style development shall be allowed only upon the issuance of a special permit by the Planning Board, only within Rural Business, Industrial A and Industrial B Districts, subject to the requirements of this Chapter for those districts, and in accordance with the additional requirements specified herein.
Any parcel of land located within a zone permitting campus style development containing not less than five acres may be considered for a campus style development. The five acres may be comprised of individual lots of less than five acres which, when combined, will be considered to be one development site. Once the lots are combined to constitute a development site, there shall be no further subdivision of the site which would result in a development site of less than five acres.
The following size and setback requirements shall apply:
A.
Minimum lot frontage for the development site on a public way: 50 feet.
B.
Minimum lot frontage within the development site: none, provided that the interior roads which must provide adequate access to all buildings on the development site shall not become public ways and are to be considered private access roads. If the roads are intended to be considered as public ways, the Planning Board shall determine the amount of frontage appropriate for each lot, based on a consideration of public safety and adequacy of access.
C.
Minimum lot area for individual lots within the development site: none.
E.
The minimum setback area shall be landscaped or wooded so as to provide adequate year-round screening of the use from abutting property and streets. The minimum setback area required from a residentially zoned district shall remain undisturbed or, if previously disturbed, shall be planted and/or landscaped. Such area shall be wooded for the minimum required distance.
F.
Minimum setbacks of buildings from development site interior lot property lines and private access roads: none.
G.
Maximum building size: Total gross floor area of all buildings shall not exceed 60% of the total development site area.
H.
Maximum building height: No building or structure shall exceed 40 feet or three stories in height, whichever is less. If buildings are located between South Street and Route 495, they may, however, be 45 feet or four stories in height, whichever is less.
The requirements of § 210-124, Off-street parking, shall apply. The Planning Board, in the site plan approval process, may, however, permit buildings within the development site to share parking areas, and may permit a portion of the required spaces to be set aside as reserve or planned spaces to be constructed as future needs require.
Uses permitted within the underlying zoning district shall be permitted on the development site.
A.
A minimum of 40% of the development site shall be set aside as open land. Adequate pedestrian access shall be provided to the open land.
B.
The open land may remain as part of the overall development site and need not be a separate parcel, but there shall be deed restrictions stating that there shall be no further development of the open land. The open land may consist of a separate parcel and may be conveyed to a nonprofit organization the purpose of which is the preservation of open space. If the open land is conveyed to another entity, it shall continue to be part of the development site for the purpose of calculating dimensional requirements.
C.
The open land shall consist of undisturbed land which may be used for outdoor active or passive recreational purposes and shall be planned as large, contiguous units wherever possible. If privately owned, the open land may be used solely by occupants of the development site or may be available for use by Town residents. The open land may be comprised of more than one parcel, provided that the size, shape and location of such parcels are suitable for the above purposes.
D.
Setback areas from exterior development site property lines of 100 feet or more may be counted as part of the open land.
E.
If detention or retention ponds are necessary for the construction of the buildings on the development site, such ponds shall not be located within the required setback areas, unless specifically permitted by the site plan approval. Such detention or retention areas shall be designed to appear as natural landforms.
F.
Areas set aside for planned or reserve parking spaces or fire lanes shall not be considered to be open land.
Buildings shall be designed to possess a harmony of appearance and scale with each other. Curb cuts on Town roads shall be minimized, and to the greatest extent possible, buildings shall be clustered away from streets and surrounding residential or open space uses. Parking lots shall include islands with shade trees. Buildings, roadways and parking lots shall be designed to accommodate the landscape and natural site features, and disturbance to the site shall be minimized, so that as many trees and natural features are retained as possible. Outdoor lighting fixtures shall be shielded and directed to prevent illumination from falling onto adjacent lots and streets.
A.
The provisions of Article XX, Site Plan Review, shall apply. If the development constitutes a subdivision pursuant to MGL c. 41, approval shall be required from the Planning Board. The Planning Board may hold one hearing which shall constitute the public hearings required by the Subdivision Control Law, site plan review and the campus style development special permit.
B.
The application shall show the planned use of the entire development site and whether development will occur at one time or in phases. After approval of the site plan, no land may be removed from the development site, and there may be no material deviation from the site plan, without review and approval of the Planning Board.
The Planning Board may grant the campus style development special permit only if it finds each of the following:
A.
The development meets the development and design objectives of a campus style development contained in this article.
B.
The development standards contained in this article have been met.
C.
The site development is consistent with the Master Plan.
D.
The Planning Board has determined that due regard has been given to the preservation and attractive utilization of the natural features of the development site, including trees, woods, streams and ponds.
Submission fees shall be governed and set by the Planning Board and shall be assessed to the owner and/or the applicant. Such fees may include a deposit for engineering review by a consultant selected by the town.