Grouping of residences in clusters will permit individual minimum
lot sizes (as zoned) to be reduced, provided that overall density
within the subdivision is maintained. The remaining undeveloped area
within the subdivision can be used to provide common conservation
area and preserve the scenic qualities of an applicable environmentally
sensitive area. Grouping of residences will facilitate common water
and sewage disposal systems and encourage the improved use of the
land respecting the preservation of natural resources.
B.
The petitioner will be asked to submit an "existing features map"
and meet with the Plan Commission on the site proposed for platting.
The existing features map should include the following:
(1)
A topography map, based on a USGS quadrangle map;
(2)
The location of environmentally sensitive elements such as steep
slopes (over 25%), wetlands, watercourses, intermittent streams and
one-hundred-year floodplains, and all rights-of-way and easements;
(3)
Soil boundaries as shown on the Winnebago County Soil Survey maps
published by the Natural Resources Conservation Service; and
(4)
The location of significant features such as woodlands, tree lines,
open fields or meadows, scenic views into or out from the property,
watershed divides and drainageways, fences or stone walls, rock outcrops,
and existing structures, roads, floodplains, wetlands and steep slopes.
The existing features map shall form the basis for the concept plan,
which shall also show the tentative location of houses, streets, lot
lines and conservation areas.
The amount of conservation area created in a subdivision shall be based on the zone in which the property is located. If a piece of property is located in Zone 1, at least 50% of land within the subdivision shall be devoted to a conservation area. If the property is located in Zone 2, at least 25% of land within the subdivision shall be devoted to a conservation area. These amounts of conservation areas can be reduced based on provisions in § 361-4 of this chapter.
A.
Conservation areas may consist of wetlands, lands that are generally
inundated (under ponds, lakes, creeks, etc.), land within the one-hundred-year
floodplain, slopes exceeding 25%, and soils subject to slumping, and
other lands that are not part of the platted lots or public right-of-way.
Conservation areas shall be protected through a conservation easement
or actual land dedication to the public. This may be accomplished
by the following means:
(1)
All lands within conservation areas are required to be protected
by a permanent conservation easement, prohibiting further development
and setting other standards safeguarding the site's special resources
from negative changes.
(2)
Conveyance to owners of lots in the development. If the land is to
be reserved for use by owners of lots in the development, the land
shall be conveyed for use to a homeowners' association or similar
legally constituted body, which shall also maintain the conservation
easement.
(3)
Dedication to the Town of Vinland or other governmental body or a
recognized land trust or conservancy. Lands dedicated to the public
must be accepted by appropriate action of the governing body of the
accepting unit of government. Lands dedicated to the Town of Vinland
shall be clearly noted on the face of the final plat as dedicated
to the Town of Vinland. Public street dedication shall meet the conditions
of a Town of Vinland developer's agreement.
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(See § 361-65 of this section for specific requirements governing these two forms of conservation area dedication).
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B.
Conservation areas shall be designated as undivided open space to
facilitate easement or land dedication monitoring and enforcement
and to promote appropriate management by a single entity according
to approved land management standards.
C.
Water supply and sewage disposal shall meet the minimum standards
of all state, county, sanitary district or Town regulations.
The Plan Commission and Town Board shall evaluate cluster subdivisions
to determine whether the proposed conceptual preliminary plan:
A.
Protects and serves all floodplains, wetlands and steep slopes from
clearing, grading, filling or construction (except as may be approved
by the Town for essential infrastructure or active or passive recreation
amenities).
B.
Preserves and maintains mature woodlands, existing fields, pastures,
meadows and orchards, and creates sufficient buffer areas to minimize
conflicts between residential and agricultural uses.
C.
If development must be located on open fields or pastures because
of greater constraints in all other parts of the site, dwellings should
be sited on the least prime agricultural soils, or in locations at
the far edge of a field, as seen from existing public roads. Other
considerations include whether the development will be visually buffered
from existing public roads, such as by a planting screen consisting
of a variety of trees, shrubs and wildflowers.
D.
Maintains or creates an upland buffer of natural native species vegetation
of at least 75 feet in depth adjacent to wetlands and surface waters,
including creeks, streams, springs, lakes and ponds.
E.
Designs around existing hedgerows and tree lines between fields or
meadows and minimizes impacts on large woodlands (greater than five
acres), especially those containing many mature trees or a significant
wildlife habitat. Also, woodlands of any size on highly erodible soils
with slopes greater than 10% should be avoided. However, woodlands
in poor condition with limited management potential can provide suitable
locations for residential development. When any woodland is developed,
great care shall be taken to design all disturbed areas (for buildings,
roads, yards, septic disposal fields, etc.) in locations where there
are no large trees or obvious wildlife areas, to the fullest extent
practicable.
F.
Leaves scenic views and vistas unblocked or uninterrupted, particularly
as seen from public thoroughfares. In wooded areas where the sense
of enclosure is a feature that should be maintained, a deep "no-build,
no-cut" buffer should be respected, to preserve existing vegetation.
G.
Protects wildlife habitat areas of species listed as endangered,
threatened or of special concern by the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency.
H.
Designs around and preserves sites of historic, archaeological or
cultural significance and their environs, insofar as needed to safeguard
the character of the feature, including stone walls, barn foundations,
cellar holes, earthworks, and burial grounds.
I.
Protects rural roadside character and improves public safety and
roadway carrying capacity by avoiding development fronting directly
onto existing public roads.
J.
Provides mature landscape plantings equal to at least five trees
(mixture of ornamental and shade tree) per each residential unit,
interspersed throughout the subdivision in areas void of trees, cul-de-sac
islands, and in visually strategic locations that will add aesthetic
appeal to the overall development.
K.
Provides open space that is in a reasonably contiguous configuration.
Fragmentation of open space should be minimized and not divided into
numerous small parcels located in various parts of the development.
To the greatest extent practicable, open space shall be designed as
a single block with logical, straightforward boundaries. Long thin
strips of conservation land shall be avoided, unless the conservation
feature is linear or unless such configuration is necessary to connect
with other streams or trails. The open space should generally abut
existing or potential open space land on adjacent parcels (such as
in other subdivisions, public parks or properties owned by or leased
to private land conservation organizations). Such subdivision open
space shall be designed as part of larger contiguous and integrated
greenway systems, as per the policies in the Parks and Open Space
and Multi-Purpose Trails Implementation Section of the Town's Land
Use Plan.
A.
Different ownership and management options apply to the permanently
protected conservation areas created through the development process.
The conservation areas shall remain undivided and shall be owned and
maintained by a homeowners' association, the Town, County, or a recognized
land trust or conservancy.
B.
A public land dedication, not exceeding 10% of the total parcel size,
may be required by the Town through designated conservation areas
to facilitate public trail connections. A narrative describing ownership,
use and maintenance responsibilities shall be submitted for all common
space and public improvements, utilities and conservation areas.
C.
Conservation areas within a development shall be owned, administered
and maintained by any of the following methods, either individually
or in combination, and subject to approval by the Town:
(1)
Offer of dedication. The Town or other governmental agencies shall
have the first and last offer of dedication of undivided conservation
areas in the event said land is to be conveyed. Dedication shall take
the form of a fee-simple ownership. The Town may, but shall not be
required to, accept undivided conservation areas, provided: (a) such
land is accessible to the residents of the Town; (b) there is no cost
of acquisition other than any costs incidental to the transfer of
ownership such as title insurance; and (c) the Town agrees to and
has access to maintain such lands. Where the Town accepts dedication
of common conservation areas that contain improvements, the Town may
require the posting of financial security to ensure structural integrity
of said improvements as well as the functioning of said improvements
for a term not to exceed 18 months from the date of acceptance of
dedication. The amount of financial security shall not exceed 15%
of the actual cost of installation of said improvements.
(2)
Homeowners' association. The undivided conservation areas and associated
facilities may be held in common ownership through a homeowners' association.
The association shall be formed and operated under the following provisions:
(a)
The subdivider shall provide a description of the association,
including its bylaws and methods for maintaining a conservation area
easement.
(b)
The association shall be organized by the subdivider and shall
be operated with a financial subsidy from the subdivider before the
sale of any lots within the development.
(c)
Membership in the association is mandatory for all lot owners
and their successors. The conditions and timing of transferring control
of the association from subdivider to lot owners shall be identified.
(d)
The association shall be responsible for maintenance of insurance
and payment of taxes on undivided conservation area, enforceable by
liens placed by the Town on the association. The association may place
liens on the lots of its members who fail to pay their association
dues in a timely manner. Such liens may provide for the imposition
of penalty interest charges.
(e)
The members of the association shall share equitably the costs
of maintaining and developing such undivided conservation areas. Shares
shall be defined within the association bylaws.
(f)
In the event of a proposed transfer, within the methods here
permitted, of undivided conservation area land by the homeowners'
association or of the assumption of maintenance of undivided conservation
area land by the Town, notice of such action shall be given to all
property owners within the development.
(g)
The association shall have or hire adequate personnel to administer
common facilities and properly and continually maintain undivided
conservation areas.
(h)
The homeowners' association may lease conservation area lands
to any other qualified person or corporation for operation and maintenance
of conservation area lands, but such a lease agreement shall provide:
[1]
That the lot owners of the development shall at all times have
access to the conservation area land contained therein (except croplands
during the growing season);
[2]
That the undivided conservation area to be leased shall be maintained
for the purposes set forth in this chapter; and
[3]
That the operation of conservation area facilities may be for
the benefit of the residents only or may be open to the residents
of the Town, at the election of the developer and/or homeowners' association,
as the case may be.
[4]
The lease shall be subject to the approval of the Town of Vinland
and any transfer or assignment of the lease shall be further subject
to the approval of the Town Board. Lease agreements so entered upon
shall be recorded with the Winnebago County Register of Deeds within
30 days of their execution, and a copy of the recorded lease shall
be filed with the Town.
(i)
Dedication of easements. The Town may, but shall not be required
to, accept easements for public use of any portion or portions of
undivided conservation area land, title of which is to remain in ownership
by condominium or homeowners' association, provided:
[1]
Such land is accessible to Town residents;
[2]
There is no cost of acquisition other than any costs incidental
to the transfer of ownership, such as title insurance; and
[3]
A satisfactory maintenance agreement is reached between the
developer, condominium or homeowners' association and the Town.
(j)
Transfer of easements to a private conservation organization.
With the permission of the Town, an easement may be transferred to
a private, nonprofit organization, among whose purposes it is to conserve
conservation areas and/or natural resources, provided that:
[1]
The organization is acceptable to the Town and is a bona fide
conservation organization with perpetual existence;
[2]
The conveyance contains appropriate provisions for proper reverter
or retransfer in the event that the organization becomes unwilling
or unable to continue carrying out its functions, and a maintenance
agreement acceptable to the Board is entered into by the developer
and the organization.
A.
The ultimate owner of conservation areas (typically a homeowners'
association) shall be responsible for raising all monies required
for operations, maintenance or physical improvements to conservation
areas through annual dues, special assessments, etc. The homeowners'
association shall be authorized under its bylaws to place liens on
the property of residents who fall delinquent in payment of such dues,
assessments, etc.
B.
In the event that the association or any successor organization shall,
at any time after establishment of a development containing an undivided
conservation area, fail to maintain the undivided conservation area
in reasonable order and condition in accordance with the development
plan, the Town may serve written notice upon the owner of record,
setting forth the manner in which the owner of record has failed to
maintain the undivided conservation area in reasonable condition.
C.
Failure to adequately maintain the undivided conservation areas in
reasonable order and condition constitutes a violation of this chapter.
The Town is hereby authorized to give notice, by personal service
or by United States Mail, to the owner or occupant, as the case may
be, of any violation, directing the owner or occupant to remedy the
same within 20 days.
D.
Should any bill or bills for maintenance of undivided conservation
areas by the Town be unpaid by November 1 of each year, a late fee
of 15% shall be added to such bills, and a lien shall be filed against
the premises in the same manner as other municipal claims.
