Item 7A Plan 7March 9, 2005
APPENDIX A
Transition Land Use Categories
Transition 1 (T -1)
Purpose: The purpose of the Transition 1 (T -1) land use category is to provide an alternative
tool to allow for the flexibility and creativity in the development of "transition" sites. The T -1
district is intended to consist of primarily non - residential uses; however, limited residential
development may be appropriate in some cases. The standards and criteria established under this
land use category constitute e� guidelines for the staff, Planning & Zoning Commission,
and City Council to evaluate comprehensive development proposals for specific transition
properties as identified in the city's Land Use Plan. The T -1 transition land use may be utilized
by the developer lieu of the underlying land use category in cases where master planned
developments are proposed.
Definition: This land use category is applied to transition properties that are adjacent to both
commercial land uses or arterial roadways and lower intensity residential uses. These properties
share unique characteristics in that, they have commercial potential due to adjacency to a major
arterial or existing commercial uses, but need to address compatibility issues with adjacent
established neighborhoods. This land use category is intended to allow for creative development
and flexible transition opportunities with a mix of development types. Each individual area
designated for Transition 1 (T -1) land use category will generally range from 15 to 40 acres.
Land Use Mix: The percentages below for the land use mix in the T -1 Transition category are
intended gLnly to be guidelines, and greater flexibility may be appropriate under site specific
conditions.
Land Use Percentage ofAcreage Flexibility Allowed
Retail 30% ±10%
Office
35%
±20%
Residential
15%
±15%
Open space
15%
+15%
Civic use
5%
+10%
Total 100%
Scale and Context Criteria: Scale and context criteria describe intensity, location, and
compatibility criteria for the mix of land uses proposed.
Retail uses
• Retail uses are to be located at a major street intersection or immediately adjacent
to existing retail development along a major arterial.
• Retail uses are to be limited to convenience and neighborhood retail and service
uses such as a drug store, grocery store, laundry, cleaners, etc. developed in
conjunction with the adjoining retail commercial uses.
Southlake 2025 Plan A - 1 South Side Area Plan
Phase 11 Appendix A
March 9, 2005
• Provide safe and easy pedestrian access to the retail from the surrounding
neighborhoods and other adjacent developments.
• The total amount of retail in a specific T -1 category is recommended to be in the
25,000 sq.ft. - 50,000 sq.ft. range.
Office uses
• Office uses are to be located along a major arterial or immediately adjacent to
existing or proposed retail uses.
• Office uses are encouraged to be limited to professional offices that are 1 — 2
stories with footprints between 5,000 — 8,000 square feet. This criterion is
established to limit surface parking and maximize the shared usage of parking
between retail and office uses.
• This land use category is not intended for larger planned office or business parks
and campuses.
Residential uses
• Residential uses in are to be located between the proposed office or retail uses and
existing residential neighborhoods. These uses are intended to provide a lower
intensity transition between existing neighborhoods and commercial uses.
• Residential uses should be well integrated with proposed open space and other
civic uses to create a sense of place.
• They should also be integrated with proposed commercial uses in a manner that
provides internal automobile and pedestrian access to convenience commercial
uses.
• Residential uses are recommended to be to the density and scale that is
appropriate based on the context and character of the proposed overall
development.
Open space
• Consider environmental elements as "features," rather than constraints.
• Emphasis shall be placed on preservation of existing wooded areas and stream
corridors.
• Avoid channeling or piping of streams.
• Streams or creeks should become a focal point rather than the rear of the
development.
• Provide natural walking paths along stream and creek corridors.
• Well designed and integrated open spaces are critical to the creation of successful
mixed -use neighborhoods.
• Open spaces should be designed to add value to proposed development and not as
an "after- thought ". To that end, open spaces should maximize frontage along
residential and office uses. Open spaces shall occupy a prominent place in the
development of a neighborhood and form the center pieces of a community.
• Open spaces are intended to be the "front- yards" and invite passive recreational
activities. Open spaces may be in the form of pocket parks, children's play areas,
squares, linear greens, and conservation areas. Active sports fields and activities
are not recommended in the T -1 land use category.
Southlake 2025 Plan A-2 South Side Area Plan
Phase 11 Appendix A
March 9, 2005
• Use the topography as an advantage, do not flatten the site.
• Preserve views.
• Civic uses such as day- cares, post office, police substation, local government
offices, churches, etc. are encouraged in the T -1 category. Ideally, civic uses
should be located centrally in the development and provide convenient access to
all other uses and activities in the development.
• Civic uses are to be designed to the scale and context of the neighborhood. Uses
are encouraged to be appropriately scaled to the proposed development and
generally limited to a maximum of 10,000 square feet of built area.
Some representative images of land uses in the T -1 Transition land use category are included
below:
Natural open space areas
Professional Office Use
Southlake 2025 Plan A-3 South Side Area Plan
Phase 11 Appendix A
Residential uses
Residential Use
Residential Use
Integrated Open Space
Nei ahborhood scale retail uses
Professional Office Use
Civic Use
March 9, 2005
Overall Character and Design: Given the close proximity of the different land uses permitted
in this land use category, attention to design detail is critical to a successful development in the
T -1 land use category.
• The proposed development is encouraged to establish an overall concept and theme for
the project as a whole.
• Emphasis should be placed on an interconnected street pattern that encourages internal
circulation, both automobile and pedestrian, within the district.
• Development should limit the visual impact of surface parking lots by dividing parking
lots into smaller pods and locating parking to the side and rear of buildings.
• The scale of development should encourage 1 -2 story buildings which are oriented
toward the street, limiting the impact of surface parking lots.
• Street design shall be compatible with the character of the development. Streets are
encouraged to create a safe and inviting walking environment through an interconnected
network of roads with sidewalks, street trees, street furniture, and amenities.
Streetscape
S
i
v a,
k'. H
I
L
Recommended street and streetscape design in the
T -1 Transition Land Use Category.
Southlake 2025 Plan A-4 South Side Area Plan
Phase 11 Appendix A
Encouraged
Discouraged
March 9, 2005
Transition 2 (T -2)
Purpose: The purpose of the Transition 2 (T -2) land use category is to provide an alternative
tool to allow flexibility in the development of smaller "transition" sites. The T -2 district is
intended to consist of primarily residential uses; however, non - residential development may be
appropriate in some cases, particularly near an arterial roadway. The standards and criteria
established under this land use category constitute e� guidelines for the staff, Planning &
Zoning Commission, and City Council to evaluate comprehensive development proposals for
specific properties as identified in the city's Land Use Plan. The T -2 transition land use may be
utilized by the developer lieu of the underlying land use category in cases where master planned
developments are proposed.
Definition: This land use category is applied to smaller transition properties that are adjacent to
both lower intensity commercial land uses and lower intensity residential uses. These properties
share unique characteristics, in that they have limited commercial potential due to adjacency to
existing commercial development but need to address compatibility issues with adjacent
established neighborhoods. T -2 properties may also have significant environmental limitations
such as flood plain or significant grade issues. This land use category is intended to provide
creative infill and flexible transition opportunities with a mix of residential and limited
commercial land uses. Each individual area designated for Transition 2 land use category shall
generally range from 4 to 20 acres.
Land Use Mix: The percentages below for the land use mix in the T -2 Transition category are
intended oo to be guidelines, and greater flexibility may be appropriate under site specific
conditions.
Land Use Percentage ofAcreage Flexibility Allowed
Retail 5% ±5%
Office
10%
±25%
Residential
65%
+25%
Open space
15%
+15%
Civic uses
5%
+10%
Total
100%
Scale and Context Criteria: Scale and context criteria describe intensity, location, and
compatibility criteria for the mix of land uses proposed.
Retail uses
• Retail uses are to be limited convenience corner commercial stores and similar
neighborhood service and scaled retail uses located at a street intersection.
• Such neighborhood serving retail shall be pedestrian oriented and limit its impact
on adjoining neighborhood.
• The total amount of retail uses in a specific T -2 category is recommended to be
less than 10,000 square feet.
Southlake 2025 Plan A-5 South Side Area Plan
Phase 11 Appendix A
March 9, 2005
Office uses
• Office uses are to be located along a major arterial, collector, or immediately
adjacent to existing retail uses.
• Office uses are encouraged to be limited to professional offices that are 1 — 2
stories with footprints between 3,000 — 6,000 square feet. This criterion is
established to limit surface parking and maximize the shared usage of parking
between retail and office uses.
• This land use category is not intended for larger planned office or business parks
and campuses.
Residential uses
• Residential uses are to be located adjacent to proposed office and existing
residential neighborhoods. These uses are intended to provide a lower intensity
transition between existing neighborhoods and non - residential uses.
• Residential uses should be well integrated with proposed open space and other
civic uses to create a sense of place.
• They should also be integrated with proposed commercial uses in a manner that
provides internal automobile and pedestrian access to convenience commercial
uses.
• Residential uses are recommended to be to the density and scale that is
appropriate based on the context and character of the proposed overall
development. As a general rule, density may be off -set by pedestrian oriented
design, streetscape treatments, open space allocation, and other amenities.
Open space
• Well designed and integrated open spaces are critical to the creation of successful
mixed -use neighborhoods.
• Emphasis shall be placed on preservation of existing wooded areas and stream
corridors.
• Avoid channeling or piping of streams.
• Streams or creeks should become a focal point rather than the rear of the
development.
• Provide natural walking paths along stream and creek corridors.
• Open spaces should be designed to add value to proposed development and not as
an "after - thought ". To that end, open spaces should maximize frontage along
residential and office uses. Open spaces shall occupy a prominent place in the
development of a neighborhood and form the center pieces of a community.
Southlake 2025 Plan A-6 South Side Area Plan
Phase 11 Appendix A
March 9, 2005
• Open spaces are intended to be the "front- yards" and invite passive recreational
activities. Open spaces may be in the form of pocket parks, children's play areas,
squares, linear greens, and conservation areas. Active sports fields and activities
are not recommended in the T -2 land use category.
• To the extent possible, open spaces shall be designed to be contiguous with
existing open spaces or provide pedestrian connections to existing trail or
greenway networks.
• Use the topography as an advantage, do not flatten the site.
• Preserve views.
Civic uses
• Smaller scaled civic uses such as day- cares, post office, police substation, local
government offices, churches, etc. may be appropriate in the T -2 category.
Ideally, civic uses should be located centrally in the development and provide
convenient access to all other uses and activities in the development.
• Civic uses are to be designed to the scale and context of the neighborhood and
generally limited to a maximum of 7,000 square feet of built area.
Some representative images of land uses in the T -2 Transition land use category are included
below:
Images of commercial and civic uses in the T -2 Transition Land Use C ategory
Images of natural and designed open spaces in the T -2 Transition Land Use Category
Southlake 2025 Plan A-7 South Side Area Plan
Phase 11 Appendix A
March 9, 2005
r_
'L, � •fir
Images of residential uses in the T -2 Transition Land Use Category
Overall Character and Design: Given the close proximity of the different land uses permitted
in this land use category, attention to design detail is critical to a successful development in the
T -2 land use category.
• The proposed development is encouraged to establish an overall concept and theme for
the project as a whole.
• Emphasis should be placed on an interconnected street pattern that encourages internal
circulation, both automobile and pedestrian, within the district.
• Commercial development should limit the visual impact of surface parking lots by
dividing parking lots into smaller pods and locating parking to the side and rear of
buildings.
• The scale of development should encourage 1 -2 story buildings which are oriented
toward the street, limiting the impact of surface parking lots.
• Street design shall be compatible with the character of the development. Streets are
encouraged to create a safe and inviting walking environment through an interconnected
network of roads with sidewalks, street trees, street furniture, and amenities.
Encouraged
Southlake 2025 Plan
Phase 11
A -8
South Side Area Plan
Appendix A
March 9, 2005
f
PIa Trowel J 5 f Play z
U
f
4
�}
Recommended residential streets and streetscape designs in the T -2 Transition Land Use
Category.
Southlake 2025 Plan A-9 South Side Area Plan
Phase 11 Appendix A
March 9, 2005
Appendix B
Rural Conservation Subdivision (RCS) Land Use Category
The purpose of the Rural Conservation Subdivision Land Use District is to protect and preserve a
portion of Southlake' agricultural /ranching environment and rural character.
Areas to be considered for this designation:
-Areas greater than 20 acres that consist of either:
• large estates
• ranchettes
• equestrian activities,
• agricultural activities.
- Served by rural cross section roadway (bar ditches)
- Natural features, agricultural, grazing or equestrian uses.
Features of the land use district
1) Standard subdivision development at a net density range of up to one -half (0.5) dwelling units
per acre will be allowed.
2) Subdivisions with a contiguous land area of greater than twenty (20) acres may be permitted
to develop smaller lots ( >20,000 sq. ft.) under a cluster option at an overall net density not to
exceed one (1) dwelling units per acre, provided that the following conditions are met:
• Sewer and water service is available.
• For every square foot of land allocated for a residential lot, an equal or greater amount of
open space will need to be dedicated.
• The open space dedicated shall be continuous and shall be protected by a perpetual easement
held by a qualifying party approved by the City.
• The open space will remain in a natural or passive state.
• Clustered lots shall be developed in the least obtrusive location and away from
environmentally sensitive areas such as tree areas, active agricultural activities, or equestrian
activities.
3) Properties designated RCS are eligible for purchase development rights (PDRs) to developers
in area designated.
4) In some cases, SF1 -A zoning may be appropriate for tracts that do not meet the minimum lot
size requirements of the RCS land use category.
Appendix B B -1 Rural Conservation Subdivision
Land Use Category
March 9, 2005
Appendix B -1
Rural Conservation Subdivision - An Introduction
Conventional zoning does little to protect open space or to conserve rural character. The
reason many subdivisions consist of nothing more than houselots and streets is because zoning
and subdivision design standards usually require developers to provide nothing more. While the
zoning ordinance provides detailed standards for lot area, setbacks, density and floor area, the
ordinance does not set any noteworthy standards for the quantity (except for the PUD district),
quality and configuration of open space to be preserved.
Conventional zoning assigns a development designation to every acre of land. The only lands
which are normally not designated for development are wetlands and floodplains. Conventional
zoning has been accurately described as "planned sprawl," because every square foot of each
development parcel is converted to front yards, back yards, streets, sidewalks, or driveways.
Nothing is left over to become open space, in this land - consumptive process.
A local governments interested in limiting the development of all the land area within a city,
now have a practical and effective alternative: conservation subdivision design. This technique
has been successfully implemented by a number of municipalities in New England and the Mid -
Atlantic states, and by several counties in Virginia, Colorado, Washington, and California and is
gaining popularity in the Midwest.
In order to avoid disturbing the equity held by existing landowners of large tracts,
conservation subdivision design allows the same overall amount of development that is already
permitted. The key difference is that this technique requires new construction to be located on
only a portion -- typically half -- of the parcel. The remaining open space is permanently
protected under a conservation easement co- signed by a local conservation commission or land
trust, and recorded in the registry of deeds.
Example:
Lonventtonal NubcLivtsuon I)esig
Conventional Subdivision Design
Appendix B -1
P".l7ample.:
Conservation Subdivision [Design
b
Conservation Subdivision Design
B -1 -1 Rural Conservation Subdivision
An Introduction
1 1
d ♦ j �
r
r
Conventional Subdivision Design
Appendix B -1
P".l7ample.:
Conservation Subdivision [Design
b
Conservation Subdivision Design
B -1 -1 Rural Conservation Subdivision
An Introduction
March 9, 2005
Rural Conservation Subdivision Design
The basic principle of cluster development is to group new homes onto part of the
development parcel, so that the remainder can be preserved as unbuilt open space. The degree to
which this accomplishes a significant saving of land while providing an attractive and
comfortable living environment depends largely on the quality of the zoning regulations and the
expertise of the development designer.
Although the concept of clustering is fairly simple, this "new" form of development has
raised concerns among some residents of rural or suburbanizing areas because it is quite different
from the conventional, standardized subdivision pattern with which most of us are very familiar.
Interestingly, the conventional suburban model, commonplace in many growing communities, is
actually a pattern that is at odds with the otherwise traditional rural landscape. It looks "at home"
only in our sprawling metropolitan post -war suburbs, where it has become the predominant
building pattern.
The Advantages of Rural Conservation Subdivision Design
The conventional approach to development results in the entire parcel being covered with
house -lots and subdivision streets. Communities which have had a lot of experience with this
type of development ultimately realize that, as one parcel after another is eventually developed,
their formerly open landscape evolves into a network of "wall-to -wall" subdivisions.
The beauty of open space zoning is that it is easy to administer, does not penalize the rural
landowner of large tracts, does not take development potential away from the developer, and is
extremely effective in permanently protecting a substantial proportion of the development tract.
It does not require large public expenditures, and allows land owners and others to extract their
rightful equity without seeing their entire land holding bulldozed for complete coverage by
house -lots.
This pattern of down -sized house -lots and preserved open space offers distinct economic
advantages to all parties. Developers can reduce the costs of building roads and water and sewer
lines. Local governments save on periodic road re- surfacing. And home buyers often pay less
because of these cost savings.
Landowners who view their property as their "pension" no longer have to destroy their
woods and fields in order to retire with a guaranteed income, as their equity is not diminished.
Local governments do not have to raise property taxes to finance expensive open space
acquisitions. Developers are not placed under unreasonable constraints, and realtors gain a
special marketing tool, in that views from the new houses will be guaranteed by conservation
easements protecting the open space from future development.
Appendix B -I B -1 -2 Rural Conservation Subdivision
An Introduction
March 9, 2005
Questions About Rural Conservation Subdivision Development:
Will It Harmonize With Its Surroundings? A concern that is often heard is that cluster
housing will not blend in with an areas rural character or established neighborhoods because
the lots will be less than an acre in size. However, it is contended that a well designed cluster
development that is well integrated with its surrounding does more to enhance the rural
environment than a standard 1 acre subdivision. Also, the open space can be designed in a
manner that it abuts existing established residential neighborhoods or lots.
Property Values? The related issue of "impact upon surrounding property values" is also
often raised. As mentioned above, along any part of the parcel perimeter where cluster lots
would adjoin standard -sized lots or existing neighborhoods, permanently protected open
space would be required. Lots abutting permanent open space almost always enjoy higher
property values. Also, most realtors would attest to the fact that all lots within a well -
designed cluster development usually gain enhanced value as a result of the protected open
space.
How will it work?
Create a Purchase Development Rights (PDR) program as a voluntary open -space protection
technique that compensates a landowner from limiting future development on the land. Consider
allowing developers developing under the EC district to use purchase development rights from
areas designated Rural Conservation Subdivision and apply the rights to the EC -1 district (in the
S.H. 114 Corridor).
Southlake is one of the fasting growing cities in the Metroplex and as a result much of its
rural character is disappearing rapidly. Many rapidly growing cities throughout the United States
utilize a PDR program to allow property owners to protect in perpetuity, critical natural and
environmental resources.
A landowner's development rights include the right to subdivide and develop the property.
Often compared to mineral rights, development rights can be separated from a land owner's
property. Under a PDR program, a land owner voluntarily sells the right to develop a parcel of
land to a public agency interested in natural resource conservation. The development value is
determined by subtracting the value of the land as restricted from its value on the open market.
While a conservation easement is placed on the land and recorded in title, the land remains in
private ownership, and the land owner still retains all other rights and responsibilities associated
with being a property owner, including the right to prevent trespass and the right to sell the
property. PDR programs have been used by local and state governments since the mid 1970's,
and at least twenty states have implemented the program. The Texas Parks and Wildlife
Department is promoting PDR, and the largest private conservation organization in the United
States, the American Farmland Trust (AFT), opened a Texas field office in Texas in 1999.
Private conservation organizations like AFT have already begun purchasing development rights
in Texas using private funding.
Appendix B -1 B-1-3 Rural Conservation Subdivision
An Introduction