§ 16.32.030. Park land dedication or cash in-lieu thereof.
A.
Land Dedication Standards.
1.
Parks, open space, and trails shall be dedicated to the Town in conformance to the requirements herein and the adopted standards of the Town of Monument Parks, Trails, and Open Space Master Plan, as may be updated from time to time. Any land to be dedicated as a requirement of this chapter shall be dedicated at the time of subdivision recordation and improved by the subdivider per the timetable specified at time of subdivision approval for use as park, open space, and/or trails. Land dedication shall be made to the Town by the subdivision plat for use as park, open space, and/or trails unless another method of dedication or conveyance is specifically approved. The Town may grant 100 percent credit toward the requirements herein for the dedication of parks, open space, and/or trails to a metropolitan or special district or other entity, provided that the park(s), and trail(s), shall be open for use by the public for the life of the subdivision, and the Town has determined that the entity has adequate funding and the ability to maintain the same. Land dedication shall include the real property together with all tributary, nontributary, and not nontributary water rights owned by the subdivider as a consequence of ownership of the dedicated property, well rights, ditches and ditch rights appurtenant to the property, mineral rights and all improvements thereon.
2.
The Board of Trustees, in consideration of the recommendations of the Planning Commission, will determine the suitability of the land and improvements proposed for dedication in providing for the intended purpose of the dedication, in accordance with the standards and criteria set forth in this chapter and the Parks, Trails and Open Space Master Plan. If the Board, in its sole discretion, determines that such land is not suitable for dedication, or that the public interest would be better served by requiring cash in-lieu of such dedicated lands, the subdivider shall be required to provide cash in-lieu of such dedicated lands pursuant to the provisions of Subsection C. of this section. Further, nothing contained herein shall be construed to prevent the Board from requiring that part of the park land dedication requirement be made in the form of dedicated land, and that part of such requirement be made in the form of cash in-lieu of the remaining requirements for such land.
3.
Dedication of land for park, open space, trail and/or other public purposes shall be based upon the following subdivision category standards:
B.
Park Requirements.
1.
Commercial/Industrial Use. The standard for park dedication shall be 0.05 acres for each gross acre of commercial/industrial use land. Such land shall be developed for active and/or passive recreational use by employees or patrons of the development such as picnic areas, plazas or pavilions and shall not include detention ponds unless the pond is specifically improved for recreational and/or open space use. Areas which satisfy the minimum landscape requirements of the development shall not be counted as open space.
2.
Residential Use. The park standard for dedication shall be five acres per one thousand (1,000) projected population in conformance with the Town of Monument Parks, Trails, and Open Space Master Plan. The projected population shall be based upon the average of the population yield per dwelling unit of all types of residential dwelling units. Based upon the US Census Count, the average yield is 2.69 persons per dwelling unit. Parks should, if feasible, be located adjacent to schools and conform to the Service Area/Location Criteria in the Town of Monument Parks, Trails, and Open Space Master Plan.
3.
Factors to be used in evaluating the adequacy of proposed park areas shall include, but are not limited to, the suitability of the land for active and passive recreational facilities, based on size, shape, topography, soils and geology, vegetation, access, location, and the needs of the population to be served. No such park land dedication for the satisfaction of the minimum acreage of five acres per thousand (1,000) population shall be located within the 100-year flood plain boundary, wetlands, or Prebles Meadow Jumping Mouse Habitat, unless this requirement is expressly waived by the Board of Trustees. Any park land to be dedicated that is located within a detention pond must be specifically designed to function as recreational, open space, or trail use under normal environmental conditions.
C.
Trail Requirements. Trails shall be dedicated as needed to serve the recreational and transportation needs of the subdivision in conformance with the Parks, Trails, and Open Space Master Plan, and shall provide links to schools, the local and regional trail system, parks and open space areas, commercial and employment areas, public transit, community facilities such as libraries, and other destinations. Trails should be provided adjacent to or within natural and scenic areas and open space areas when possible, in a manner that provides a recreational corridor without degrading the natural or scenic resource. Safe routes shall be provided within the development to schools, parks, recreational and fitness centers, employment areas, public transit and links to other local and regional trails, sidewalks, and bike lanes for multi-modal commuting. Trails must be dedicated in corridors suitable for trail development, and shall generally be outside 100-year floodplains, wetlands, and/or Prebles Meadow Jumping Mouse Habitat, unless written documentation is provided from the appropriate authority, such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, that a trail may be developed in such an area. Trails must be provided for the transportation and recreational needs of residents and serve a different function than parks, and are therefore, not credited toward the minimum park dedication requirements.
D.
Open Space Requirements. Open space shall be dedicated by subdivisions as necessary to preserve significant natural areas such as buttes, bluffs, and other geologic formations, water bodies/resources, wildlife habitat areas, fragile ecosystems (wetlands) riparian areas, floodplains, native trees and shrubs and/or other significant native vegetation. Open space shall also be dedicated as necessary to preserve lands which preserve significant views, provide transitions between different densities and uses (buffers) and otherwise serve to give shape and form to the proposed development and surrounding community. Open space dedications may include land within the 100-year flood plain boundary, wetlands, detention areas, and/or Prebles Meadow Jumping Mouse Habitat, and other undevelopable areas such as steep slopes, rock outcroppings, etc. Open space dedications shall not be counted toward the minimum active park land dedication requirements of this chapter as the function of open space is as outlined above. Park land is dedicated to provide for the recreational needs of the community. Factors to be used in evaluating the need for open space dedications shall include the preservation of significant natural features and resources in a development such as wildlife habitat, native vegetation and especially trees and shrubs, and scenic features such as rock formations and view corridors while allowing reasonable development of the land. Public access is not required for open space dedications. Land dedicated for open space shall be maintained by a metropolitan or special district or other entity approved by the Board of Trustees, and shall not be maintained by the Town unless the Board of Trustees specifically approves the maintenance of an open space area.
E.
Maintenance Provisions. Provisions for adequate maintenance for parks, open space, and trails must be made at the time of dedication. The subdivision plat or other dedication instrument shall indicate the entity that will own and be responsible for maintenance. Except for exceptional circumstances, maintenance must be performed by a metropolitan district or special district.
F.
Fees In-lieu of Park Land. In the rare event when the dedication of required park, open space, and trail lands is not deemed suitable or not in the public interest within the development, generally due to the small size or number of units in the development, the Board of Trustees shall require the subdivider, in-lieu thereof, to pay the Town a fee-in-lieu-of land based on the amount of required land dedication as calculated in Section B above, and pro-rated using the average value of land in the Town at a rate of $83,160 per acre, plus the cost per acre of constructing the improvements for that type of facility. Such fee may be updated from time to time to reflect current market land values and costs of the improvements, and said value of land per acre shall be adopted by Resolution and included in the Town's fee schedule. Alternatively, the developer may develop an off-site facility or contribute to improve an off-site facility if said facility conforms to the adopted standards in the Parks, Trails, and Open Space Master Plan.
G.
Park Fee Fund. A fund shall be established for use in providing for the acquisition of park lands by the Town. Fees collected shall be deposited within the park fee fund and shall be used solely to finance the acquisition of park lands which will reasonably serve the needs of the Town. Interest earned on park fees and/or development thereof shall remain within the park fee fund and shall be used solely for the purposes set forth in this chapter; provided, however, that such earned interest may be used by the Town to provide for necessary and required minimum levels of annual maintenance of the properties until their development as parks.
(Ord. No. 13-2011, 6-6-2011)