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Ord. 0741-02A 03-24-03ORDINANCE NO. 741-2A AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PEARLAND, TEXAS, AMENDING CHAPTER 27, SUBDIVISIONS, OF THE CITY OF PEARLAND CODE OF ORDINANCES, AS IT MAY HAVE BEEN, FROM TIME TO TIME, AMENDED, TO DELETE SECTION 27-11, ENTITLED PARKLAND DEDICATION, IN ITS ENTIRETY, AND TO ADD CHAPTER 21'/Z, TO BE ENTITLED PARKLAND DEDICATION, FOR THE PURPOSE OF ESTABLISHING UPDATED GUIDELINES FOR THE DEDICATION OF PARKLAND BY RESIDENTIAL SUBDIVIDERS; HAVING A SAVINGS CLAUSE, A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, AND A REPEALER CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR CODIFICATION AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, the availability of sufficient parks and other recreational facilities is crucial to maintaining Pearland's high quality of life; and WHEREAS, as more residential subdivisions are built bringing to Pearland more users of park facilities, it is important to establish new parks so that existing facilities are not overcrowded; and WHEREAS, residential subdividers should share the burden of providing new park and recreation facilities to offset the additional use of park facilities that their subdivisions create; now, therefore, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PEARLAND, TEXAS: Section 1. That Chapter 27, Subdivisions, of the City of Pearland Code of Ordinances, is hereby amended to DELETE Section 27-11, entitled "Parkland Dedication," in its entirety. Section 2. That Chapter 211 , to be entitled Parkland Dedication is hereby ADDED to the Pearland Code of Ordinances to read as follows: "Chapter 211/2 PARKLAND DEDICATION ORDINANCE NO. 741-2 Section 21'/2-1. Park Master Plan. The City Council shall, every five (5) years or more frequently as the City Council shall deem necessary, adopt a Park Master Plan for the City of Pearland. The Park Master Plan shall show existing and proposed city parks and park facilities. The Park Master Plan shall divide the City of Pearland into park zones, the number and boundaries of which shall be recommended by the City's Park Board. Sec.21'/2-2. Definitions. (a) Dwelling unit shall mean any structure or building or portion thereof designed or used primarily for habitation by one family. (b) Family shall mean an individual, any number of persons related by blood or marriage, or not more than four unrelated persons living as a single housekeeping unit. Sec. 211/2-3. Donation prerequisite to final subdivision plat approval. No final subdivision plat for any property zoned R-E, R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4, MF, MH, or PUD, in the city shall be approved unless the owner of the property shall have made a park donation pursuant to this chapter. Sec. 211/2-4. Methods of park donation. The proper method of park donation for a subdivision subject to the park donation requirement shall be determined by the city prior to the approval of the final subdivision plat and shall be based upon the size of the subdivision as follows: (a) 500 dwelling units or more. The final plat of any subdivision subject to this chapter that establishes five hundred (500) or more dwelling units shall include dedication of land to the city for neighborhood park purposes. Such dedication shall be at the rate of one acre of land per each 100 dwelling units on the plat. (b) 100 to 499 dwelling units. For subdivisions establishing one hundred (100) to four hundred and ninety-nine (499) dwelling units, the City Council, in consultation with the City's Park Board, shall have the sole and final discretion to accept either a dedication of land on the final plat at the above rate, or to require payment of cash in lieu thereof in the amount provided in Section 21%-110. (c) Fewer than 100 dwelling units. The city declares that development of a park of less than one acre is impractical and creates unreasonable and unnecessary maintenance and operating expenditures. Therefore, if the proposed subdivision contains fewer than 100 units, the subdivider shall be required to pay cash in lieu thereof in the amount provided herein. No plat showing a dedication of Tess than 2 ORDINANCE NO. 741-2 one acre shall be approved unless the dedicated property may reasonably be developed in conjunction with adjacent park property. Sec. 21'/Z-5. Alternate methods of donation at subdivider's request. Any subdivider may submit written request to the City Council, who shall have the sole and final discretion to approve or deny such requests, to satisfy the park donation requirement, in whole or in part, by one or both of the methods below in lieu of the dedication of parkland. (a) Payment of a cash donation. (b) Construction of improvements to existing public neighborhood park sites located within the same park zone as the subdivision fulfilling the park donation requirement, subject to the following conditions: (1) Such improvements shall be constructed in accordance with a site plan. The site plan will include at a minimum a topographic element including proposed grading, landscaping and beautification elements, site facilities, recreational facilities, and existing and proposed utilities. The site plan shall be drawn at a scale of one inch to 20 feet (or other suitable scale). All approved improvements shall be designed in compliance with the Design Manual for Public Works/Utilities applicable to such improvements. Additionally, the subdivider shall include details related to materials, equipment, methods of construction, warranties, assurances, and indemnifications. All proposed improvements shall be subject to the approval of the City's Parks Director. (2) The site plan must be approved by the City's Parks Director prior to the filing of the final plat. (3) Improvements proposed in the site plan may include one or more of the following neighborhood park improvements. Any improvements proposed by the subdivider, but not included in this list, and/or any improvements which are deemed unnecessary at the site, may be rejected by the city. In addition, the City's Parks Director may approve the provision of any improvement not shown on this list if such improvement is in compliance with the findings and recommendations of the park master plan. (A) Playgrounds (provisions for handicap access and use must be made). (B) Practice athletic fields. 3 ORDINANCE NO. 741-2 (C) Volleyball courts. (D) Basketball courts. (E) Tennis courts. (F) Multipurpose trails and walkways. (G) Benches and picnic tables. (4) All improvements constructed pursuant to this section are subject to final acceptance by the City's Parks Director. If any or all of the improvements are deemed unacceptable, the subdivider shall make up that portion of the park donation requirement that would have been satisfied by the unacceptable improvements by payment of a cash donation prior to the final acceptance of the subdivision by the city. Sec. 21'/2-6. Approval of parkland proposed to be dedicated. (a) Parkland that is proposed to be dedicated to the city to fulfill the park donation requirement must be approved by the City's Parks Director. If the City's Parks Director determines that the subdivision fulfilling the park donation requirement is located in a park zone that already has sufficient neighborhood parkland in the public domain, or that the land proposed to be dedicated is not suitable for the city's park needs, the city shall have the right, in its sole and final discretion, to refuse the dedication of land and require payment of cash in lieu thereof at the rate set out in Section 21 V2-107 (a) and in the amount provided in Section 21' - 110, or to require a combination of land and cash in lieu of land in appropriate amounts as provided herein. (b) No parkland shall be accepted to satisfy the park donation requirement unless it meets the following criteria: (1) The parkland shall be located in the same park zone as the subdivision fulfilling the park donation requirement. (2) The parkland shall be clearly visible to public safety vehicles and the neighborhood residents. (3) Pedestrian and vehicular access to the parkland shall be available from one or more public streets. Street frontage shall be required to ensure public access to the parkland. (4) The parkland shall be of suitable width, depth, topography and size to 4 ORDINANCE NO. 741-2 (5) permit the development and/or construction of facilities listed herein and as described in the park system master plan. This requirement may vary from subdivision to subdivision depending upon the specific need being served by the dedication. Potable water, sanitary sewer, and electric power shall be readily available to the parkland from an adjacent street right-of-way or public utility easement. (6) The parkland shall be free of easements, pipelines, overhead utilities, and other conditions which prohibit the effective use of the property as a neighborhood park. (7) The subdivider shall remove all dead trees, trash, refuse, and waste materials from the dedicated parkland prior to its acceptance. (8) The parkland shall have adequate drainage as determined by the city engineer, who shall review all construction plans for any detention or retention proposed to be built on the property. (c) Parkland proposed to be dedicated to the city to satisfy the park donation requirement that is located in the floodway as determined by the city engineer, may only be accepted by the City's Parks Director if (1) it is adjacent to parkland not located in the floodway that is also being dedicated and does not constitute more than 50% of the entire tract of parkland being dedicated for park donation, and (2) it is credited toward the park donation requirement at the discounted rate of three acres per 100 dwelling units. (d) The city council may consider and approve for dedication any area which does not meet the standards of this section if it determines that the acceptance of such dedication would be in the best interest of the public. Sec. 211/4-7. Calculation of cash donation. If the park donation requirement is to be satisfied by payment of cash, the amount of such cash payment shall be calculated as provided herein. The council shall, after reasonable study and investigation, and based upon the best available information as to land and property values within the community, determine what the cost would be of acquiring one acre of vacant land in a developing area of the community. This figure divided by one hundred shall be the park fee per dwelling unit, and it shall be established by ordinance and adjusted at the discretion of the City Council. The 5 ORDINANCE NO. 741-2 amount of cash donation required for a development or portion thereof shall be calculated by multiplying the number of dwelling units in the subdivision or portion thereof by the park fee per dwelling unit. Sec. 21'/2-8. Deadline for park donation. (a) If the park donation requirement is to be satisfied by the dedication of approved parkland, such dedication must appear on the final plat of the subdivision sought to be approved prior to that plat's approval and be substantially in the form of "Dedicated to the City of Pearland for use as a public park." (b) If the park donation requirement is to be satisfied by payment of a cash donation, such payment shall be calculated and made prior to the approval of the final plat for the subdivision. (c) After the park donation requirement is satisfied by the dedication of parkland or the payment of a cash donation, if such donation is later rendered insufficient for the subdivision because the number of dwelling units established by the subdivision is greater than the number of dwelling units reflected on the final plat of the subdivision, the subdivider shall be obligated to correct the unsufficiency by payment of a cash donation to cover the increased number of dwelling units. Such cash donation shall be paid prior to the issuance of certificates of occupancy for the additional dwelling units. (d) If the park donation requirement is to be satisfied by the construction of park site improvements, said improvements must be finally accepted by the city prior to the final acceptance of the subdivision by the city. Sec. 211/2-9. Application to replats. If a replat is filed that increases the number of dwelling units from the previous plat, the park donation requirement shall apply to the additional dwelling units. Sec. 21'/2-10. Expenditure of collected funds. (a) Special fund. There is hereby established a special fund for the deposit of all sums paid in lieu of parkland dedication under this article. This fund shall be known as the parkland dedication fund. Monies may be expended from this fund only for the purchase, lease or other acquisition of parkland and open space; the improvement, preparation and maintenance of such areas and sites; the installation of utilities to such sites; the construction of landscaping, play equipment or recreational improvements on such sites; or attendant engineering and planning costs associated with such park activities. Monies placed in this fund may not be utilized for any other general business activity of the city. All 6 ORDINANCE NO. 741-2 expenditures from this fund shall be made in accordance with the city's Park Master Plan and shall be approved by the City Council. (b) Right to refund. The city shall account for all sums paid in lieu of parkland dedication under this article with reference to the individual plats involved. Any funds paid for such purposes must be expended by the city within ten years from the date received by the city for acquisition and/or development of city parks. Such funds shall be considered to be spent on a first in, first out basis. If not so expended, the subdivider or the owner of the subdivision on the last day of such period shall be entitled to a pro rata refund of such sum, computed on a square footage or area basis. The owners of such property must request such refund within one year of entitlement, in writing, or such right shall be forfeited. (c) Geographic limits of use of funds. All funds accumulated through the payment of cash in lieu of parkland dedication shall be identified as being attributable to the park zone where the subdivision is located, and shall be so designated in the parkland dedication fund. All expenditures from the parkland dedication fund shall be expended only for land or improvements within the zone from which received, unless the city council determines that existing conditions preclude the effective acquisition or development of parkland or recreation facilities, such as a lack of undeveloped sites, in which case the funds collected from one zone may be expended in a contiguous zone. In no case shall the funds be expended at distance greater than two miles from the boundary of the zone from which the funds were collected. (d) Contributions by individual organizations. Any individual organization or entity desiring to make a contribution to the park and recreation system of the city may contribute funds to be placed in this account. Once funds have been placed in this specific account, they can only be expended as provided in this section." Section 3. Savings. All rights and remedies which have accrued in favor of the City under this Ordinance and amendments thereto shall be and are preserved for the benefit of the City. Section 4. Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this Ordinance is for any reason held invalid, unconstitutional or otherwise unenforceable by any court of competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed a 7 ORDINANCE NO. 741-2 separate, distinct, and independent provision and such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions thereof. Section 5. Repealer. All ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby repealed but only to the extent of such conflict. Section 6. Codification. It is the intent of the City Council of the City of Pearland, Texas, that the provisions of this Ordinance shall be codified in the City's official Code of Ordinances as provided hereinabove. Section 7. Effective Date. The City Secretary shall cause this Ordinance, or its caption, to be published in the official newspaper of the City of Pearland, upon passage of such Ordinance. The Ordinance shall then become effective ten (10) days from and after its publication, or the publication of its caption, in the official City newspaper. PASSED and APPROVED ON FIRST READING this the 10th day of ATTEST: March , A. D., 2003. 8 TOM REID MAYOR ORDINANCE NO. 741-2 PASSED and APPROVED ON SECOND AND FINAL READING this the 24th day of March , A. D., 2003. ATTEST: Yo NG Y SE' ' ETAR APPROVED AS TO FORM: DARRIN M. COKER CITY ATTORNEY 9 c------,-3044)'p -- TOM REID MAYOR EXHIBIT "A" CITY OF PEARLAND PARKLAND DEDICATION FEE $350.00 PER DWELLING UNIT 10