The purpose of Planned Unit Development regulations is to encourage and allow more creative and imaginative design of land developments than is possible under traditional zoning regulations. Planned Unit Development zoning is intended to allow substantial flexibility in planning and design of a proposed development. This flexibility often occurs in the form of relief from compliance with conventional zoning ordinance and design requirements.
Ideally, this flexibility results in a development that is better planned, contains more amenities and, ultimately, a development that is more desirable to live in than one produced in accordance with typical zoning ordinance and subdivision controls. An intrinsic, and often neglected, premise upon which the approval of a Planned Unit Development must be conditioned, is that while greater density or more lenient siting requirements may be granted, the Planned Unit Development should contain features not normally required in traditional developments.
Planned Unit Development permits the developer to meet overall community density and land use goals without being bound to rigid requirements such as minimum lot standards and use categories.
To enable thorough analysis of a Planned Unit Development, more information is demanded about the proposal than would be required if development were being pursued under conventional zoning requirements. Through proper planning and design, each Planned Unit Development should include features which further, and are in compliance with, the following objectives:
To allow for the design of developments that are architecturally and environmentally innovative and that achieve better utilization of land than is possible through strict application of standard zoning and subdivision controls;
To encourage land development that, to the greatest extent possible, preserves natural vegetation, respects natural topographic and geologic features, and refrains from adversely affecting flooding, soil, drainage and other natural ecologic conditions;
To combine and coordinate architectural styles, building forms, and structural/visual relationships within an environment that allows mixing of different land uses in an innovative and functionally efficient manner;
To provide for abundant, accessible and properly located public open and recreation space, private open and recreation space, schools and other public and private facilities;
To promote the efficient use of land resulting in networks of utilities, streets and other infrastructure features that maximize the allocation of fiscal and natural resources;
To enable land developments to be completely compatible and congruous with adjacent and nearby land developments;
To ensure that development occurs at proper locations, away from environmentally sensitive areas and on land physically suited to construction; and
To allow unique and unusual land uses to be planned for and located in a manner that ensures harmony with the surrounding community.