Development Options Development Options Drive Ordinance Flexibility Elmwood's newly proposed zoning ordinance is designed to encourage the retention of important agricultural land, preserve crucial environmental features and rural character, and to allow for residential development in rural areas. The ordinance accomplishes this by setting a basic minimum lot size in the township's dominant Agricultural Low Density and Rural residential zoning districts at 1 unit per 5 acres, a value determined to represent the minimum land area appropriate for agricultural use, and then to provide residential development options that offer higher densities to projects that adhere to open space guidelines and careful design. While allowed densities increase in open space development, lot sizes generally decrease. As always, property owners may divide their property by metes and bounds splits creating the minimum 5 acre parcels as long as they meet the requirements of the township's land division ordinance and meet the required road frontage etc. Open Space Options Open space development options comply with state requirements to offer developers the opportunity to create developments that preserve valuable open space. The options presented in Elmwood's ordinance allows property owners that set aside at least 50% of the buildable land in their development to open space, to reduce the lot size in the remaining portion to accommodate the number of residential units otherwise permitted on the property. Property owners willing to work more closely with the township to design developments that more specifically meet standards described in the ordinance can receive additional density bonuses. The Ordinance's "Open Space Preservation" development option specifies that when at least 50% of the buildable land is perpetually designated as open space, the remaining 50% can be used to accommodate the number of residential units that under normal circumstances could be built on the property as a whole. Furthermore, under the "Clustered Residential" option, the property owner would receive additional density as a bonus when additional open space was provided (55, 60, and 65%) or as additional design features were implemented or amenities provided. Density bonuses of up to 100% could be awarded using this option. The "Clustered Residential" option is available for developments being planned in the township's "Agricultural Rural" district, the "Low Density Residential" district, the "Medium Density" district, the "High Density Residential" district, and the "Rural Resort" district; while the "Open Space Preservation" option is available in the Agricultural Rural" district only. A limited number of family sized lots will be allowed to holders of large, farm sized properties on a sliding scale based on the size of the parent property. This feature is included to provide flexibility to those that wish to provide for family members or simply to raise funds via land sales. Overall densities remain very low, and the lots created are relatively small. Land currently zoned Agricultural in Elmwood can be divided into lots with a minimum size of 5 acres. The provisions of the new ordinance offer land owners more density, when development is carefully planned and when configured in ways that benefit the community. Other residential districts have been configured to bring large areas of the township into compliance with provisions of the master plan, to respect the plan's standard allowing no residential densities greater than 1 unit for every 5 acres where public services are not available, and to encourage the creation of viable neighborhoods where those services do exist. The standards laid out in the proposed ordinance maintain the current minimum lot size at the status quo of 1 unit per 5 acres in both the Agricultural and Rural Low Density zoning districts. What has been brought under control relative to the rejected 2003 ordinance, is that code's apparent easy to achiever 1 unit per acre Ag development density. It was that standard more than any other that symbolized the community's concern that suburban-style cookie cutter developments were coming to Elmwood with the adoption of that ordinance. Today's ordinance sets the standard for responsible rural development that will benefit everyone in Elmwood.