§ 28-4-8. Planned Unit Development (PUD).

(a)

Authority. this Section is adopted pursuant to the provisions of RSA 674:21, Innovative Land Use Controls. The Planning Board is designated as the administrative agency for the application, review, and approval process for PUDs.

(b)

Purposes. It is the purpose of these PUD regulations to permit greater flexibility and more creative design for the development of residential areas than is generally possible under conventional zoning regulations. It is the intent of these regulations to promote the efficient use of land while providing for a harmonious variety of housing types, choice in tenure, a higher level of amenities, the preservation of the natural and scenic qualities of open space, and compatibility with adjacent uses of land.

(c)

Application, Review, and Administrative Processes. The application, review, and administrative processes for a PUD shall be in accordance with Section 28-9-4, Site Plan Review, of this ordinance, and as specified in the Site Plan Review Regulations adopted by the Planning Board. The requirements of the Site Plan Review Regulations shall be augmented by the provisions and standards of this Section. To the extent that lots are proposed to be created or a condominium or cooperative established as part of the PUD application, an approval pursuant to the Subdivision Regulations will also be required.

(d)

Permitted Uses. On a tract proposed for a PUD, any pre-existing use that does not conform to the uses permitted in this Section shall not be part of a PUD, and must be discontinued or relocated to another tract. The following are the principal and accessory uses permitted within a PUD:

(1)

Principal Uses. The only principal uses that are permitted in a PUD are single-family detached dwellings, two-family dwellings, attached dwellings, multifamily dwelling units for the elderly including congregate dwelling units, and assisted living residences. All PUDs must contain at least two (2) of these types of principal residential uses. Each type of principal residential use that is proposed within a PUD shall comprise not less than twenty (20) percent of the total number of units in the PUD.

(2)

Uses Accessory to a Principal Residential Use. The following accessory uses are the only accessory uses permitted in conjunction with a principal residential use within a PUD:

a.

Garages, carports, and parking spaces; and

b.

A minor home occupation.

(3)

Uses Accessory to the PUD. The following accessory uses are permitted, subject to Planning Board approval, only as common facilities for the use and benefit of residents of the PUD:

a.

Outdoor recreational facilities including, but not limited to, tennis courts, golf courses, swimming pools, basketball courts, playgrounds, beaches, docks, and trails;

b.

Indoor recreational facilities including, but not limited to, a swimming pool, fitness center, clubhouse, cabana, spa, and tennis courts;

c.

Indoor support facilities including, but not limited to, meeting rooms, management offices, child care facilities, and greenhouses;

d.

A nursing home in a PUD that is a retirement community which is comprised solely of principal residential uses limited to occupancy by elderly persons;

e.

Storage facilities for PUD maintenance equipment;

f.

A common outdoor storage area for boats, recreational vehicles, and camping trailers owned by individual residents of the PUD;

g.

Community gardens; and

h.

Signs in accordance with Article 28-6, Sign Regulations, of this ordinance.

(e)

Development Standards.

(1)

Minimum Tract Requirements and Design Standards for a PUD. A tract of land proposed for use as a PUD shall have frontage in compliance with the standards for minimum lot frontage, and shall be developed in accordance with the standards for maximum lot coverage, as specified in Section 28-4-1(h), Table of Dimensional Regulations, of this ordinance for the respective districts in which PUDs are permitted. The minimum tract size and maximum development density for PUDs shall be as specified hereinafter:

Base District	Minimum Tract Size (acres)	Maximum Density (units/acre ofbuildable land)
RM	10	5
RN	2	8
RH	4	10

 

(2)

Building Dimensions and Separation. No buildings shall have a horizontal dimension, whether length or width, in excess of one hundred sixty (160) feet, and all buildings shall comply with the maximum height as specified in Section 28-4-1(h), Table of Dimensional Regulations, of this ordinance for the respective districts in which PUDs are permitted. There shall be a minimum of forty (40) feet of separation between all buildings.

(3)

Standards for Lots for Single-Family Detached Dwellings. Lots may be established for single-family detached dwellings in a PUD, in which case, said lots shall conform to the minimum requirements for lots for the respective districts as specified in Section 28-4-4, Cluster Development, of this ordinance.

(4)

Private Yards Required. Except where lots are created for single-family detached dwellings, each dwelling unit with direct outside access at the ground level shall have available a private yard or open space of at least three hundred (300) square feet dedicated to the exclusive use of the residents of said unit. The private yard space may contain patios, decks, fences, landscaping, gardens, and other outdoor facilities.

(f)

Perimeter Buffer Required. In order that adjacent land uses be visually and physically separated, a buffer area along the perimeter of a PUD tract shall be observed, and no buildings or parking facilities may be located within this buffer. The minimum width of the buffer shall be thirty (30) feet for one-story residential structures, fifty (50) feet for two-story residential structures, and seventy-five (75) feet for residential structures of three (3) stories or more. The Planning Board may permit streets and utilities to cross through the buffer, and may allow certain outdoor recreational facilities within the buffer, provided that such improvements are compatible with adjacent land uses and do not diminish the purpose of the buffer. The buffer shall incorporate existing natural features of the tract to the greatest extent possible. Existing vegetation including significant large trees shall be preserved, and the Planning Board may require landscape materials to be integrated with the existing vegetation in order to provide effective screening on a year-round basis between the PUD and adjacent land uses.

(g)

Open Space Standards.

(1)

Common Open Space. All land not utilized for structures, parking, driveways or roadways, and not otherwise dedicated to private yards, shall be preserved as common open space. Common open space shall include perimeter buffers as well as areas internal to the PUD such that all units are adjacent to some of the common open space. Common open space shall incorporate natural features of the parcel including shorelines, surface waters, wetlands, floodplains, steep slopes, and other environmentally sensitive areas. Existing vegetation including significant large trees shall be preserved, and landscape materials shall be integrated with natural features and existing vegetation in such a manner to enhance the perimeter buffer as well as to screen dwelling units from parking lots and service areas within the PUD.

(2)

Protection of Common Open Space. Provision shall be made to ensure that the common open space is permanently restricted as such. Covenants, easements, or other legal instruments providing for the permanent protection of the common open space shall be submitted to the Planning Board for review and approval. The legal instruments shall be recorded at the Merrimack County Registry of Deeds as a condition of approval of the PUD application.

(3)

Permitted Uses of Common Open Space. The Planning Board may permit the following uses of the common open space:

a.

Outdoor recreational facilities, provided that no more than ten (10) percent of the common open space be devoted to outdoor recreational facilities with impervious surfaces such as tennis courts, swimming pools, and basketball courts; and

b.

Community gardens.

(h)

Accessory Facilities. A PUD application shall include a narrative description and schedule of development for proposed accessory facilities. Such facilities shall be suitable for the scale of the development, its market orientation, and the needs of the anticipated residents of the PUD.

(i)

Utility Service Requirements. All PUDs shall be served by municipal water and sewer services. All nonmunicipal utilities, both those existing on the tract and those proposed to serve a PUD, shall be placed underground. Such utilities include but are not limited to electricity, telephone, gas, cable television, and fiber optic cable.

(j)

Ownership and Maintenance.

(1)

Roads, Utilities, and Other Accessory Facilities. The ownership and maintenance of private roads, utilities, parking facilities, and recreational and other accessory facilities shall be assigned to an ownership interest such as an association of condominium owners or cooperative shareholders, or as otherwise approved by the Planning Board.

(2)

Common Open Space.

a.

If there is a subdivision of the tract such that common open space lots are to be created, such common open space lots may be conveyed subject to covenants, restrictions, and a maintenance agreement, to a governmental entity or to a private land trust, as approved by the Planning Board.

b.

Where there is no subdivision of the tract into lots, the ownership and maintenance of the common open space shall be assigned to an ownership interest such as an association of condominium owners or cooperative shareholders, or as otherwise approved by the Planning Board.

c.

Where lots are created for single-family detached dwellings, such lots shall be conveyed with a proportionate, undivided interest-in-common in the common open space. Maintenance responsibilities for such common open space shall be borne by an association of owners within the PUD.

(k)

Parking Requirements. The parking requirements for a PUD shall be as specified in Article 28-7, Access, Circulation, Parking, and Loading Requirements, of this ordinance, except that additional parking spaces shall be provided in conjunction with accessory facilities for the common use and benefit of the PUD residents. Parking spaces shall be provided on the basis of one space for every five (5) dwelling units that are more than five hundred (500) feet distant from an accessory facility. In addition, where a nursing home is included in a PUD that is a retirement community, one-half (0.5) space shall be provided for each licensed occupant of the nursing home. Parking spaces for accessory facilities shall be located immediately adjacent to the accessory facility and shall be counted in the calculation of lot coverage.

(l)

Architectural Design. Architectural elevations of all buildings proposed within a PUD shall be submitted for review and approval by the Planning Board pursuant to Section 28-9-4(f), Architectural Design Review, of this ordinance, except where single-family dwellings are located on individual lots and are physically separated from other types of dwellings, said single family shall be exempt from this requirement. The architectural design of buildings within a PUD should recognize and respect the architectural character of existing adjacent structures in terms of scale and proportion. The review by the Planning Board will be conducted with attention to proposed architectural features, details, massing, materials, and colors of structures within the PUD, and the Board may require modification of designs and may impose conditions in granting approval.

(m)

Phasing of a PUD. An applicant may propose a phasing plan subject to the approval of the Planning Board. The Board shall impose conditions upon such a phasing plan including the duration of each phase and total number of phases. All phasing plans shall be subject to the following provisions:

(1)

The open space covenants or easements for the entire PUD shall be recorded at the Merrimack County Registry of Deeds and become effective at the time of recording of the approved plan of the first phase of the PUD;

(2)

Accessory facilities shall be completed in the same phase as the dwelling units intended to be served by the accessory facilities, except that all accessory facilities shall be completed at such time as fifty (50) percent of the dwelling units in the entire PUD are complete; and

(3)

The mix of principal residential uses by phase shall be such that any one type of the proposed principal residential uses comprises at least twenty (20) percent of the cumulative total of the PUD units that will be completed by the end of each phase.

(n)

Access. Where access to a site for a Planned Unit Development is not directly from an arterial or collector street, the following standards shall be observed in providing access over local streets:

(1)

Access and egress shall be provided from more than one local street where deemed necessary by the Planning Board;

(2)

Where local streets are used for access, the traffic service volume of local streets, which is defined in the Master Plan as fifteen hundred (1,500) vehicles per day, shall not be exceeded by traffic projected to be generated from the development of attached or multifamily dwellings;

(3)

Traffic calming measures shall be provided as deemed necessary by the Planning Board on local streets used for such access;

(4)

Safety measures for pedestrians, bicycles, and vehicles shall be implemented as deemed necessary by the Planning Board on local streets used for such access, including, but not limited to, installation of curbing and sidewalks, widening of the traveled way, dedication of right-of-way, elimination of substandard road conditions, and improvements to sight distances;

(5)

Opportunities for connectivity from the development site to existing or future streets shall be constructed or dedicated as determined by the Planning Board; and

(6)

Intersection improvements shall be made on local streets used for such access and at the intersections of those local streets with collector or arterial streets, as deemed necessary by the Planning Board.

(Ord. No. 2832, § II, 7-11-11)