§ 78-112. General requirements.

(a)

No land shall be accepted by the city for dedication unless it meets the following criteria:

(1)

The parkland shall be clearly visible to public safety vehicles and the neighborhood residents.

(2)

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.

(3)

The parkland shall be of sufficient width, depth, topography and size to 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 (e.g., active recreation areas for team sports; open space buffer; playgrounds, picnic areas, etc.).

(4)

A minimum of 50 percent of the land dedicated shall have grades of less than three percent, and shall be drained and otherwise suitable for development of neighborhood park facilities.

(5)

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 overhead utilities, easements and other conditions which prohibit the effective use of the property as a neighborhood park.

(b)

The subdivider shall warrant that no construction materials, rocks, and/or dirt will be disposed of or dumped within the dedicated land by its contractors, subcontractors, officers, agents, servants, employees or licensees. If, however, these materials are disposed of or dumped on the land dedicated, the subdivider shall be required to remove those materials upon receipt of written notice requesting same. Additionally, the subdivider shall be responsible for returning the dedicated land to its natural condition prior to or at the time of dedication.

(1)

Floodway land as defined by the floodplain administrator will not be eligible for fulfillment of the dedication requirements of this article. However, the subdivider is encouraged to donate such land in its natural state to the city for open space purposes.

(2)

Flood fringe land or land located between the floodway line and the 100-year floodplain line as defined by the floodplain administrator may be included in the land dedication; however, land located in said area must equal two times the area requirements specified herein (that is, one acre of flood fringe equals one-half acre of land located outside the flood fringe); provided further, said flood fringe land shall be suitable for active and/or passive recreational use, shall be easily accessible, visible and identifiable as public open space, and shall contain environmental features and/or provide now or in the future a connection between existing or proposed parks and/or school sites.

(c)

The subdivider shall construct all street improvements, including paving, sidewalks, drainage, sewer and water adjacent to dedicated parkland at no cost to the city. If the construction of said improvements should be delayed because of phasing of subdivision development, the subdivider shall deposit sufficient funds with the city to cover the cost of said construction. The amount of the deposit shall be determined by the city engineer using previous and/or current bids received for said improvements by the city and/or the subdivider.

(d)

The city council may consider and approve for dedication any area which does not meet the standards of this article if it determines that the acceptance of such dedication would be in the best interest of the public. In making this determination, the city council may consider the following factors:

(1)

The dedicated land will encompass a preservation area of unique natural beauty or contain unique natural features or other ecologically valuable areas.

(2)

The dedicated parkland may be developed in partial fulfillment of required parkland dedication.

(3)

The dedicated parkland will be contiguous to an existing or proposed school site.

(4)

The parkland will be dedicated in addition to the payment of fees in lieu.

(5)

The dedicated parkland will be contiguous to another park which if combined would form a single viable park area.

(6)

The dedicated parkland would be capable of expanding existing parks or recreation facilities.

(e)

The subdivider shall also be responsible for meeting the following requirements with respect to dedicated parkland:

(1)

Before the city accepts any dedicated parkland, the developer shall remove all trash and dead trees.

(2)

The developer shall provide for adequate drainage through the proposed parkland to eliminate standing water and health hazards. Any detention or retention ponds and/or other drainage facilities to be placed in areas which are to be dedicated as parkland must be designed and constructed to allow for dual recreational use. Construction plans may be required to be submitted to the city engineer prior to approval of any detention or retention pond.

(Code 1973, § 17-47; Ord. No. O-15-94, § 7, 4-25-94)