Municipal mandates on open spaces
Municipal mandates on open spaces refer to the regulations set by local governments that require the inclusion of undeveloped areas within newly developed tracts of land. These mandates aim to enhance the quality of life for residents while promoting efficient land use and environmental stewardship. Typically, municipalities may require that at least 10 percent of a development be dedicated to open spaces, with this percentage increasing to 40 to 60 percent in cluster residential housing projects. Open spaces can encompass various forms, including lawns, natural areas, recreational facilities, croplands, and stormwater management zones.
Natural areas are often preserved during development to maintain native vegetation, while recreational spaces may include amenities such as tennis courts and swimming pools, commonly found in public parks. Additionally, open spaces can serve vital ecological functions, such as managing stormwater to prevent flooding caused by impervious surfaces. Overall, these mandates reflect a commitment to balancing urban development with community needs and environmental health, fostering spaces that benefit both residents and local ecosystems.
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Municipal mandates on open spaces
DEFINITION: Areas on developed land that are not occupied by buildings or other structures
By requiring the inclusion of open spaces on developed land, local governments seek to enhance residents’ quality of life while also using land efficiently and demonstrating sensitivity to the environment.
The inclusion of open spaces is often mandated by municipalities on newly developed tracts of land to encourage more efficient use of land and more flexible development practices that respect and conserve natural resources. Many municipalities require that more than 10 percent of each tract of land be dedicated as open space. When large tracts of land are developed for cluster residential housing, municipalities may require that 40 to 60 percent of these areas be made available as open space. Land designated as open spaces can take the form of lawns, natural areas, recreational areas, croplands or pasturelands, or stormwater management areas.
A lawn is a grassed area with or without trees that may be used by residents for a variety of purposes; such areas are mowed regularly to ensure a neat and tidy appearance. Natural areas are open spaces in which native or natural vegetation has been left undisturbed during construction and land development. Occasionally, natural areas are created after development through the grading and replanting of land that was disturbed during development. Often, natural areas must be maintained by designated authorities. Maintenance tasks in such areas include preventing the proliferation of undesirable plants; clearing litter, dead trees, and brush; and keeping streams freely flowing. Pathways or walking trails may be constructed within natural areas to provide places where local residents may enjoy mild exercise or relax.
Open spaces may also take the form of areas for recreation, such as tennis courts, swimming pools, or ball fields. Safety concerns make these kinds of open spaces expensive to construct and maintain. Most often such recreational facilities are part of public parks. Open spaces in the form of croplands, pasturelands, or lands planted with nursery stock or orchard trees provide visually valuable pastoral settings. Buildings and other structures are usually not permitted in open spaces, but in the case of agricultural areas, flexible development procedures often permit any dwellings or farm-related buildings that were present before development to remain.
Finally, stormwater management features are often incorporated into the open spaces of developed land. Detention or retention basins are integral to the control of stormwater when a tract of land has buildings and paved areas constructed on it. Impervious materials prevent rainwater from percolating into the ground. Unless such measures are taken on developed land, heavy is likely, and neighboring lands may be subjected to flooding.
Bibliography
Erickson, Donna. MetroGreen: Connecting Open Space in North American Cities. Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 2006.
Schmidt, Stephan. “The Evolving Relationship Between Open Space Preservation and Local Planning Practice.” Journal of Planning History 7, no. 2 (2008): 91-112.
Van Rooijen, Maurits. “Open Space, Urban Planning, and the Evolution of the Green City.” In Urban Planning in a Changing World: The Twentieth Century Experience, edited by Robert Freestone. New York: Routledge, 2000.
Wu, Junjie, Jialing Yu, and Walid Queslati. "Open Space in US Urban Areas: Where Might There Be Too Much or Too Little of a Good Thing?" Journal of the Association of Environment and Resource Economy, vol. 10, no. 2, Mar. 2023, doi.org/10.1086/721756. Accessed 21 July 2024.