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PLANNING & BUILDING DEPARTMENT |
DRAFT RURAL HOUSING POLICY |
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Lot Split/Boundary Line Adjustment Application
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AGRICULTURE AND RURAL PRESERVATION | RURAL- URBAN FIRE MANAGEMENT |
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Introduction | Preservation Concepts | Policy 1 | Policy 2 | Policy 3 Policy 4 | Policy 5 | Policy 6 | Policy 7 | Policy 8 | Policy 9 Policy 10 | Policy 11 | Policy 12 | Policy 13 | Conclusion |
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AGRICULTURE AND RURAL PRESERVATION
A critical planning issue facing the unincorporated areas of Franklin County is to devise a workable balance between the desire to develop suburban residential acreages, rural home sites, and large-lot suburban/rural subdivisions (3+ acre lot size), while at the same time not create, or at least minimize, conflicts between homeowners and farmers and agricultural operators. The definition of land devoted to agricultural use, based on Kansas Statutes, "means land which is devoted to the production of plants, animals, horticultural products, including but not limited to: forages; grains and feed crops' dairy animals and dairy products; poultry and poultry products; beef cattle, sheep, swine and horses; bees and apiary products; trees and forest products; fruits, nuts and berries; vegetables; or nursery, floral, ornamental and greenhouse products." (See K.S.A. 12-519(1)(f)). The Statutes further define that "land devoted to agricultural use shall not include those lands which are used for recreational purposes, suburban residential acreages, rural home sites or farm home sites and yard plots whose primary function is for residential or recreational purposes even though such properties may produce or maintain some of those plants or animals listed above." From a Policy viewpoint, the Kansas Statutes on agricultural operations have several dimensions. First, it is obvious that "agricultural" in Kansas is broad and inclusive and not specifically tied to traditional, machinery intensive crop planting and harvesting. and large animal husbandry. In other words, the traditional concept of the family farm is not always the object of protection. The second dimension is exclusivity. The legislation specifically excludes non-farm residences, hobby farms, agrarian and floral pastimes that are not aimed at production for profit, or the keeping of animals for recreational purposes - such as houses or 4-H projects. As revealed in the four public workshops conducted in Phase I, there was strong support for protecting all agricultural lands in Franklin County. To accomplish this, policies must be developed to protect existing operations and to make sure that those new operations, however marginal, can be established in the rural lands without regulatory impediment. In short, agriculture policy is not based on the concept of sharing rural land rights. Instead, policies must be grounded on the concept that non-farm, non-agriculture land uses are secondary and must respect the rights of those uses that are uniquely adapted to the countryside. Based on preliminary discussions with the Franklin County Planning Commission on June 23, 2005, there appears to be a reluctance to identify on a future land use map boundary lines delineating "Agricultural Preservation Areas." The planning premise behind defining a portion of the unincorporated areas of Franklin County as an "Agricultural Preservation Area" is to express a policy of discouraging excessive non-farm housing in areas considered to be primarily suited for agricultural production. The comments voiced by several of the Planning Commissioners is that this approach would prevent landowners within the "Agricultural Preservation Area" from maximizing the value of their land by selling property for suburban residential acreage, rural home sites, and large-lot suburban/rural subdivisions. In general, the Planning Commission found this planning approach to be unsuitable for Franklin County. Upon further exploration with the Planning Commission, the initial thinking about how to balance agricultural preservation with controlled non-farm housing is to identify specific policies and County Commissioners on a case-by-case basis. What this means is that landowners anywhere in the unincorporated areas of the county can request their property be considered for suburban residential acreages, rural home sites, and large-lot suburban/rural subdivisions, but their proposal will be evaluated against county policies and development standards. The following policies have been drafted to guide rural land development... Prevent a ribbon-pattern of tracts, parcels or subdivision lots from being designed or developed along either a gravel or hard surfaced road. Commentary: The intent behind this policy is to stop or limit successive homeowners from building on tracts in a row with direct access via their driveway to paved or unpaved county roads. The concerns created from a ribbon development pattern center on having too many access points which contributes to traffic safety issues. In addition, a ribbon development pattern can create inefficiencies in use of farmlands. Policy Outcome: The desired outcome of this policy is to prohibit most, if not all, subdivisions with lots abutting county roads that have direct access to a county road. The County will consider denying a rezoning request for rural housing (A-2, Transitional Agricultural District, R-E, Residential Estate District, or R-3A, Single Family Residential Three Acre District) for development proposals that promote ribbon-pattern development. Encourage suburban residential acreage, rural home sites, and large-lot suburban/rural subdivisions to not locate on soils rated as being "prime" or "statewide importance" land by encouraging development on marginal soils. Commentary: The use of soil classifications is a strategy common to agricultural preservation because it introduces objective criteria to evaluate if land should be prevented from being developed. The intent is to use this policy in concert with other site evaluation criteria to determine if a proposed housing development should be approved or denied by the Planning Commission and Board of County Commission. Most of the prime soils in Franklin County are located within the floodplain areas of Franklin County, which discourages, but does not prohibit development. Policy Outcome: The desired outcome of this policy is to have the county staff to include in their report for rezoning, or a preliminary plat, the soil classifications present at the proposed development site. This can also e supplemented by crop or grass yields. This information is then considered in the deliberations by the Planning Commission. In practice, the Planning Commission could use this policy as justification to deny an application or seek to encourage the landowner to seek a site on the property containing marginal soils, or amend their subdivision layout to exclude development on productive soils. Encourage the grouping of rural subdivisions by locating new subdivisions continuously or near existing platted residential development, provided the existing subdivisions are serviced by paved roads and public water supply. Commentary: The intent of this policy is to capitalize on an existing residential development pattern. The rational is that by encouraging a clustering of subdivisions into a "rural housing node" then other agricultural areas of the county will not be disrupted by the introduction of a new rural subdivisions or housing. Policy Outcome: The desired outcome of this policy is to create rural housing nodes within Franklin County and discourage the spread of rural subdivisions into predominately agricultural production areas. Discourage development that would take large parcels of land out of farming or result in fragmenting farmland into parcels that are difficult to farm. Commentary: The intent of this policy is to provide the Planning Commission and Board of County Commissioners with a public policy identifying their desire to preserve farming operations within Franklin County. Since farming operations require large acreages, the desire is to discourage conversion of large parcels out of farming activities. In some instances, this policy might serve as the basis for denying a rezoning or subdivision plat, depending on circumstances and conditions associated with the development proposal. Policy Outcome: The desired outcome is to preserve land for farming operations and discourage fragmenting farmland into parcels that would make farming difficult. Encourage an appropriate land division to accompany a zoning change in the A-1, Agricultural District, to accommodate rural housing. In general, "postage stamp rezones" (the rezoning of only a portion of land within a large parcel) should be allowed only under special circumstances, when the Planning Commission and Board of County Commissioners determines the rezoning advances the goals, objectives and policies of the Comprehensive Plan. Commentary: This policy expresses the desire of the County to encourage landowners to create platted subdivisions or cluster developments, as opposed to individual parcel sell-offs in the rural and agricultural areas of Franklin County. In some instances, this policy might serve as the basis for denying a rezoning or subdivision plat, depending on circumstances and conditions associated with the development proposal. Policy Outcome: The desired outcome is to encourage landowners to create platted subdivisions or cluster development, as opposed to individual parcel sell-offs in the rural and agricultural areas of Franklin County. Encourage the clustering of rural housing to preserve agricultural lands and conserve natural features. Commentary: The intent of this policy is to encourage the platting of subdivisions using 3-5 acres lots, as opposed to creating individual 10 or 20 acre rural housing tracts. To illustrate, a quarter section (160 acres) could be divided to support eight (8) homes based on a 20 acre minimum lot size. Critics of the 20 acre minimum lot size argue this wastes 15 acres of land, which means in a quarter section, 120 acres or 75% of the land area has been potentially removed from cultivation, grass lands, pasture, or scenic open space. If the same density of eight dwelling units per 160 acres is platted onto 3 acre lots, then only 24 acres are developed, leaving 136 acres open space or agriculture. Policy Outcome: The desired outcome of this policy is to indicate the County looks more favorably on requests clustering housing into subdivisions, as opposed to selling individual large (10+) acre tracts. Adopt size sensitive design standards for new suburban or rural subdivisions to encourage the preservation of agricultural lands, wooded hills, steep slopes, and floodplains. Commentary: This policy would provide the Planning Commission with design standards in the subdivision regulations that ensure the design and layout of subdivision streets and lots are sensitive to existing environmental features. These design standards spell out the expectations that Franklin County desires to be achieved when a surveyor/engineer prepares a preliminary subdivision design. Policy Outcome: The desired outcome of this policy is to provide the County with appropriate land use regulatory tools intended to provided attractive and sensitive development sites, as opposed to conventional subdivision design and layout. Each tract, parcel or subdivision lot shall have direct access from a private driveway connected to an internal hard-surfaced paved public road that connects to a hard-surfaced county road. Commentary: The intent behind this policy is to make it clear that if you build a home in the unincorporated area of Franklin County then the driveway must exit onto a paved public road designed to serve all lots within the subdivision. This policy is viewed as the preferred alternative to allowing a ribbon-pattern of development. Furthermore, this policy seeks to address complaints of dust, as well as the expense to taxpayers to provide maintenance and snow removal on gravel or unimproved county roads. Policy Outcome: The desired outcome of this policy is to encourage rural housing to be developed in a subdivision designed with an internal paved road having only one or two access points to a paved county road or State Highway. Secondly, this policy stops the selling of homes located on unpaved roads. An engineering report shall be submitted with a preliminary plat or with rezoning request evaluating site conditions, soil, along with absorption field size indicating the proposed development site will be adequately served with on-site wastewater systems, such as septic tanks, lagoon, package plant, or an alternative system in compliance with the Franklin County Sanitary Code and State of Kansas Department of Health and Environment standards. Commentary: The intent of this policy is to ensure each subdivider or landowner in Franklin County has verified that their proposed subdivision or tract is capable of safely supporting an on-site wastewater treatment system in compliance with the Franklin County Sanitary Code and Sate of Kansas Department of Health and Environment standards. Policy Outcome: The desired outcome of this policy is to make sure the County does not authorize a rezoning preliminary plat on land not suitable for an on-site wastewater treatment system. Each tract, parcel or subdivision lot shall be provided water from a public water supplier. A letter from a public water supplier indicating ability to serve shall be submitted with each rezoning request or preliminary plat prior to consideration by the Planning Commission. If a public water source is not available, a "water supply report" shall be submitted verifying that a source (private well) of potable water is available to serve each tract, parcel or subdivision lot. Commentary: The intent behind this policy is to ensure each subdivider or landowner in Franklin County has verified their proposed subdivision or tract is capable of being served with potable water from public water supply or private well. Policy Outcome: The desired outcome of this policy is to make sure the County does not authorize a rezoning or preliminary plat on land that cannot be adequately provided public water. Encourage creative subdivision layout and design by promoting the following design process: Step 1. Identify and show on a conceptual plan open space worthy of preservation. This includes mapping of "prime soils" or "farmland of statewide importance," heavily wooded areas, wetlands, floodplains, slopes greater than 15 percent. Step 2. Layout individual homes in desirable locations, based on topography, wastewater absorption fields, privacy, impact on adjoining properties, and public and private access to open space. Step 3. Design interior streets and access to county roads. The purpose of interior streets is to connect homes to each other, connect streets to county roads, and connect the development to its surroundings. Step 4. Layout of lot lines. The final stop is to set lot lines, based on how a home relates to the open space, to each other, and to the street. Note: The above process is based on the work of Randall Arendt, author of Growing Greener: Putting Conservation into Local Plans and Ordinance. Require the submittal of construction site erosion control plans for all subdivision plats in accordance with state requirements. Policy Outcomes: The desired outcome of this policy is to make sure that development and construction activities are in compliance with State of Kansas National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) standards. Incorporate in the identification of CHIP projects a review by the Franklin County Planning Commission to evaluate how proposed influence or affect rural housing development potential. Policy Outcome: The desired outcome of this policy is to allow the Planning Commission to review and comment on proposed CHIP projects with regards to how paved county roads conform to the goals, objectives, and policies of the Comprehensive Plan. The general direction received at the June 23, 2005 workshop is the Franklin County Planning Commission wants to continue allowing non-farm housing (individual tracts and platted subdivisions) to locate in the unincorporated areas of the county. There does not seem to be a desire to stem the tide of people moving into rural areas of the county. Instead, the sentiment appears to be that the county's past practice of allowing subdivisions or rural housing to locate anywhere needs to change. The reasons for changing past practices is due to the impact on farming operations, growing demand for county services and road maintenance, and to a limited degree, loss of rural character. The policies presented in this paper seek to express the intent to allow the Planning Commission and Board of County Commissioners to evaluate and decide requests for rural housing on a case-by-case basis. In essence, many of these policies serve as site location guidelines for new rural housing. If an applicant wants to rezone property or seek approval of a subdivision plat and successfully complies with the site location guidelines, then their development proposal will be approved or modified to meet unique site conditions. On the other hand, if a site fails to meet the site location guidelines, then the development application would be denied. During the next 10-20 years, Franklin County will continue experiencing rural development. With the policies proposed in this document, new development must have direct connection to paved roads, have a source of potable water (preferably from a Rural Water District, but private wells will still be allowed, if they are approved by the County Sanitarian). The County intends to be more receptive to clustering rural housing (i.e. 3-5 acre lot subdivisions) and less receptive to rezoning "postage stamp tracts" for 20 acre tracts unless terrain or other physiographical factors demand very large lots. The County further intends to place increased scrutiny on how subdivision streets and lots are laid out and designed (such as roads ingress and egress, as well as increasing site design standards to protect farmlands, steep slopes, and wooded lands). |