Creativity on open-space rules could help curb home prices, builders say.

By Cathy Locke - Bee Staff Writer — EDC Planning Commission members say they are willing to consider creative ways to overcome barriers to affordable housing and infill projects without dispensing with amenities.

The commission directed staff members last month to meet with developers and other interested parties to draft a proposal that would offer alternatives to the county’s current open-space policies.

Of particular concern is the requirement that 30 percent of the land in residential planned developments be set aside as open space. Planner Peter Maurer said the policy has caused difficulties for infill developments on small parcels and for affordable housing projects.

Under a planned development, a project may deviate from standard zoning requirements in exchange for providing a public benefit. Often, a project applicant is allowed to develop a portion of the property at a higher density if at least 30 percent of the site is set aside as open space.

But several real estate and building industry representatives complained during the commission’s Aug. 23 meeting that the “one-size-fits-all” requirement doesn’t always produce the best results and stymies some projects.

Maurer suggested the commission consider other benefits the public could gain from a project other than open space.

In some cases, he said, the county might seek a combination of open space and other amenities, or waive the open space requirement entirely in favor of some other benefit.

Commission member Alan Tolhurst said he was concerned that waiving the open-space requirement for affordable housing projects, such as apartment or condominium complexes, could leave children with no place to play.

“I would be very reluctant to say if it’s low-income housing you can eliminate all the amenities,” he said.

But in some cases, Tolhurst said, amenities other than open space make more sense. He cited an 18-unit apartment complex in the South Lake Tahoe area that recently was converted to condominiums. The owner purchased a neighboring single-family home and converted it to a community center, Tolhurst said.

Maurer said one option would be to allow a developer to provide open space off-site but near the development.

Commission Chairman John Knight suggested that in communities like El Dorado Hills or Cameron Park, a developer, in lieu of open space, could pay an additional fee to the local community services district to help provide parks and recreation facilities in the neighborhood.

Developer Cindy Schaeffer said she liked suggestions included in the staff report that would allow more flexibility.

“Planned developments are as varied as the projects and sites that come before you,” she said, and each should be evaluated on its own merits.

Gene Thorne, whose firm Gene E. Thorne and Associates provides engineering services for developers, said imposing the 30 percent requirement on a 1-acre parcel rarely yields useful open space.

“A strip of open space means absolutely nothing,” he said.

Schaeffer said some jurisdictions specify a number of square feet of open space per housing unit.

“It makes more sense in higher-density (developments) to make it active open space, like a tot lot or swimming pool,” she said.

Commission member Dave Machado suggested that in some cases allowing larger backyards in lieu of communal open space might produce a better project.

Tolhurst said he believed the issue was one of scale. The idea behind a planned development, he said, is to design a project in which the housing units and the open space work in harmony.

Maurer said he would work with industry and community groups to come up with a better understanding of how proposed changes in open-space policies would affect various types of projects before bringing a general plan amendment to the commission.

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Published 12:00 am PDT Thursday, September 13, 2007
Story appeared in El DORADO FOLSOM RANCHO CORDO section, Page G4

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