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Henrietta Environmental Action Team - HEAT
Sunset - Woods - Plowed Fields
Stopping low density urban sprawl, protecting the natural environment and saving wet lands from uncontrolled development
 Planned Unit Development (PUD)
   The Planned Unit Development(PUD)concept came out of a need to preserve natural amenities and open space while allowing for population growth and the attendant need for housing. A key factor in the acceptance of PUD's and higher density clustered, condominium or communal housing is education, tax incentives and recognition of the value of natural open space. Townships need to pass zoning ordinances that will stop the spread of urban sprawl and create permanent open spaces.

   Rather than allowing individual developers/builders or potential homeowners to purchase parcels or small tracts, the PUD encourages entities which have the financial resources and the desire to provide unified development with significant contiguous natural open spaces and other natural amenities. Ref: Conservation Subdivision Design(pdf)

   A PUD is a zoning option which allows a developer to cluster housing on a parcel which would otherwise not be allowed under the existing zoning ordinances. While the total number of housing units may be unchanged for the total parcel size, the individual lot sizes are reduced thus allowing a significant remaining area of the parcel to be set aside as common undeveloped open space for use by all the residents of the development. The approval process by the Planning Commission will control where the open spaces are located within the parcel so that future PUD's may share common boundaries and provide for contiguous open space from PUD to PUD. Naturally, attempts to develop intervening parcels which do not seek the PUD/open space option will be discouraged on the basis of "incompatible" use. This would apply equally to an individual who purchased/owns an intervening parcel and does not agree to a preservation easement.

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