The County of Lane, Oregon has an ordinance that provides for Planned Unit Developments (PUD). Lane County has a population of about 350,000, and includes the cities of Springfield and Eugene. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the east by the Cascade Mountain range. The county is almost 90% forested, and its constituents have a high interest in protecting the natural beauty of the surrounding environment by promoting sustainable development. The PUD ordinance seeks to accomplish this goal by providing a tool that promotes organized, efficient development of an entire community, rather than planning on a more piecemeal lot-by-lot basis, which can often lead to conditions such as urban sprawl.
PUDs allow single-family and multiple-family dwellings, commercial, institutional, and other industrial uses to be built within the same area to foster relationships between the buildings, uses of the sub-districts and open spaces. The ordinance requires the use of a design team in proposing any new planned unit development for the construction and development, and the team, at a minimum, must consist of a qualified architect, landscape architect, and an engineer or surveyor. The ordinance allows no less than five congruous acres minimum for a tract of land to be developed with an exception for a development that is in the public’s best interest and either has unusual physical features, historical character, is adjacent to property which has been officially approved, developed or redeveloped as a PUD. The ordinance includes height standard which allow restriction on building height in order to protect exposure to sunlight and access to view scenic vistas. Furthermore, the ordinance requires any owners of land or facilities that are held in common to form a corporation and to adopt articles of incorporation and bylaws. There is a detailed application review process consisting of a pre-application review and then a final review process. Failure to comply with the ordinance carries a punishment of administrative enforcement.
