Dimensional requirements

A. Conservation design development provides for two lot size options, for specific purposes. The Planning Board may require the two lot sizes to be combined within the development if it finds that such a combination would better fulfill the purposes of conservation design development as stated in this chapter than either of the two single-lot-size options.
- (1) The Conservation cluster option provides for residential uses at the density permitted by the existing zoning, with a minimum lot size of one acre. Open space and conservation lands consist of a minimum of 50% of the suitable land plus 100% of the land unsuitable for development. House lots are clustered on the most suitable areas for development in order to preserve the environmentally and culturally sensitive features, and to create neighborhoods where each home enjoys the benefits of access and views to the open space. Public access to the open space may be required.
- (2) The homestead lot option provides for lower density than the existing zoning, with larger, privately owned lots of a minimum of 10 acres of suitable land, in order to maintain a rural setting and private use and management of the land. There is no minimum requirement for commonly owned or publicly owned open space, or public access, unless otherwise required by the Planning Board, or unless the development contains a combination of conservation cluster lots and homestead lots. Further subdivision of homestead lots shall be prohibited.
B. Conservation design developments provide for two lot configuration options: frontage lots and interior building lots (also known as "flag lots"). Frontage lots contain full frontage dimensional requirements along the public street. Interior building lots have reduced frontage for the driveway access at the public street, and the building envelope portion of the lot is situated behind a frontage lot. Frontage for interior building lots shall be in accordance with the following table, and all other dimensional requirements shall be met. The front yard setback for an interior lot shall be measured parallel to the rear yard setbacks of all the abutting frontage lots.

C. Dimensional requirements.

		Conservation Cluster Lots	Homestead Lot Option	Combination Conservation Cluster Lots with Homestead Lot Option
Minimum amount of open space (suitable land)		50% of the suitable land plus 100% of all the land deemed unsuitable for development	Not required	50% of the suitable land (A portion of the suitable land on each homestead lot may contribute towards the required open space, excluding a two-acre house site of suitable land per lot. A conservation easement is required.)
Density (maximum)		2 acres of suitable land per dwelling unit	10 acres of suitable land per dwelling unit	2 acres of suitable land per dwelling unit
Minimum lot size		1 acre (43,560 square feet)	10 acres	As dictated by lot type
Frontage (minimum)		100 feet for frontage lots; 50 feet for interior lots; 30 feet for access to open space	100 feet	100 feet for frontage lots; 50 feet for interior lots; 30 feet for access to open space
Minimum setbacks
	Front yard	50 feet	150 feet from existing Town road, 40 feet from new subdivision street, country lane, or common driveway	As dictated by lot type
	Side yard	15 feet	25 feet; 10 feet for accessory buildings under 500 square feet of floor area	As dictated by lot type
	Rear yard	50 feet	50 feet for principal buildings; 10 feet for accessory buildings under 500 square feet of floor area	As dictated by lot type
	Perimeter of site	75 feet of no-cut buffer	N/A	75 feet of no-cut buffer
	External road right-of-way	200 feet	150 feet	As dictated by lot type
	From abutting cropland or pasture	100 feet	N/A	As dictated by lot type
	From buildings or barnyards housing livestock	300 feet	N/A	As dictated by lot type
	From active recreation areas, (excluding tot-lots)	150 feet	N/A	As dictated by lot type
Minimum lot width (measured from front yard setback to rear property line)		100 feet	100 feet	As dictated by lot type
Maximum lot depth-to-width ratio		5:1	5:1	5:1
Minimum suitable land per lot (contiguous)		1 acre	5 acres	As dictated by lot type
Maximum impervious surface per lot		25%	5%	As dictated by lot type
Maximum building height		35 feet	40 feet	As dictated by lot type

D. Dimensional requirements for open space land. Buildings, structures, parking areas, or other impervious improvements which are accessory to and subordinate to a permitted open space use may be located on any open space lot that is not a homestead lot, provided that they occupy no more than 15% of the total open space area, with the exception of golf courses as otherwise restricted.
Minimum Street Frontage Maximum Lot Coverage Impervious Surface Minimum Front Yard Setback Minimum Side Yard Setback Minimum Rear Yard Setback Maximum Building Height
30 feet 15% 50 feet 25 feet 50 feet 40 feet