The County shall ensure that the smallest minimum parcel size consistent with the Open Space land use category is 10 acres. The County may require larger minimum parcel sizes based on the zone classification.
MPSP
LU-9.4 Minimal Parcel Size for the Open Space Contiguous with Agricultural
The County shall require Open Space properties contiguous with Agricultural designated land to have a minimal parcel size of 20 acres.
LU-9.5 Recreational Areas Appropriate for the Open Space Land Use Designation
The County shall designate areas appropriate for recreational activities as Open Space, including, but not limited to, use and enjoyment of recreational trails and areas for hunting and fishing. Preservation of open space also serves to protect areas of outstanding scenic, historic, and cultural value; areas particularly suited for park and recreation purposes, including access to lakeshores, beaches, and rivers and streams; and areas which serve as links between major recreation and open space reservations, including utility easements, banks of rivers and streams, trails, and scenic highway corridors.
LU-9.6 Undeveloped Areas Appropriate for the Open Space Land Use Designation
The County shall designate undeveloped natural areas as Open Space if they surround urbandesignated areas which have been set aside to define the boundaries of the urban-designated areas, to prevent urban sprawl, and to promote efficient municipal services and facilities by confining the areas of urban development.
LU-3.1 Existing Community(ies)
The Existing Community area designation, referred to in SOAR, identifies existing urban residential, commercial, or industrial enclaves outside of incorporated areas and unincorporated urban centers. The Existing Community area designation recognizes existing land uses in unincorporated areas which have been developed with urban building intensities and urban land uses, contains these enclaves within specific areas so as to prevent further expansion, and limits the building intensity and land use to previously established levels. Thomas Aquinas College is newly designated in this initiative as Existing Community, with the intention that it be confined to its current boundaries with the understanding that it may continue to intensify its building for its educationally related purposes.
Figure 2-1 indicates the boundary of the Existing Community area designation. All areas inside these boundaries are considered within the Existing Community area designation for purposes of this General Plan and implementation of the Guidelines for Orderly Development and Save Open Space & Agricultural Resources (SOAR) initiative. This term is considered synonymous with “Urban Enclave” as used in other planning documents.
This designation defines the boundary of the Existing Communities in the unincorporated areas of the county and the areas within these boundaries, as shown on Figure 2-1.
LU-3.2 Areas Appropriate for the Existing Community Designation
The County shall include existing unincorporated urban enclaves located outside cities and unincorporated urban centers within Existing Community designated boundaries.