We have a very large site (609 acres), a lot of which is non-buildable land (open space, wetlands, slopes). There are about 1400 regular dwelling units and 460 senior housing units, in a continuum of care-type community, including everything from small SRFs for the able-bodied to a dementia unit. The senior area is at one end of the site, and it is designed with gates for motor vehicle access mostly to keep cars form whizzing through and providing a sense of safety for the elderly residents. However, the area is completely open for pedestrian and bike access.
Can the whole senior community area be treated as a health care facility and this be exempted from NPDp3? Or are we OK here because of the bike and walking trails that freely enter the site? Or do we have a problem?
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Eliot Allen
LEED AP-ND, PrincipalCriterion Planners
LEEDuser Expert
303 thumbs up
March 10, 2014 - 5:14 pm
Susan, your situation raises a couple of issues in addition to gating. First, the recommended maximum project land area is 320 acres. ND 2009 doesn't have MPRs, so the 320 acres is a guideline. But it's a good idea to run anything larger by staff, if the project doesn't lend itself to smaller phases. Regarding non-buildable land, keep in mind that it's got to be excluded by codified law or ND prerequisites to be non-buildable. Voluntary set-asides are treated as buildable land in the denominator of density calculations.
Regarding gating, it's ok to have gated areas, they just can't count toward connectivity. In your case that non-countable area might be reduced to only vehicle areas, and non-gated pedestrian and bike intersections in dedicated rights-of-way could count (a Feb 2011 addenda removed a previous 20% cap on the number non-motorized intersections in the total count). Or you might qualify for a gating exemption as a "health care campus" if the on-site services rise to that level. That phrase is undefined, so it would definitely deserve an informal check with staff and/or possibly a CIR.
Eliot
Susan Di Giulio
Senior Project ManagerZinner Consultants
152 thumbs up
March 11, 2014 - 12:52 am
Thanks, that was helpful.