4.3.18 SCHOOL, PARK, AND OTHER LANDS FOR PUBLIC FACILITIES | Aurora Unified Development Ordinance

4.3.18. SCHOOL, PARK, AND OTHER LANDS FOR PUBLIC FACILITIES.

1. Location. Sites designated or dedicated for schools shall meet the following location standards to the maximum extent practicable:

a. Be located at the intersection of a collector and local street for elementary school and K-8 school sites, and be located at the intersection of a collector and arterial street for middle and high school sites;

b. Contain slopes of less than 10 percent and flat areas for sports fields;

c. Be centrally located for the population to be served;

d. Be compact in shape, either rectangular or square;

e. Not be located in a 100-year floodplain or in the –FPO overlay zone district;

f. Not be located near sources of loud noise, hazardous uses, or potentially offensive odors, such as those that may be emitted by gas compression facilities, landfills, marijuana-related facilities, and hemp processing, manufacturing and storage facilities; and

g. Not contain regional storm water detention facilities, wetlands, archaeological sites, significant stands of trees, or electrical transmission lines.

a. Public land dedication shall be provided for public schools to serve the future residents of the subdivision. The dedication of such areas shall be as required by agreement between the school district and the property owner, if one has been approved for the property. The applicant shall provide a letter from the applicable school district that includes the district’s current requirements for land value per acre, student yield ratio, and acres per child.

b. If land uses have changed, or no agreement exists for the subdivision, school land dedication based upon the number of students to be generated by the land use shall be required as follows:

i. Land dedicated for schools shall be calculated based on net acreage, not counting land for streets, tracts, or pre-existing easements that would preclude use of the land.

ii. The amount of land that shall be dedicated shall equal the product of the "standard student yield ratio factor" from Table 4.3-1 multiplied by the "acre per child standard" in Table 4.3-2.

Table 4.3-1 Standard Student Yield Ratio Factor Per Dwelling Unit
Dwelling Unit Type	Elementary	Middle	High	Total
Single-family	.340	.160	.200	.700
Multifamily low density	.170	.080	.050	.300
Multifamily high density	.075	.040	.030	.145

Table 4.3-2 Standard Acres per Child Standard
School Type	Student Enrollment	Acres Per Child
Elementary	644	0.0175
Middle	1,000	0.025
High	1,800	0.032

c. Land dedication shall occur, by plat or separate document at the City’s option, at the time that the first plat is submitted to the City.

3. Other Permitted Uses of Land. If land is dedicated to the City for school purposes, and is later determined by the City to be unnecessary for school purposes, the City may put the land to use for other public facilities required to provide other public services or facilities to the residents of the development for which the land was dedicated at a level roughly proportional to those received by other residents of the City, to the extent authorized by the constitution or laws of the federal government or the State of Colorado, including without limitation the powers granted to home rule municipalities in Article XX of the Colorado constitution.

4. Cash-in-lieu of Land Dedication. At the discretion of the school district and upon mutual agreement, which cannot be unreasonably withheld by school district or City, cash-in-lieu of land may be required. Land value will be based on fair market value of zoned land with infrastructure in place as determined by an MAI (Member of the Appraisal Institute) appraisal. Cash-in-lieu payment shall be based on an appraisal that is no more than six months old and shall be made at the time of recording of the first plat.

1. Requirement. Public land shall be dedicated to provide for parks and open space to serve the future residents of the development, and address the impacts of additional residents within existing neighborhoods. The dedication of such land shall be as required by an annexation agreement, if one has been approved for the property. If land uses change from those approved at the time of annexation or no annexation agreement exists for the subdivision, park land dedication shall be required as set forth in the Parks, Recreation and Open Space Dedication and Development Criteria Manual.

2. Dedication Timing. The dedication of land for parks and open space purposes shall occur, by plat or separate document at the discretion of the City, at the time that the first plat for property adjacent to such land is submitted to the City.

3. Land Dedication Standards. The amount of land dedicated for parks and open space purposes shall comply with the methodology, population-based standards, housing unit types, average household sizes, and other criteria, such as cash-in-lieu, as set forth in the Parks, Recreation and Open Space Dedication and Development Criteria Manual.

4. Cash-in-Lieu of Land Dedication. Developments unable to provide the required land dedication per the standards set forth in the Parks, Recreation and Open Space Dedication and Development Criteria Manual shall be required to pay a cash-in-lieu of land dedication fee. The timing of any required cash-in-lieu of land dedication payments, land value calculations and payment tracking are set forth in the Parks, Recreation and Open Space Dedication and Development Criteria Manual.

5. Dedication and Development Criteria Manual. Park and open space land dedication, development and design criteria, which govern the eligibility of land and areas to receive land dedication credit, shall be as set forth in the Parks, Recreation and Open Space Dedication and Development Criteria Manual.

C. Lands for Other Public Facilities. The City may require dedication of lands, or cash-in-lieu of dedication of land, for other public facilities required to the extent the demand or need for such facilities is created by the proposed development in order for the City to provide public facilities or services at a level roughly proportional to those received by other residents of the City, to the extent authorized by the constitution or laws of the federal government or the State of Colorado, including without limitation the powers granted to home rule municipalities in Article XX of the Colorado constitution. (Ord. No. 2023-40 § 1, 09-11-2023; Ord. No. 2020-15 § 21, 05-21-2020; Ord. No. 2019-49 § 1, 08-19-2019)