Developers required to plan for open spaces

Moses Lake City Council approves ordinance calling for recreation areas in new housing developments

MOSES LAKE — Neighborhoods should all have open spaces and parks in the future, following the Moses Lake City Council's adoption of an ordinance requiring residential developers to include recreation areas in their construction projects.

After Tuesday's council action, housing developers must dedicate some of their planned construction and land changes to open space for public use. If no land is dedicated for that purpose, developers must pay a fee instead.

Planners of a single family residential development will be required to dedicate five percent of the overall area as open space. Planners proposing a multi-family development must dedicate 10 percent of the site to open space.

The open spaces will include parks, athletic fields, off-road paths, bicycle trails and similar areas the city finds as satisfactory for the purposes of the new ordinance.

The parks and recreation areas must be accessible to the residents of the development and include posted signs for the public.

If developers opt to pay the fee instead of dedicating land, the city will use the money to purchase and develop other park sites and recreation facilities.

Developers would pay the value of 10 percent of the development for multi-family residential areas. Similarly, they pay the value of five percent of the gross area of the proposed development of a single family residential area if they choose not to set aside dedicated recreation areas.

Solely commercial or industrial developments are the exceptions to the new ordinance.

The council heard the ordinance at their last meeting, but required some tweaking of the language prior to voting for its approval.