Master Planned Communities

The 2040 Comprehensive Plan already points East Bethel toward connected, mixed-use, higher-quality development. The next step is making sure our ordinances and development agreements require developers to actually build it.

The next major development proposals in East Bethel are likely to involve large tracts of land near Highway 65, including projects of 80 acres or more within areas already planned for Mixed Use development. These projects will shape the community for decades. They should not be reviewed as ordinary subdivisions or as a series of disconnected phases.

East Bethel does not need to choose between rural character and higher-density growth. We can protect the rural parts of the city by concentrating growth where the Comprehensive Plan already expects it, while requiring that new communities are designed around preserved natural landscapes, connected streets, meaningful open space, commercial activity, and high-quality architecture.

Higher Density Should Produce a Better Community

Higher density should not simply mean more units on less land. In planned growth areas, additional density should be paired with measurable community benefits. The city should establish clear standards so developers know before they purchase or entitle property what is expected in exchange for higher-density development.

Design area	Standard East Bethel should require
Unified master planning	Large Mixed Use projects should be approved through one coordinated master development plan before individual plats and phases are approved.
True mixed use	Residential development must be integrated with meaningful commercial, employment, civic, institutional, or other nonresidential uses, with enforceable phasing so those uses cannot be indefinitely deferred.
Housing pattern	R-2 townhomes, attached housing, and other appropriate higher-density housing should be allowed while conventional R-1-style subdivision patterns are avoided in planned Mixed Use areas.
Connected streets	Street systems should form interconnected networks with multiple access points. Routine cul-de-sacs should not be part of the Mixed Use development pattern except where documented physical constraints make a connected alternative impractical.
Rural open space	Projects should preserve substantial, contiguous areas of woodland, meadow, agricultural landscape, habitat, trails, and community greens instead of treating leftover or already-unbuildable land as the only open-space contribution.
Premium architecture	Objective standards should address durable materials, façade articulation, rooflines, garage placement, building repetition, visible building sides, screening, signage, and other design elements that determine long-term quality.
Public realm	Large developments should include meaningful gathering places such as village greens, plazas, trailheads, civic lawns, pavilions, or similar community amenities.
Landscaping	Require significant tree canopy, landscaped streets, mature-tree preservation or replacement, screening, and landscape standards that reinforce East Bethel’s rural identity.
Commercial design	Commercial buildings should address streets and public spaces, with parking and service areas designed to avoid conventional strip-development patterns along Highway 65.
Pedestrian connections	Sidewalks and trails should connect residential neighborhoods with commercial areas, civic spaces, open space, and adjoining development.
Phasing and accountability	Development agreements should contain measurable milestones, deadlines, remedies, and performance requirements so residential value cannot be realized while required commercial, public-space, or infrastructure commitments remain indefinitely deferred.

Design Around Rural Character

Preserving rural character inside a higher-density development does not mean requiring every home to sit on a large lot. That approach can consume more land and create suburban sprawl. A better approach is to concentrate homes into well-designed neighborhoods while preserving the visual and environmental features that make East Bethel feel rural: mature woods, meadows, natural corridors, long green views, community greens, trails, and substantial open-space edges.

The result can be a rural village pattern: townhomes and compact residential neighborhoods connected to commercial and civic areas, surrounded and separated by meaningful natural landscapes rather than isolated by cul-de-sacs and oversized lots.

Density Should Be Earned Through Quality

The city should consider making higher-density entitlements contingent on developers delivering measurable community benefits. Additional density could be tied to enhanced open-space preservation, premium architecture, commercial construction milestones, public trails, community greens, stronger landscaping, preservation of mature woods, superior street connectivity, or other improvements beyond the minimum standard.

The question should not be simply how many units a developer wants to build. The question should be what level of community quality the proposed density will deliver.

Approve the Community Before Approving the Lots

For large developments, East Bethel should approve the overall community design before approving individual lots or allowing the master plan to evolve one phase at a time. The master plan should establish the land-use mix, street network, open-space system, commercial areas, public amenities, architecture, landscaping, infrastructure, and development phasing for the entire project.

Material changes to commercial acreage, residential density, open space, street connectivity, public amenities, or phasing should require formal review and approval rather than becoming administrative changes that gradually alter the community residents were originally shown.

A Master Planned Community Ordinance

East Bethel may need a dedicated Master Planned Community ordinance to turn the 2040 Comprehensive Plan’s design direction into clear and enforceable development standards. Such an ordinance could apply to large projects in Mixed Use areas, particularly major developments near Highway 65, and require a complete master plan before preliminary plat approval.

A Master Planned Community ordinance should address, at minimum, land-use mix, street and pedestrian networks, commercial phasing, housing types and density, open-space preservation, natural-resource protection, architectural standards, landscaping, public spaces, infrastructure, fiscal impacts, development phasing, and the process for approving material changes to the master plan.

The purpose would not be to create a new vision for East Bethel. The vision is already substantially contained in the 2040 Comprehensive Plan. The purpose would be to make that vision enforceable so that major developers are held to the community design standards East Bethel has already said it wants.

Motions to Strengthen Master Planned Community Standards

These motions are intended to give East Bethel a clearer, more defensible, and more consistent role in shaping major Mixed Use developments. The goal is to move important expectations out of subjective negotiation and into adopted standards that apply before a developer submits a project.

1. City Authority

Motion	Plain-language reason	Actual motion to be made
1. Establish a Master Planned Community Ordinance	Large Mixed Use projects should be governed by a single ordinance that sets clear expectations before a developer submits a plan.	I move to direct planning staff, the Planning Commission, and the City Attorney to prepare a Master Planned Community ordinance applicable to large developments within Mixed Use areas, establishing the minimum planning, design, phasing, infrastructure, open-space, architectural, and public-realm standards required for approval.
3. Replace Subjective Design Language with Objective Standards	Terms like “high quality,” “appropriate,” and “desirable” are too vague to enforce consistently.	I move to direct staff to identify subjective design language within the Mixed Use, Planned Unit Development, and subdivision ordinances and replace or supplement it with measurable standards addressing architecture, materials, façade articulation, garage placement, landscaping, tree canopy, street connectivity, commercial design, open space, pedestrian facilities, signage, screening, and public-space requirements.
4. Require Demonstrably Superior Development for PUD Flexibility	Developers should not receive greater flexibility or density without providing a better community than conventional zoning would produce.	I move to amend the Planned Unit Development standards so that approval requires a finding that the proposed development provides demonstrably superior community design, architecture, connectivity, open-space preservation, public realm, and land-use integration compared with development permitted under conventional zoning.

2. Master Planning

Motion	Plain-language reason	Actual motion to be made
2. Require a Unified Master Development Plan	Prevent large projects from being approved one phase at a time without a binding plan for the whole property.	I move to require any qualifying Master Planned Community to submit and obtain Council approval of a unified master development plan for the entire project before approval of individual plats or development phases. The master plan shall establish land uses, residential densities, commercial areas, street networks, open space, public amenities, architecture, landscaping, infrastructure, and development phasing.
6. Require Commercial and Residential Phases to Advance Together	Prevent residential construction from being completed while the commercial component is delayed indefinitely.	I move to require enforceable commercial and nonresidential development milestones within Mixed Use and Master Planned Community projects, tied to residential building permits, certificates of occupancy, or phase approvals, with later residential phases prohibited from proceeding unless required commercial milestones have been satisfied.
11. Require Connected Street Networks	Large Mixed Use projects should function as connected communities, not isolated residential pods.	I move to require interconnected street networks, multiple points of access, future connections to adjacent developable property, and pedestrian connectivity within Master Planned Communities, while prohibiting cul-de-sacs except where documented physical constraints make a connected alternative impractical.
13. Require Rural-Character Open Space Design	Higher density can still support rural character if development is clustered around meaningful landscapes and natural features.	I move to require Master Planned Communities to preserve and integrate substantial contiguous areas of qualifying open space, including woodland, meadow, agricultural landscape, habitat, trails, and community greens, and to design residential neighborhoods around those resources rather than treating residual or already-unbuildable land as the principal open-space contribution.
14. Require Public Realm and Community Amenities	A premium community should include places for residents to gather, not just streets and private lots.	I move to require qualifying Master Planned Communities to provide meaningful public or common amenities such as village greens, plazas, trailheads, civic lawns, pavilions, neighborhood parks, or similar gathering spaces proportionate to project size and density.
15. Require Commercial Design Standards	Mixed Use near Highway 65 should not become conventional strip development.	I move to establish commercial design standards within Master Planned Communities requiring buildings, parking, landscaping, pedestrian routes, service areas, signage, and street relationships to support an integrated mixed-use district and avoid conventional strip-commercial development patterns.
17. Require Concept Review Before Detailed Engineering	The city should shape the project before the developer has already invested heavily in a final layout.	I move to establish a mandatory Master Planned Community concept-review stage before preliminary plat or detailed engineering, allowing the Planning Commission and City Council to evaluate land-use mix, street pattern, open space, architecture, public realm, commercial location, and phasing before the project advances.

3. Objective Design Standards

Motion	Plain-language reason	Actual motion to be made
5. Establish Base Density and Earned Density	Higher density should be tied to measurable public and community benefits.	I move to direct staff to prepare density standards for Mixed Use and Master Planned Community areas that establish a base development entitlement and allow additional density only when specified design and community-benefit standards are met, including enhanced open-space preservation, architectural quality, commercial phasing, public amenities, trails, landscaping, and superior connectivity.
10. Adopt a Master Planned Community Design Standards Manual	Developers need a clear visual and technical guide showing what the city expects before they design the project.	I move to direct planning staff to prepare a Master Planned Community Design Standards Manual, incorporated into the zoning ordinance by reference, containing measurable standards and illustrative examples for street networks, architecture, building placement, commercial areas, open space, public spaces, landscaping, parking, pedestrian connections, signage, and rural-character design.
12. Require Premium Architectural Standards	Large projects by major developers should not default to the least expensive standardized product line.	I move to establish objective architectural standards for Master Planned Communities addressing durable exterior materials, façade variation, roofline articulation, four-sided treatment of visible buildings, garage dominance, porch and entry design, corner treatments, mechanical screening, building repetition, signage, and other measurable design characteristics necessary to maintain long-term community quality.

4. Enforcement & Accountability

Motion	Plain-language reason	Actual motion to be made
7. Establish Binding Development Agreement Standards	Development agreements should not become flexible promises with no meaningful consequence for nonperformance.	I move to direct the City Attorney and planning staff to establish minimum development-agreement requirements for Master Planned Communities, including measurable deadlines, performance standards, remedies, security where appropriate, phasing obligations, and consequences for failure to complete required commercial, infrastructure, open-space, or public-amenity commitments.
8. Define Major Amendments Requiring Council Approval	Prevent the approved master plan from slowly changing through administrative adjustments.	I move to establish objective criteria identifying material changes to an approved Master Planned Community plan that require formal Council approval, including reductions in commercial acreage, changes in residential density or housing type, removal of street connections, addition of cul-de-sacs, reduction or relocation of qualifying open space, elimination of public amenities, weakening of architectural standards, or changes to required phasing.
9. Limit Administrative Amendments to Minor Technical Changes	Staff should be able to handle engineering details, but not policy-level changes to the approved development.	I move to limit administrative amendments within Master Planned Communities to minor technical, engineering, grading, utility, or dimensional adjustments that do not materially alter the land-use mix, density, street network, open space, architecture, public amenities, or development phasing approved by the City Council.
16. Require Master Plan Findings Before Approval	Council decisions should clearly show why a project satisfies the ordinance.	I move to require written findings for approval of any Master Planned Community, identifying how the proposal satisfies each applicable objective standard and demonstrating why the project provides a superior development outcome compared with conventional zoning.
18. Require Periodic Compliance Review During Buildout	Large projects may take years. The city should verify that the approved master plan is still being followed.	I move to require periodic compliance reviews of active Master Planned Communities at defined development milestones, with staff reporting to the City Council on commercial phasing, infrastructure, open space, public amenities, architectural compliance, and other binding commitments before subsequent phases proceed.

A Clear Growth Strategy

Outside planned growth areas, East Bethel should protect rural density, open space, agriculture, and natural resources. Inside planned Mixed Use growth areas, the city can accommodate greater density while demanding exceptional planning, architecture, infrastructure, commercial development, and public amenities.

We do not have to spread suburban development across East Bethel to accommodate growth. We can protect the rural parts of the city by concentrating growth where it belongs—and when we allow higher density, we should require communities worth building.