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Site Considerations <br />1) School Site and Minimum Acreage <br />Traditionally, minimum acreage .refers to usable, or developable, acreage. <br />"Usable" or "developable" acreage refers to those portions of the site where a <br />school district can construct something -examples include parking, playfields, <br />.buildings, retention ponds, and septic systems. Examples of areas that are not <br />"usable" or "developable" might include mandated buffers, setbacks, slopes too <br />steep to be effectively developed, rock outcroppings, wetlands or environmentally <br />sensitive areas. <br />School site sizes for non-traditional schools may be higher or lower than those <br />outlined in the State Guidelines -for example, ~creage_ma deviate from State _--: --- ~~~~ additional _ ~ <br />-- Deleted: maybe necessary to <br />Guidelines in order to -------------- - ---- -------------------------------------------- <br />- ------ ----------------------- - <br />• Accommodate community use of the facility and multiuse recreational <br />facilities such as soccer and softball fields. <br />Account for areas that cannot be built upon, such as steep slopes, <br />wetlands, rights-of-way, easements, setbacks, buffers or poor soils <br />• Meet requirement imposed by local ordinances - i.e. restrictions governing <br />the ratio of land that can be disturbed within a development and the <br />permitted amount of impervious service will affect the ultimate size of the <br />site <br />Allow for on-site or off-site parking for staff; students, buses and visitors <br />• Accommodate the expanding number of middle and high school athletic <br />teams either on-site or off-site - i.e. an additional ten acres or more of <br />land may be necessary to allow -for an athletic stadium and associated <br />• spectator parking. <br />However, other areas to consider in siting a new school include areas of <br />population density, public transportation availability and walkability; natural <br />geographic enhancements or barriers, road patterns, and existing or non-existing <br />infrastructure such as water, sewer and roadways. School systems should <br />actively pursue partnering agreements with the Towns and County Parks and <br />Recreation Departments, private developers, and businesses in an effort to Deietea. Otner see censiaeratigns <br />maximize joint use of facilities. Future projects should also.include____________________________ ~- <br />,.• Deleted: All school plans should <br />^ risca -in and_re ulato_ry_bu_ff_ers________________________________________________________ include <br />-------p -g-- - - -~-- -" Deleted: x <br />^ Use of synthetic turf for athletic fields or installation of irrigation <br />systems. <br />11 <br />