Planners have told us about their experiences with Conservation Subdivisions:
"Communities that adopt these standards (conservation subdivisions) are preserving an average of 62% of land each time a property is developed."
Natural Lands Trust, Media, PA
"I think the industry will never change until the problems are truly exposed - I know of no other "design" industry that has been so stagnant for so long - hopefully the book will kick this industry into gear."
Rick Harrison, President and planning consultant, Rick Harrison Site Design Studio, Minneapolis, MN. Author, "Prefurbia: Sustainable Suburban Planning for the Future"
“In the wake of growth pressure spurred by construction of a new high school and extension of a sewer line, I was looking for better development options.
LandChoices provided a better option – conservation design for subdivisions. These concepts helped to formulate the basis of my campaign for town council and continue to influence the direction the town is turning as it looks for better models for future development.
We brought Randall Arendt in to help educate us on our options with conservation subdivisions. He helped the community see how beautifully conservation subdivision development answers the question of how to respect both property rights and the environment.
We are currently working on our land use plan and, with the help of our regional planner, we're incorporating conservation subdivision design development principles into the document. Once the plan has been approved the council intends to move ahead with changes to our zoning ordinances and subdivision regulations that will allow and encourage conservation subdivision design.
I'm so grateful to Land Choices for highlighting the need to preserve land and for presenting development options that create winning outcomes for everyone in the community.”
Annette Allen, Councilmember, Signal Mountain Town Council, Signal Mountain, Tennessee
“When I became a developer, I knew that there had to be a more respectful way to treat the land while also creating unique living spaces. Conservation subdivision design is the perfect solution to accomplish both of these goals and is the only way I approach development. More often than not, this approach saves on project costs and accelerates approval timelines."
Kurt Andrae, President Red Wing Land Company and developer of Sugar Creek Preserve, an award-winning conservation subdivision in Wisconsin that preserves approximately 177-acres, over 69% of the site, as open space.
“The golf course development without the golf course. Landowners who view their property as their 'pension' no longer have to destroy their woods and fields in order to retire with a guaranteed income, as their equity is not diminished.”
“Most townships and counties (with some notable exceptions) have adopted zoning and subdivision ordinances whose principal purpose is to set rules for the orderly conversion of virtually land that is dry, flood-free, and flat to moderately-sloping, into developed properties. Fortunately, practical alternatives do exist, and LandChoices can help communities adopt land-use regulations that are truly consistent with their Comprehensive Plan polices regarding farmland preservation, woodland habitat conservation, and scenic viewshed protection.
In my professional judgment, conservation subdivision design is the single most effective local regulatory technique enabling communities to implement the conservation policies in their officially-adopted plans. Unlike other techniques, it does not rely on landowner generosity, does not involve down-zoning and devaluing family lands, does not require expensive bond issues for public acquisition, and is not complex or unwieldy as an implementation tool. Moreover, this technique does so at no cost, and is a clear win-win for the landowner, developer, community and wildlife.
Implemented at the municipal level, this technique has enabled Hamburg Township in Livingston County, MI, to preserve more than 2,000 acres.
Applied on a county-wide basis, Hanover County VA has protected more than 5,000 acres through conservation subdivision design. The future is not pre-determined, but can be shaped by local action.”
“Consultation with local experts in Florida panhandle ecology informed my decision as to which parts of this property to designate as a preserve, including habitat for gopher tortoises. Money really does grow on trees, as 86 of the first 87 lots sold on the first day of offering, a record for developers in Leon County.”
Randall Arendt, renowned landscape planner, considered the nation’s foremost authority on conservation design for subdivisions, commenting on conservation subdivision design.
One of Mr. Arendt's recent designs is credited by an Indiana developer as adding at least $20,000 of value to each lot ($800,000 total) while still providing for full development density.
By respecting natural terrain and designing around existing site features on an 80-lot development in Texas, Mr. Arendt recently cut conventional site grading costs from $300,000 to $50,000 and while also retaining value by saving 23 of the 24 large oak trees that otherwise would have been destroyed in conventional development.
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“As conservation subdivisions emerge, sellers, buyers, and even NIMBYs find set-aside plans they support….Leaving land in its natural state or building trails through it is cheaper than building infrastructure or golf courses."
Big Builder magazine (May 1, 2006)
BIG BUILDER is the premier publication for America's 10,000 most active builders.
"I received final approval for my preliminary plan for Jarvis Way as a conventional subdivision, then a forward thinking Westford, MA planning commission member invited me to hear a presentation and workshop by Randall Arendt on conservation design for subdivisions. I was just amazed! I immediately went home, resketched the plan and created a conservation subdivision for Jarvis Way. Thank God a forward thinking planning board member told me about conservation subdivisions. What we do to the land now under conventional subdivision zoning should be criminal.
Not many developers, and none of the big home builders, will apply for a special permit to build a conservation subdivision. It is too risky and causes delays that can last six months or more. These businesses have a responsibility to shareholders. That is why conservation subdivisions should be the "by right, permitted use" in ordinances, to make it easy for developers and their lawyers. A lot of developers want to do the right thing but conventional subdivision ordinances and stubborn, inexperienced planning officials who lack vision force them to build the conventional subdivision that destroys the land. I am excited about LandChoices' 'Supersize My Backyard' campaign, it is just what is needed!
Conservation subdivisions are vastly more appealing to consumers, have a much faster resale rate and higher resale value, and that is a fact. Consumers prefer the open space. I feel good developing land this way. The farmer, Mr. Jarvis, at Jarvis Farm used to walk around the open space at the subdivision I developed, proud that his land was kept intact after he sold for development. I was proud that I did not destroy his farm. Homes in conservation subdivisions sell as soon as they go on the market, within one week, even in a down real estate market. It is all about value. One woman at Jarvis Farm told me she just sold her house within three weeks this year when a woman slipped a note in her door asking if she wanted to sell as she loved the open space. When does that ever happen in a conventional subivision?"
Joe Flaherty, developer of Jarvis Farm, Owner, Orion Homes by Flaherty, Westford, MA
"I developed Centerville Conservation Community in Tallahassee Florida after a recommendation from Randal Arendt. It is the first conservation community in the region. We began closing lots in the fourth quarter of 2006. From a developer/realtor's perspective it has been extremely successful and I would never consider another development that was not a conservation community.
From a sales perspective conservation communities provide the perfect hedge to the two most critical aspects of development, price and absorption. First, when the market is good they command a premium. Second, when the market is slow they out sell competing developments. Centerville Conservation Community is the textbook example of this.
Even though this is the slowest residential market in over 20 years, to date, we have closed 84 of 200 lots. Centerville now controls 34% of the market segment and growing. Our in-house sales person was ranked number 16 of 2000+/- area Realtors for 2007 and she only sells Centerville lots!"
Jon Kohler, Developer of Centerville, Owner, Jon Kohler and Associates Real Esate Consultants, FL
“In 1996, Monroe County began the process of updating its Comprehensive Plan. This process, known as Monroe 2020, is an innovative approach to planning and sound land use practices that established a framework for cooperative effort among municipalities and between municipalities and the County. The Monroe 2020 vision is ‘to sustain and improve our quality of life by ensuring that the county’s environmental, economic, and cultural assets are within reach of all its people.’ Two results of the Monroe 2020 process are a new County Comprehensive Plan adopted by the County in 1999 and a County Open Space Program that was initiated with the passing of a $25 million Open Space Bond Referendum.
During both the Monroe 2020 process and the Open Space Program, we realized that we needed to provide the municipalities with a proven tool to not only preserve land but to assist them in managing growth in the second fastest growing county in the state. One of the tools we selected was NLT’s (Natural Lands Trust) Growing Greener Conservation Subdivision Design Program. This program allows our municipalities to create ordinances that plan the development around the natural features and resources of the site. It also gives them the ability to preserve over half of the parcels as open space. We have been very successful with adding the Conservation Subdivision program as a valuable tool in our “municipal toolbox” and to date, 10 of our 20 municipalities have adopted Growing Greener regulations. This achievement has been recognized by both the Natural Lands Trust and several state agencies including the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.”
Christine Dettore, Monroe County Planning Commission Staff, Open Space Coordinator, PA
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