Planners: Here's the Test
See if your Land Use Ordinance encourages the development of conservation subdivisions: |
 |
Does your ordinance designate preserving a minimum of 50%* of the BUILDABLE land, in addition to the unbuildable wetlands, steep slopes and floodplains in new subdivisions? |
|
Does your ordinance encourage developers to preserve land by offering them incentives such as: |
|
1. Allowing narrower streets, eliminating curb and gutters (use swales instead to absorb excess water, along with rain gardens) to lower costs, recharge groundwater, and reduce storm water run off and pollution? |
|
2. A smooth review process to eliminate risk and uncertainty? |
|
Does your ordinance designate conservation subdivision design as a "By-right Permitted Use" option and conventional subdivision layouts as "Conditional Uses" or "Special Exemptions"? |
|
Does your ordinance require all involved in the process to conduct a site walk on the property; the developer, planning commission members, abutting landowners, officials, staff, etc., BEFORE any engineering plans are put into place in order to point out the conservation areas to be preserved? |
|
Does your ordinance require a qualified landscape architect experienced with conservation subdivisions, and a physical planner, experienced in designing conservation subdivisions, to be involved from the beginning with the project? |
|
|
Does your ordinance require an inventory and site analysis map of existing features?
Does your ordinance require an inexpensive conceptual sketch plan showing areas of proposed development and areas of proposed conservation prepared by a landscape architect or physical planner as the first layout document BEFORE expensive and highly detailed design drawings are created for the Preliminary Plan stage? This way any deficiencies can be corrected PRIOR to submission of the detailed, expensive Preliminary Plan. |
|
Does your ordinance plan ahead to create interconnected open space networks by linking together the conserved land in conservation subdivisions? |
| *In urban, sewered, high density areas zoned at 2-3-4 units per acre, preserving 40% open space, in addition to the unbuildable wetlands, floodplains, and steep slopes, is the norm. In rural, suburban edge areas at densities of 5 and 10 acres per dwelling, where most of America's new subdivisions are being and will be built, easily 70% (or more) of the land can be preserved. |
|
If it doesn't pass the test, *download LandChoices' Approved Conservation Subdivision Ordinance Now! Click button for 61 page document (417k)
Also please download:
Ordinance Amendments
(2 page document)
Courtesy Walworth County, WI
*LandChoices does not warrant that this provision complies with your state's laws. As such you are advised to consult with an attorney that is familiar with your state's laws.
Brace yourself. Just like your current land use ordinance, this one is lengthy, complex in structure, and heavy with legal wording. You can modify it to fit your state or use it as a guideline to revise your existing ordinance and land use codes.
This ordinance is written with conservation subdivisions as an option for developers. LandChoices strongly recommends you revise this, DESIGNATING conservation subdivision design as a "by-right permitted use", and designating conventional subdivision layouts as conditional uses, for new subdivision development.
Learn more!
Download the one page fact sheet from the conservation subdivisions advocates page at www.landchoices.org/campaign
Parts at left courtesy Randall Arendt |
|
 |
Site Planning Procedures
for Conservation Subdivisions:
Courtesy of Randall Arendt, "Conservation Design for Subdivisions", Island Press, 1996
Process Overview
The sequence of actions prescribed in this article is as listed below. These steps shall be followed sequentially and may be combined only at the discretion of the Planning Commission:
a. Pre-application discussion
b. Existing Features (Site Analysis) Plan (90 day clock starts with the submission of this plan at the on-site walkabout or at a regularly scheduled meeting of the Planning Commission)
c. On-site walkabout by planning commissioners and applicant
d. Pre-submission conference
e. Conceptual Preliminary Plan (conceptual illustration of greenway land, potential house sites, street alignments, and tentative lot lines, prepared according to the four-step design process described herein)
f. Preliminary Plan submission, determination of completeness, review of overall planning concepts, and decision
g. Preliminary engineering certification
h. Final Plan submission, determination of completeness, review, and decision
i. Supervisors' signatures
j. Recording at County Recorder of Deeds
For further information about Conservation Subdivisions, we recommend this two-page overview (PDF):
http://www.greenerprospects.com/CSD_Overview.pdf |
|
|
