growing greener

Each time land is developed, there is an opportunity to add to community open space. All that’s needed are a few straightforward amendments to existing municipal codes.

the sun setting over an expansive open field with a stretch of houses on one side

conservation by design

At Natural Lands, we’re all about open space. But we also recognize that development isn’t inherently “bad” and that vibrant communities expand and change. So, we’re here to help municipal leaders make smart, proactive decisions today so their towns can green as they grow tomorrow.

Our ground-breaking Growing Greener: Conservation by Design approach helps save an average of 62 percent of land in new developments as open space. The resulting “conservation subdivisions” preserve more than half of the development parcel as open space, at little or no cost to the municipality.

putting conservation into local codes

Each time a property is developed into a residential subdivision, an opportunity exists for adding land to a communitywide network of open space. Just by making several small but significant changes to three basic local land-use documents—the comprehensive plan, the zoning ordinance, and the subdivision and land development ordinance. Simply stated, Conservation Design rearranges the development on each parcel as it is being planned so that half (or more) of the buildable land is set aside as open space.

Using this approach, the same number of homes can be built in a less land-consumptive manner. The balance of the property is permanently protected and added to an interconnected network of community green spaces. This “density-neutral” approach provides a fair and equitable way to balance conservation and development objectives.

A 2-D rendering of a conservation subdivision showing open spaces, waterways, building lots, and streets.

avoiding wall-to-wall subdivisions

Unfortunately, most communities with standard zoning and subdivision codes face a future in which every unprotected acre of buildable land is systematically converted into developed uses. Most local ordinances allow or encourage standardized layouts of “wall-to-wall house lots.” No community actively plans to become a bland suburb without open space. However, most zoning codes prescribe exactly this outcome.

Change starts with a Community Assessment, which is an evaluation of the land-use regulations that are currently on the books. An assessment will identify the existing ordinances’ strengths and weaknesses, offer guidance on how to incorporate conservation techniques alongside development and determine whether Growing Greener: Conservation by Design is right for your community.

an illustration of two landscape plans, one showing a wall to wall subdivision and the other showing houses surrounded by conserved land

faqs

No. There are two reasons why this approach does not constitute a “taking of land without compensation.” First, no density is taken away. Conservation Zoning is fundamentally fair because it allows landowners and developers to achieve full density under the municipality’s current zoning—and even to increase that density significantly—through several different “as-of-right” options. Although Conservation Zoning precludes full-density layouts that do not conserve open space, this is legal because there is no constitutional “right to sprawl.”

Second, no land is taken for public use. None of the land that is required to be designated for conservation purposes becomes public (or even publicly accessible) unless the landowner or developer wants it to be.

The most effective way to ensure that conservation land in a new subdivision will remain undeveloped forever is to place a conservation easement on it. These restrictions are separate from zoning ordinances and continue in force even if zoning changes permit higher densities in future years. Deed restrictions and covenants are, by comparison, not as effective as easements, but are sometimes useful for small areas of open space.

When considering subdivisions that conserve open space, officials often ask who will be responsible for the potential liability and payment of property taxes. The short answer is that whoever owns the conservation land is responsible for all of the above.

The conventional view is that the smaller lots in conservation subdivisions make them more difficult to develop in areas without sewers. However, the reverse is true. The flexibility inherent in the design of conservation subdivisions makes them superior to conventional layouts in their ability to provide for adequate sewage disposal.

In contrast with typical cluster codes, Conservation Zoning establishes higher standards for both the quantity and quality of open space that is to be preserved. Under Conservation Zoning, 50 to 70 percent of the unconstrained land is permanently set aside. This compares with cluster provisions that frequently require only 25 to 30 percent of the gross land area be conserved. That minimal open space often includes all of the most unusable land as open space, and sometimes also includes undesirable, left-over areas such as stormwater management facilities and land under high-tension power lines.

Although clustering has at best typically produced a few small “green islands” here and there in any municipality, Conservation Zoning can protect blocks and corridors of permanent open space.

Additionally, under Conservation Zoning, full density is achievable for layouts in which 50 percent or more of the unconstrained land is conserved as permanent, undivided open space. By contrast, cluster zoning provisions are typically only optional alternatives within ordinances that permit full density, by right, for standard “cookie-cutter” designs with no open space. As long as developers are given the option of full-density, by-right conventional layouts without open space, the vast majority will continue to opt for that more familiar design—to the community’s detriment.

In conservation subdivisions with substantial open space, there is little or no correlation between lot size and price. These developments have sometimes been described as “golf course communities without the golf course,” underscoring the idea that a house on a small lot with a great view is frequently worth as much or more than the same house on a larger lot that is boxed in on all sides by other houses.

It is a well-established fact of real estate that people pay more for park-like settings, which offset their tendency to pay less for smaller lots. Successful developers know how to market homes in conservation subdivisions by emphasizing the open space.