| "We finally agreed that nobody was happy or satisfied with the current regulatory system. It really was a turning point because we finally agreed on something." |
In many communities, even if a residential developer wants to preserve natural areas and protect the environment, existing laws can at best present daunting permitting hurdles and at worst can prohibit the effort. Recognizing this conundrum, coastal resource managers in Massachusetts led a comprehensive coalition to rethink local planning.
"When we really took a look at the threats to coastal resources, it came down to development and how development is designed," says Andrea Cooper, coastal smart growth coordinator for the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management. "While there were a lot of other issues, it really became clear that our coastline was being threatened by sprawl."
The coastal program’s response was to help bring together a group of local planners, environmentalists, state and local officials, lawyers, developers, and real estate agents to form the Green Neighborhoods Alliance. Together the group created and works to promote a model zoning bylaw that not only allows, but also provides incentives to developers to conserve open space in new residential subdivisions.
Since 2001, about 30 communities have adopted Open Space Residential Design, and more are in the adoption process. While continuing to promote the model bylaw, the alliance has expanded its membership and purview to include low impact development best management practices.
Turning Point
When the 30-member Green Neighborhoods Alliance began meeting in 1997, Cooper says she was surprised its members kept coming back to the table.
"It took six months of contentious meetings for the group to agree on anything," she recalls. "We finally agreed that nobody was happy or satisfied with the current regulatory system. It really was a turning point because we finally agreed on something."
Over the next two years, the group hammered out the Open Space Residential Design model bylaw.
"Everybody put their issues on the table, and then we had to prioritize the issues because everybody couldn’t get everything they wanted," Cooper says. "We had to build something that was more economically attractive for the developer but at the same time was flexible for the community."
Finding the Value
Under the model bylaw, the number of homes that can be developed on a
piece of property is the same as in a conventionally zoned subdivision.
The difference is that at least 50 percent of the site’s natural areas
must be saved. To
help developers meet this goal, every lot size, frontage, and setback can be
different.
Another difference is that open space is set aside according to resource value, not by formula.
"You start out with GIS [geographic information system] data on the site, and the regulatory agency, developer, and any interested parties can sit down and look at the site and the surrounding context and decide what areas have the most conservation value and what should be protected," Cooper explains.
Step by Step
Designating the open space is the first step in the bylaw’s four-step planning process. Only when the open space is designated are house sites selected, roads and trails planned, and, finally, lot lines drawn—the reverse order of conventional subdivision planning.
The bylaw, Cooper says, was written to ease the approval process, making it on par with or even less time-consuming and costly than the approval process for conventional subdivisions. It is set up to be a "design partnership" between the planning board and the developer.
"One of the biggest surprises was that the developers agreed that the flexibility of design and reduced infrastructure was incentive enough for developers to choose this planning method," she says. Density bonuses kick in only if developers go above 50 percent open space, or provide affordable housing.
Team Approach
Once the model bylaw was drafted and agreed upon by group consensus, teams representing the various stakeholders began presenting it to local officials, developers, and planning boards across the state.
"They were stunned that this model was drafted by the various groups that are normally antagonistic," Cooper says.
"When they start to tell you that a developer would never go for this, and then a developer stands up who was a part of the process, they’re just bowled over."
Since beginning to learn of the bylaw in 2001, close to 30 towns have adopted the model or important sections of it. Another 15 communities are in the process of adopting the bylaw.
Above and Beyond
Numerous case studies demonstrate that the planning process is helping to protect natural areas. Cooper points to the community of Newbury, where a developer was able to save 100 of 125 acres that were of "global significance because they were on the Atlantic flyway."
With the success of Open Space Residential Design, the Green Neighborhoods Alliance expanded its membership from 30 to 100 to include engineering firms, watershed associations, and other public and private organizations. The group meets monthly to develop ways to promote low-impact-development best management practices, such as environmentally sensitive site design, green roofs, and using pervious surfaces, for both commercial and residential development.
"We’re plugging away at changing the design of commercial and residential development to reduce the impact on our coastal resources in terms of loss of open space and its effect on aquatic habitat and water quality," Cooper says.
She adds, "It’s been challenging but at the same time exciting. When you have success like that, it keeps you motivated to stay on track and build on that success."
For more information on the Green Neighborhoods Alliance and Open Space Residential Design, point your browser to www.mass.gov/czm/smartgrowth/. To read the Newbury Open Space Residential Design case study, go to www.mass.gov/envir/smart_growth_toolkit/pages/CS-osrd-newbury.html . You may also contact Andrea Cooper at (617) 626-1222, or andrea.cooper@state.ma.us.
