CENTER FOR COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
P.O Box 942 Middleburgh, New York 12122
518 827-4343

New Video Release: Preserving Open Space with Conservation Subdivisions

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Preserving Open Space With Conservation Subdivisions

The Center is pleased to announce the release of an 88 minute video consisting of three parts on conservation subdivisions.

Part 1, Preserving Open Space with Conservation Subdivisions (approx. 31 minutes), provides an overview of conservation subdivisions and how these can be designed and assembled to interrupt the sprawl pattern of development. Unlike the conventional sprawl pattern, conservation subdivisions can protect a community’s significant natural resource assets such as important farmlands, wildlife habitats, groundwater recharge areas, water quality, woodlands, scenic viewsheds, and unique geologic features. Part 1 also examines the steps a municipality needs to take to begin planning for an interconnected network of open space. In addition, it outlines a four-step process that can be used in the design of conservation subdivisions. It also examines the role of conservation zoning as a method for preserving open space.

Part 2, Conservation Subdivisions: Strategies and Benefits (approx. 29 minutes), elaborates on the kinds of zoning changes needed to facilitate conservation design at the municipal level. It also discusses the potential role of land trusts in administering and monitoring conservation easements which typically are associated with conservation subdivisions. In Part 2, the economic, environmental and socio-recreational benefits with conservation subdivisions are examined in contrast to the sprawl pattern of development.

Part 3, Developers of Conservation Subdivisions: Their Story (approx. 28 minutes), provides case studies of existing conservation subdivisions and interviews with developers.

Developers will find that conservation subdivisions offer the following benefits:

  1. Project approval by local planning and permitting officials is generally faster than conventional subdivision projects.
  2. In conservation subdivisions the lots and homes generally sell at a premium.
  3. The value of homes in a conservation subdivision tends to appreciate more quickly than those in standard subdivisions.
  4. Homes typically move faster in the market than standard subdivision homes.
  5. In terms of marketing, conservation subdivisions are more appealing to future homeowners than standard subdivisions because they offer amenities that enhance the quality of life while protecting open space resources and the environment.

This video is a must for communities wishing to preserve open space resources at no expense to the community, and at no loss of income to the landowner or developer, which is clearly a win-win situation for community stakeholders.

Footage for this three-part series was photographed from Florida to Minnesota including several New England states and five Mid-western states. Interviews were conducted with developers, municipal officials, administrators of land trusts, and planning professionals. One of the individuals highlighted in this three-part series is Randall Arendt, the nation’s leading advocate of conservation subdivisions and author of five books on the subject.

To order a copy of this three-part series Preserving Open Space with Conservation Subdivisions, please send a check or money order for $39.95 (VHS $29.95) plus $3.00 for shipping and handling to the Center for Community Environmental Management. (New York residents must add 8% sales tax unless exempt). Quantity discounts are available.

For additional information, contact: William B. Morton – 518 827-4343

Preserving Open Space With Conservation Subdivisions

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