The examples shown here demonstrate how conservation design principles can be used to protect different kinds of resources.
By the early 1990’s, London Grove Townships supervisors had enough development proposals before them to double the community’s population within ten years. In response, the Township hired Natural Lands Trust to its ordinances. The London Grove experience illustrates that conservation and development need not be mutually exclusive.
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In Garnet Oaks, a woodland wildlife preserve was set aside by the developer, who also constructed extensive walking trails. A well-equipped tot lot and an informal picnic grove provide additional amenities to the residents.
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At Farmview, 137 acres of productive farmland were permanently protected, in addition to most of the woodlands. This subdivision prompted the township to revise its conventional zoning so that the developer’s creative design could be approved. Since that time over 500 acres of prime farmland has been preserved in this community through conservation subdivision design representing a $3.5 million conservation achievement.
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Canterbury is a 17-acre parcel located
in Buckingham Township’s R-1 District. The
developer chose to locate the lots on roughly
one quarter acres lots. Deliberately situated
behind a band of woodland, the homes are
screened from Landisville Road providing
seclusion and privacy, while still maintaining
the rural character. Homes are modest in size at
approximately 1600 sq. ft. and are targeted to
young familes with modest incomes.
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Indian Walk is a 50-acre tract part of
the Township’s Agricultural District. Forty
acres are preserved as farmland and overall 90
percent of the site is preserved. The developer
could have built fifty 1-acre lots, but chose to
build 10 houses on 1/2-3/4 acre lots, and still
realized a reasonable return on his investment
for five reasons.
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Plumsock at Willistown a 72 acre site conserves 70
percent of the property as undivided space.
Under the township’s rural zoning provisions,
the developer could build one dwelling per
80,000 sq. ft. through a conservation option or
realize only half that density (1 dwelling per
4 acres) in a conventional lot format. The 38
custom 3,600-7,500 sq. ft. houses were built
on half-acre lots that were just 130 ft wide.
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Ponds at Woodward, a collaborative relationship
yielded a design that saved a
working orchard and met the
landowners’ financial goals.
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Ringfield Informal space and
a neighborhood layout
preserves the Township’s
rural character.
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A small borough in Delaware County, Rose Valley Borough, achieved big conservation goals when faced with potential destruction of natural and historic landscape features when the Saul Estate, the borough’s last large estate, was proposed for development. Existing zoning would have permitted homes on one-acre lots spread across
the 26-acre estate, a National Register-eligible complex by the prominent “Arts and Crafts” style architect William Price. With assistancefrom Natural Lands Trust, Rose Valley adopted a Growing Greener: Conservation by Design ordinance in 2006 and worked with the developer on a conservation design emphasizing
compact, age-targeted homes.
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Summerfield, 81-acre site is an
extension of the existing 19th century village of Elverson with 30 percent of the site set aside for conservation. The site features horse pastures, a tot-lot, a playing field and a future 2500 sq.
ft. community building. Half of the lots border on the horse pastures.
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Weatherstone combines
two creative principles, neo-traditional
and conservation design in a mixed-use
community surrounded by conservation lands.
Weatherstone blends different but compatible land uses, including a mixture of 273 single family
and attached residential units, 240,000 sq.
ft. of retail and offi ce space, and a new branch of the county library system.
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How has West Vincent Township, facing so much new development, manage to maintain the woodlands, scenic views and agricultural lands that residents cherish?
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