MODULE-6 Smart Growth Opportunities

Open Space Residential Design (OSRD)

An Open Space Residential Design (OSRD) or Cluster Subdivision, is a residential development approach that can help to mitigate suburban sprawl impacts by focusing on open space preservation and flexible design standards. This technique is an innovative form of subdivision design that increases both resource protection, and economic profit, and reduces the ecological footprint of development and the infrastructure needed to support it.

Implementing OSRD

The OSRD process begins with determining how many lots could be developed under conventional zoning; this is the base yield of the property. From that point, the plan development process follows four basic steps:

  1. Identify Conservation Areas. Areas that deserve protection include drinking water supplies, wetlands, floodplains, buffers to streams, wildlife habitats, and historic features. The community should analyze and evaluate the site in context to surrounding areas in order to identify the features that should be preserved within the designated conservation area.
  2. Locate house sites. Once the maximum number of units has been established, the development or buildable area is now identified. House sites are located in the design to maximize access to open space and proximity to views. Conceptual alternatives are explored.
  3. Align roads, trails, and other infrastructure. Avoid excess impervious surfaces by reducing the width of paved areas and streets, and use permeable or porous surfaces. Integrate a natural series of stormwater management practices such as bioretention cells and rain gardens to recharge water to aquifers.
  4. Draw in lot lines. Then, establish ownership and management of the preserved open space.

OSRD provides the flexibility to minimize and allow various lot sizes, setbacks, and frontage within the development, allowing for minimal disturbance of the landscape. When OSRD is allowed by Special Permit, communities can also incorporate provisions for density bonuses (linked to local goals) and the inclusion of affordable housing. The permitting process, therefore, functions to protect natural resources and promote recharge to underlying aquifers. OSRD also incorporates the use of design techniques to reduce impervious covering and the impacts to water quantity and quality, such as clustering, permeable surfaces, reduced roadway pavement widths, and the preservation of natural drainage pathways.

Community Benefits of OSRD

Implementing OSRD can have a host of social, economic, and environmental benefits for communities, improving the overall quality of life for residents and providing opportunities for sustainable growth. The following are examples of these potential benefits:

For Residents and Local Officials

  • Streamlines plan review process and reduces time and costs
  • Adds valuable amenities that can enhance marketing and sale prices
  • Increases resale value (homes in OSRD subdivisions have shown to appreciate faster than those in conventional subdivisions)
  • Decreases site development costs by designing with the terrain

Social, Recreational, and Economical

  • Reduces isolation and sprawl
  • Enhances local community character
  • Promotes community involvement
  • Provides neighborhood connections with an interconnected network of trails and open space
  • Reduces municipal infrastructure and maintenance costs

Environmental

  • Protects unique or fragile habitats
  • Reduces the pollution impacts of stormwater runoff
  • Promotes aquifer recharge
  • Provides opportunities to link wildlife habitats
  • Conservation values are part of the planning process
  • Can further goals of open space and community development plans

Open Space Residential Design (OSRD) Case Study

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