© Lauren Kreyling

Open Space and ResilienceE. Heidi Ricci, Senior Policy AnalystValerie Massard, AICP, CFM

Shaping the Future of Your Community Program

Working in the state’s fastest developing regions to provide community leaders and concerned citizens with tools and support to chart a more sustainable future

www.massaudubon.org/shapingthefuture

Losing Ground in Mass.

Losing Ground in Mass.

LANDSATMassGIS

New Development TrendsDevelopment Rates in Massachusetts (2005-2013)

Climate Change

1958-2007

Climate Change

Infrastructure Impacts

Climate Change Paradox

More Floods More Droughts

Mass Rivers Alliance 2009

Taunton River floodingFlood Safety noaa.gov

Climate Change

Source: EPAForest Cover Impacts

Climate Change

Source: Umass Extension Agriculture Impacts

Climate Change

Source: MAPC

Health Impacts

Losing Ground in Mass.

Losing Ground in Mass.

Natural Systems Defense

• Shade• Windblock• Shelter• Sponge• Carbon• Filter

Adaptation• Protect natural &

built environment

• Preserve quality of life

• Minimize harm to people, property and our economic well being

AdaptationPrioritize Protection:Important habitat and Green Infrastructure

Prioritize Development:Concentrate near infrastructureand away from important natural resourcesRegional Plans – Implementation Toolkitwww.massaudubon.org/495Toolkit

Adaptation• Protect highly resilient lands• Concentrate development

away from vulnerable areas• Align local plans and zoning• Look beyond parcel and

municipal boundaries

Losing Ground in Mass.

Losing Ground in Mass.

© Paul Blankman

What can I do?

Get involved!Talk with your municipality and local officials

Do we allow open space design? Low impact design?

Do we have a current Open Space Plan? Is it reflected in the zoning and master plan?

Are there any large projects under consideration?

Have we adopted the Community Preservation Act?

Are we planning with climate change in mind? health, emergency planning, public works, long-term capital planning, forest management

Ask questions!

www.massaudubon.org/shapingthefuture

Links to information are available

Losing Ground in Mass.

On-line mapping tool massaudubon.org& links to toolkits for planning

Open Space DesignLow Impact Design

Conservation Design

100 acre wooded site with field, stream, and trail before development

Two-acre zoning; conventional subdivision (34 lots, no preservation)

Natural Resource Protection Zoning (14 lots, >75% preservation)

Source: EEA Kurt Gaertner

Natural Resource Protection Zoning

Offer incentives and alternatives for developers to explore, such as:

• Smaller lot frontages and setbacks• Smaller minimum lot sizes• Reduced road widths, sidewalks• Less land clearing and grading• Transfer of development rights• Incentives for clustering

Does my community encourageopen space developments?

Conservation Design

Green Infrastructure

Reduces • Pollutants in stormwater runoff• Maintenance costs of

infrastructure• Crime• Amount of stormwater runoff

Increases • Safety • People’s sense of well being• Habitat• Property values (0.7-5%, 11%, up

to 30%)

Benefits of Green Infrastructure

• Environmental

• Aesthetics & market value

• Avoided costs

• Meeting regulatory requirements

• Adapting to Climate Change

Gap in water infrastructure funding over next 20 years, Water Infrastructure Finance Commission, 2012. Slide by Martin Pillsbury,

MAPC

• Lower infrastructure costs – less roads, stormwater management

• Reduced clearing and grading• Protect water supplies• Prevent flood damage, protect wetland

buffers and floodplains• Protect forests and farmlands• Provide open space and trails for people

and nature• Support high quality of life and property

values• Equitable land value for individual

property owners

Benefits - Reducing Sprawl & Protecting Natural Green Infrastructure

Open Space zoning can be improved upon – often:• Special Permit Required –

Discretionary• Can be long, expensive

process• Large parcel size• Less than ideal land

conservation • Dimensional

requirements make flexibility difficult

Open Space Design can be improved with:• By right/mandatory • Formula-based/quick• No minimum lot size• [60%] of land area

protected • Strategic protection through

conservation analysis• Flexible design standards –

lot size, frontage, setbacks, roads, etc.

Source: EEA Kurt Gaertner

New Model Open Space Design Bylaw/Ordinance

• Model subdivision & special permit guidelines for density bonuses, shared driveways

• Easily customized• Addresses questions

raised by Wall Street v. Westwood decision

Source: EEA Kurt Gaertner

Includes case studies, model bylaws, related

information

Source: EEA Kurt Gaertner

http://www.mass.gov/envir/smart_growth_toolkit/

Examples

Source: Scott Horsley, Horsley Witten Inc.

Preserved Historic Sandwich Road, Slide courtesy of Horsley Witten Inc.

ANR Plan for Pinehills – before Open Space Design

Pinehills usingopen space

design

Horsley Witten

Slide courtesy of Horsley Witten Inc.

Residential Development - Plymouth, MA 1996-2013

Westford, Massachusetts 1971-2014

Source: Westford, Massachusetts Open Space & Recreation Plan

Communities change…

Westford, Massachusetts Technical Paper #4 - Westford Comprehensive Plan

Jarvis Way, Westford, MA

Jarvis Way

Source: Chris Kluchman, AICP, Westford’s Director of Land Use Management, and Bill Turner, Conservation/Resource Planner (retired)

It takes teamwork!

Jarvis Way• No curbing, 18 feet wide with 2 foot

shoulder

• Flexible sidewalk location, dead-end lot number maximum waived

• Waived piped drainage, allowed wider drainage swales and some increase in runoff in one location

• Trees planted, stone walls constructed, trail easements and common space created

Jarvis Way

Source: Chris Kluchman, AICP, Westford’s Director of Land Use Management, and Bill Turner, Conservation/Resource Planner (retired)

WestfordTrail Map 2014

Open Space Plan

http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/eea/dcs/osrp-workbook08.pdf

http://www.mass.gov/eea/grants-and-tech-assistance/guidance-technical-assistance/open-space-resources/

Open Space PlanningState guidelines:

Private foundations Land trusts Volunteer committees –

Conservation Commission, Open Space, Community Preservation, Forestry, Agriculture, Planning

Non-profits (Mass Audubon, SEMPBA, The Nature Conservancy, i.e.)

State parks and agencies

Non-profits, volunteering

Community Preservation Act

158 communities have adopted CPA (45% of the Commonwealth’s cities and towns)

Close to $1.4 billion has been raised to date for community preservation funding statewide

21,838 acres of open space have been preserved

Nearly 1,250 outdoor recreation projects have been initiated

CPA through Feb, 2015

Source: http://www.communitypreservation.org/content/cpa-overview

Get involved!Talk with your municipality and local officials

Open Space and Resilience