22livingwiththeland.pdf

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North

Glenn

M. Simmons

with Christopher

City

Ne

I

ew

homes

are

coming

to the North Carolina mountains.

They

may

bethe resultof

new

highways

beingbuilt inthePiedmont Crescentorthey

may

be

partofa national trendtoward exurbandevelopment.

They

may

be vacation

homes

for residents ofthe

region's

growing

cities or first

homes

for telecommuters.

With

every

new

trend intechnology

and transportation, the

immovable

mountains seem

closer foradeterminedgroupof people seeking

new

ways

tolive, work, and recreate.

While

new

residents

may

bring a much-needed

boost to the mountain economy, development also

threatenstheenvironmentthat

makes

theregionsuch

a desirable place to live.

The

mountains face the

prospect of being buried under an avalanche of exurbansprawl, in whichthe uninspiredpatternsof post-war suburban development are continued and majestic

landscapes

are turned into endless

homescapes.

Ultimately, the pristine

mountain

qualities that so

many

seek to enjoy could be

destroyed.

Now

is the

time

to consider

how

future developmentcould

make

the wisestuseofthisland. Whileitisunrealistic to expect thatdevelopment could

Glenn

M. Simmons

is a registered landscape architect

and

principal

planner

with the

City-County

Planning

Board

in Winston-Salem,

NC.

He

holds

a Master of Landscape

Architecture Degree

from North

Carolina State University School

of

Design

and

has been an

active

_{proponent of}

conservation-oriented design.

He

has overfifteen

years

of

work

experience with both the private

and

public sectors

of

land development.

He

is a consultant

on

the Saddle

Mountain

project.

Christopher City is

a

candidate for a

Master

s

degree in Regional Planning at

UNC-Chapel

Hill.

be stopped in this region, or even to suggest that

stopping development would be a good idea, it is reasonable to consider alternatives to the future

we

face.

One

important

way

to do that is to explore

alternative types ofdevelopment that

accommodate

growth without compromisingthe naturalbeauty or

life-supporting resourcesofthemountainlandscape.

One

promisingalternativeisconservation-oriented

development, which harnesses the economic engine of developmenttohelp protect thenaturalenvironment.

An

example

is the

proposed

Saddle

Mountain

development

in northwestern

North

Carolina's

Alleghany County. Described

by

its owners as a

settlement rather than a conventional development,

SaddleMountainisdesignedtobea

human

habitatin

accord withits natural surroundings.

At

theheartof

the nearly 500-acretract is a 250-acre conservation

preservethatcomplementsapproximately50

carefully-selected

home

sites. This example will

show

how

responsible, conservation-minded development can

preserve the land at the

same

time that it provides

income.

What

is

Conservation-Oriented

Development?

Humans

have always recognized

two

sets of

values for natural resources.

We

assign one set to these resources

when

they are harvested

and

processedintogoodsforour consumption, as

when

a

tree ends up as Louisville Sluggers. Thereis another

setofvalues for natural resources that are preserved.

Inthis case,

we

recognize the benefits ofleaving a

tree toanchor ahillside orprovideshade.

While the former setofvalues has been applied

liberallytothedevelopment ofland,thelatterhas not

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23

developers approach a parcel oflandwith the belief that it is worth most

when

it is most thoroughly

developed. Conservation-oriented developers, on the

other hand, recognize that land that is not developed

can raise thevalue ofthe propertiesthat border itor

otherwise share in the benefits ofits preservation

In practice, this approach becomes a revenue

generator. For example, the developer

may

leverage

conservationbenefitsbycapitalizingthemintothesale

priceof adjacentlots Inotherinstances,private

land-buyers could share in the purchase of a large land

tractwiththe ideaofbuildingononly a fractionofthe

land. In either case, the principle is the same: by combiningthe interests ofpotential homeowners it is

possibletoconservelargerand

more

completenatural

and aesthetic preserves than would be possible for

any ofthe

homeowners

individually.

The

costs of

preservation areshared

among

those

who

mostdirectly

benefit.

Conservation-oriented development, as opposed to conventional development, also offers long-term

benefits forthe rural communities inwhichitoccurs

In the early stages of a conventional development,

new

buyers

may

expect that un-built property will

remain un-built

They

buy into an ambient level of development. Thispattern allowsdevelopersto"self' this ruralcharacter,even

when

open spaceisnotlikely

tostay open

By

the timethe open character isgone,

so is thecharacter

who

sold it

In a conservation-orienteddevelopment, each lot

is sold with the guaranteethat specified areasofthe

development

will remain protected through

conservation easements Such an approach has been endorsed bycommunitiesthatrecognizethelong-term

economic

benefits of conservation-oriented developments Innovation and cooperation by local government authorities are crucial to the promotion

and success of these developments. Cumulatively,

conservation-oriented developments offer the benefit

ofprotectinglargeareasof openspace,animalhabitat, watersheds or other environmentally important

landscapes.

The

Saddle Mountaindevelopmentbuffers

and enhances a natural area ofregional importance

(see illustration) In this

way

conservation

developments support eachotherin symbiotic, rather

than parasitic, relationships with their natural

landscape

Conservation developments can

sometimes

benefit additionally from the donation of the

development rights associated with a conservation

easement

to a land trust or other non-profit organization

The

state of North Carolina and the

^-j

«£Mh,

Expanded

c.onse.h.vhtion4

LIMIT!

Conservation-orienteddevelopmentcan be usedtofurther protectsensitivenaturalareas.Thebottomimageinthis illustrationshows

how

conservationeasementscouldbe addedtoprotecttributarywatershedstotheMitchellRiver.

(Graphic courtesyol Glenn Simmons)

federal government allow significant tax credits and

deductionsforqualifiedconservationdonations Such

tax benefits

may

provide just

enough

additional financial incentive to

make

a conservation development achievable Although the development rights

may

lie in the hands ofa conservation trust,

homeowners

may

still benefit from the recreational

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On-Site Techniques

for

Conservation

Development

Conservation-oriented development sites are

designed to attract buyers

who

value quiet surroundingsthat reflectthehandof nature

more

than

thehandof

humans

As

aresult, itispossibletoselect development sites and craft deed covenants that

enhance

natural amenities

and

protect the

environment.

Some

of these choices

may

seem

unusual, even

counterproduct-ive, in a development for the

traditional suburban market.

However,

we

expect that people

who

buy lots in

con-servation developments would

consider conservation-oriented

regulations to be protective of

their investment. (In the

remainder

of this section

Simmons

describes

develop-ment plans he has proposed in

conjunction with the site's

owners.)

Our

site is located on the

northwest side of Saddle

Mountain.Itisborderedonthe north

by

the Blue

Ridge

Parkway, which is the nearest

connector road.

To

the south

and east are large forested

tractsofwhichmorethan3,000

acres have been preserved in

perpetuity

by

the

North

CarolinaNatureConservancy.

The

watershed on the south

side of Saddle Mountain feeds

one of two remaining native

habitats in North Carolinafor

SouthernBrookTrout. It isalso

a significant tributarytothe Mitchell River,which is

classified as an Outstanding Resource River.

Our

approachtodevelopmentaccommodates and

protectsthese natural attributesofthesite andofthe

adjacent conservation properties.

We

selected the

development and conservation portions ofthe site in

sucha

way

astopreservethemostfragileecosystems

andnaturalpathways. For example,

we made

oursite

selectionsina

way

thatkeeps development

away

from

the streamcorridors and backfromthe ndgelines.

We

alsochosetoextendandbuffer existingconservation

tracts adjacent to the south side ofthe property.

By

TO MITCMtiL RivLIL

TheSaddleMountainconservation-oriented

development Concept. (Graphic courtesyof

Glenn Simmons)

settingour conservationeasementagainst the existing

conservationtract,

we

effectivelyexpandedthattract

and

provided an additional buffer

between

that

ecosystem and the development.

Although the development sites are set between

the

Parkway

and the ridge,

we

took steps to ensure

that they will not be visible from the road.

The

sites

are set into a shallow slope ofthe mountain. This

location willreducethe differentialbetweenthe front

and reartree cutmargins on the building site, which

should help hide these cuts

from the parkway.

We

have

proposed

other

steps within the site toprotect

the

viewshed

from

the

parkway.

Homeowners

are only allowed to cut a narrow

envelopeto

accommodate

their

building site. Tree cuts other

thanin this 50-footswath will be limited. Instead,

home-owners

will be able to thin

upper branches ofdown-slope trees. This pruning will result

in "porthole" views thatallow

homeowners

tolook outonthe valleywhileleaving the

canopy-intact. Clearing trees for the

purpose of expanding these viewswillbeprohibited.Native colors and materials will be

mandatoryforbuildingsinorder

to reduce their visibility from the parkway.

Other aspects of the site layout will appeal to

homeowners

who

value a

wilderness experience.

Al-though

safely-constructed, access roads are narrow,

unpaved

and follow the contours of the mountain terrain.

We

are promoting the regrowth of natural

vegetation along the edge ofthe roadway to protect

itsnatural characterandtonarrowtheroadenvelope.

No

driveways are cut directly into the main access

road. Instead, they feed intoshared access drives that

connect with the main road.

A

network ofwalking

trails will connect each property, by

way

of a five-minuteorlesswalk, with oneofseveral

common

view

sites.

We

arealsoconsidering variousdeed covenants

to promote a balance between the natural and built

environments.

The

quietseclusionthat

many

consumers

N.C.

NATUR.E.

CONSERVANCY

RlOqELlNE.

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UNOUTUtREP

A

typicalcross-section, showingconservationofnaturalareasandvicwshed. (Graphic courtesy ofGlennSimmons)

seek in a mountain homesite is easily threatened by-development, even on large lots. Accordingly, deed covenantswillrestrictyardnoiseandlighting. In order

toprotect the existingflora,theuseofexotic plantsin landscapingwillbe restricted.

Economic

Feasibility

The

marketforconservationdevelopmentprojects

inthemountains of North Carolinaisuncertain While

many

suburbaniteshave boughtsport-utilityvehicles

it's difficult to say

how

many

ofthese jeep owners really want to need to use four-wheel drive to get

home

in

some

seasons There are, however, a few

case studies that indicate that consumers are willing

toexploresuchatypical livingarrangements. Inmost

cases, thesedevelopments have beenaimedat

upper-incomebuyersbecause ofthelowerriskinthatmarket.

In this case, the current landowners are willing to

considerthisalternativebecause oftheirlong-standing

interest in the property For them, this type of

development is a

way

to afford keeping

much

ofthe

property in its natural state while still realizing the

economic value oftheirproperty.

Lots in the Saddle Mountain development will

range in size from six or seven acres on the lower

slopestoapproximatelythree acrescloser to thendge

Lot priceswill generallybe inthe $25-50,000 range

In total, about 150 acres are designated for initial development.

More

than300acres areearmarkedfor

common

conservation easementsanddonationstothe

Piedmont Land Conservancv

Future options for development could

augment

income from

residential lots

by

developing the

property's potential fora low impact

mix

of

twenty-first-century land uses. These uses could include a

smallinnandwellnesscenterand businessuses, such

as an office and conference center with access to a

fibre-optic network only a short distance from the

site.

The

economic

engine for conservation development is not yet tuned. Relationships

among

governmental agencies, the private business sector, and conservationtrustsmustbecultivated further to takefulladvantageoftheconsumer'sgrowinginterest

in conservation. While conservation tax credits are

an important step in changing the currentparadigm of

development,

too

few

property

owners

or

developers

know

enough to take full advantage of

this system. In the case ofthe Saddle

Mountain

property, the landowners

may

use conservation

easements to offset the capital gainfrom the sale of lots. In other situations, property