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Throughout Northeast Ohio, an interest is growing in land preservation techniques – techniques which will allow our traditional wide open spaces, rural character, wetlands, woodlands and rich historic heritage to continue into the next century. At the same time, there is an interest in economic development techniques which will allow a continuation of our high quality of life in the future. The key to that high quality of life is not development alone nor preservation alone - but achieving a balance between the two. This is the classic definition of the term “conservation”, and is at the heart of the Countryside Program’s promotion of “Conservation Development”.

The Countryside Program was begun in the spring of 1996 as a project of the Western Reserve RC&D. Through a generous grant from the George Gund Foundation, the RC&D began a program to promote sensitive planning and development in the region, through education and technical assistance. Their vision was a clear one: to enhance the quality of development in the region, and to enable communities to implement conservation practices in their planning, zoning and project approval decisionmaking. Most especially, they sought to promote one tool for land preservation which applies to land in any community which we know will be developed. We call this tool Conservation Development.

Ultimately, communities meeting with the most success at achieving that balance of conservation and development will be those that implement a range of tools for different purposes. Outright purchase, use of conservation easements, purchase of development rights, and conservation zoning are all examples of tools that communities can use for land preservation. Each tool has a different set of circumstances under which it works best; and each community will have a unique set of situations which can take advantage of them. Conservation Development techniques are implemented at the planning, zoning and project levels to soften the impact of development on community resources: allowing for partial protection of natural, historic, agricultural, environmental, and scenic resources, while allowing development to occur. Conservation Development is one of several tools communities should have available if they desire to achieve that balance of Conservation and Development that is so critical to our long-term quality of life in Northeast Ohio.

Conservation Development is based on a simple concept: start with the same number of homes that would be allowed in a traditional subdivision on a particular parcel of land, and allow the developer more flexibility in locating them on the property, while requiring that a substantial (over 40%) of the land be set aside as permanent open space. That flexibility and open space protection provide room for many practices that will serve to buffer the impacts of the development on the countryside: reduced stormwater flow through retention and detention, less impervious surface, increased filtering of stormwater, reduced heat reflectance, retention of original vegetation and historic structures, continuation of agriculture are just a few of the environmental benefits achieved through conservation development practices.

However, implementing this simple concept often requires a difficult undertaking for many Northeast Ohio communities. Officials, and the public, need to be convinced that a change in their planning and zoning codes is worthwhile. Disposal of wastewater on the flexibly designed projects must be handled properly. In townships, Conservation Development must be an option per Ohio Revised Code, and so a balance of developer incentives and public interest must be achieved. No simple task for our local community governing boards, typically all-volunteer with limited funds, to undertake.

In 1996, I was hired to begin the program as its coordinator. Since that time, we have spoken to over 175 communities, homebuilders groups, and citizens’ organizations in the Northeast Ohio region. We have worked with individual developers and property owners in understanding the options for sensitive design on their land. We have consulted to communities as they worked through the process of planning, zoning, and project review in the implementation of conservation-oriented policies. We have received the support of three additional local foundations: the Cleveland Foundation, the GAR Foundation, and the Nord Family Foundation. And we are on the verge of publishing a Resource Manual which will put in the hands of every community the information they need to understand the environmental, legal, planning, and technical aspects of implementing Conservation Development.