CONSERVATION SUBDIVISIONS
GOOD FOR THE LAND, GOOD FOR THE POCKETBOOK
By Steve Wright
In North Carolina’s prized and growing Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill research triangle area, the Town of Cary has earned awards for its controlled growth including Conservation Subdivisions.
“We adopted an ordinance that requires that Conservation Subdivisions be done in the area that touches our watershed,” said Town of Cary Senior Planner Don Belk. “This involves about 1,500 acres in our western planning jurisdiction where there are very poor soils in a very rural area, but municipal utilities are now available so it also is the hottest development area in the region.”
Previously, the 1,500 acres were zoned for minimum one-acre lots. Now, the area is allowed to have up to 2.5 units per acre, but only if housing is clustered and a significant amount of preserved open space is created as part of the development.
“We have a representative of Toll Brothers -- one of the biggest homebuilding companies in the nation -- who is actually going to the land owners and encouraging them to dedicate the conservation land up front, before they sell,” Belk said. “They take advantage of the state’s conservation tax credit program for a big tax break, then they get the proceeds from the sale of the remaining developable land.”
TOMORROW: Sugar Creek Preserve
Wright frequently writes about smart growth and sustainable communities. He and his wife live in a restored historic home in the heart of Miami’s Little Havana. Contact him at: stevewright64@yahoo.com
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