A Practitioner’s Guide to Conservation and Limited Development Projects Page 1 of 7: Deciding when to do a CLDP
This guide is intended to shed light on some of the questions and challenges that practitioners may encounter when considering or conducting CLDPs. It is written mainly from the viewpoint of land trusts, but landowners and developers may also find it helpful. This information is not my personal recommendation, per se, but is based on the collective experience and advice of CLDP practitioners across the country. Although this material has been carefully researched, it is general in nature and should not be construed as providing advice on specific projects. A CLDP should be considered only when two conditions are met: § First, the conservation target(s) on the site must be compatible with limited development. The Land Trust Alliance’s Standards and Practices note that “[a] land trust must not agree to approaches that do not adequately protect the property’s conservation resources.” To determine if limited development passes this test, one should first identify the site’s conservation targets, being as specific as possible (e.g., “riparian forest and salamander species,” not just “habitat”). Then, the key attributes of these targets essential to their long-term persistence should be identified—for example, adequate buffering from residences for active farmland or minimum distances from clearings for forest interior bird species. Is there a buildable portion of the site that will not impair these key attributes? § Second, the site must be located where there is a market for new development. In these places, the per-acre value of subdivided buildable land usually far exceeds that of raw, undivided land.	A Practitioner’s Guide to CLDPs „ Page 1: Deciding when to do a CLDP Page 2: Selecting the right CLDP structure Page 3: Forming a project team Page 4: Designing the development program and site layout Page 5: Minimizing financial risk Page 6: Minimizing perception risk Page 7: Planning for land stewardship
The following decision tree depicts the first step in the CLDP planning process. Decision Tree: Deciding When to Do a CLDP
Where to now? Guide for Practitioners, Page 2 of 7 Back to Main CLDP Page
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