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Developer
Blankenship
Development
Massanutten Reg. Gvnrs. School / Newcomer
3/16/2007
7:47:00 AM
Blankenship Development
In accordance to the quality of the Chesapeake Bay,
development companies have been
slammed with the majority of the blame for poor water
quality. True, development has
significantly added to the increased sedimentation and
overall pollution of the Chesapeake
Bay, but developers are not the sole source of this
contamination and saving the Bay does not
necessarily mean sacrificing our business and our
industry. We know what development has
done to the Bay, and we want to help clean it up. To do
this, we have put our heads together in
order to produce a sufficient plan that incorporates Low
Impact Development practices and
better site design. Not only will it reduce pollutants,
but it will benefit us financially.
The first step to accomplishing our objective would be
to apply our 100-acre plan, which
involves dividing 100 acres of land into 200 ½ acre
plots instead of 100 full acre plots. This
helps reduce infrastructure, like power lines and the
need for roads. This also helps us
implement our Low Impact Development practices, as
mentioned in the following paragraph.
As long as the population density in the Chesapeake
Bay watershed continues to increase,
Blankenship Development will provide suitable housing.
By implementing Low Impact
Development (LID) practices, we feel that we will be
able to house a large number of
individuals with a suitable amount of funding and
zoning. With enhanced zoning plans that
center around the landscape, more people can live in a
tighter acreage. This particular LID
practice saves space, reduces the need for
infrastructure between communities, and saves the
homeowner money since living in open space costs more.
Also, the left over acreage may be
saved for aesthetically pleasing and environmentally
friendly scenery.
Our team will greatly benefit from reducing property
tax and condensing application fees on
certain LID projects. The first step in this movement
involves integrating LID management
projects into our development plans. These projects
contain anything from tree box filters to
bio-retention basins like those already used in Fairfax
County. If the fees for implementing
such beneficial development practices are lowered, our
company as well as the community
would be benefited greatly. In addition, the reduction
of property taxes will permit newly
developed communities to be reviewed as “short plans”,
which in turn consent increased SEPA
(State Environmental Protection Administration)
thresholds for the LID practices. Our
incentive to implement this plan is simple: lower
service needs equates to lower impacts.
In order to convince those in our industry to
integrate best management practices, certain
accommodations must be made. Some of the aforementioned
accommodations should include:
providing zoning benefits, creating government funding
programs, expressing importance to
developers, and joining Builders for the Bay. We, as an
industry, would appreciate reducing
restrictions on zoning, parking and street standards,
subdivision codes, and drain regulations.
Also, tax incentives for those companies that use
environmentally friendly techniques would be
a good way to encourage businesses to help the
environment. In addition to tax incentives, the
government could also provide programs that offer
paybacks for developers that follow certain
guidelines.
The government should develop and provide new
technologies that are cheaper for
developers and better for the environment. We can reduce
the width of new roadways by
revising the structural plans to shave off an inch or
two from each side. This helps preserve
resources, conserve space, decreases runoff, and
encourages consumers to buy smaller cars
instead of gas-guzzling SUV’s. We can also implement
Better Site Design, which includes using
techniques such as putting windows on the south side of
facilities, to reduce lighting and
heating bills, and installing underground tubes to help
with air conditioning. Also, we as
developers can reduce the amount of site area devoted to
residential lawns. We can also
reduce the total paved area on residential lots.
Currently, 65% of the total paved area
classifies as “habitat for cars”.
State and local governments should encourage
developing companies to join Builders for the
Bay. This is an agreement between the Center for
Watershed Protection, Alliance for the
Chesapeake Bay, and the National Association of
Homebuilders. This would require
participation from the local government, community
stakeholders, watershed organizations,
developers, and landowners. Joining this alliance would
show the community that both the
government and the developer are looking out for the
best interests of the economy and the
environment, as well as practicing better site design
practices.
If the developing industry disappeared, there would be
no homes built and the growing
population would not be supported. The effectiveness of
meeting our objectives can be gauged
by looking at profits, homes built vs. population, and
population sustainability. With a
combination of hard work and effort from fellow
developers and cooperation from the
government, we can work to provide our communities with
quality development projects and
environmentally friendly technologies.
Works Cited
“Article 45: An Introduction to Better Site Design.”
Watershed Protection Techniques. 3(2):
623-632. 21 February 2007 <http://www.cwp.org/45-Intro_to_Better_
Site_Design.pdf>
Blankenship, Karl. "Book offers alternatives to sprawl
engulfing VA countryside." Bay Journal
(2007) 23 Feb 2007 <http://www.bayjournal.com/article.cfm?article=1299>.
Blankenship, Karl. "Program Aims to Build Better
Relations Between Developers,
Environmentalists." The Bay Journal Jan 2002 23 Feb 2007
<http://www.bayjournal.com/article.cfm?article=152>.
Builders for the Bay: Frequently Asked Questions.
Builders for the Bay. 23 February 2007
<http://www.cwp.org/BFB_Fact_Sheet.htm>
"Chesapeake 2000." Chesapeake Bay Program Preamble. 28
Feb 2007
<http://www.chesapeakebay.net/agreement.htm>.
Chesapeake Bay Watershed Population. The Chesapeake Bay
Program. 28 February 2007
<http://www.chesapeakebay.net/status/status_print.cfm?sid=188&print=yes>
Coffman, Larry. "Introduction to Low Impact
Development." Low Impact Development Center
2001 23 Feb 2007 <http://www.lid-stormwater.net/intro/background.htm#3>.
"Environmental Improvement Program for Fiscal Year
2008." Fairfax County, Virginia 15 Sep
2006 21 Feb 2007 <http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/living/environment/eip/>.
Lutz, Lara. "Builders Group has Designs on Developing
Consensus for the Bay." The Bay
Journal 2007 23 Feb 2007 <http://www.bayjournal.com/article.cfm?article=2530&print=yes>.
"LID Incentives." Page 1. 28 Feb 2007
<http://www.psat.wa.gov/Programs/LID/assistance/PDF%20Local%20Regulation%20Assistan
ce%20Project%202005/II.%20Appendices/G.%20LID%20Incentives%20Menu.pdf.>.
“Smart Growth: Building Better Places to Live, Work and
Play.” NAHB’s Smart Growth Policy
Statement. National Association of Home Builders. 28
February 2007
<http://www.nahb.org/generic.aspx?sectionID=211&genericContentID=384&
print=true>.
"State and County Quick Facts: Virginia." U.S. Census
Bureau 12 Jan 2007 21 Feb 2007
<http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/51000.html>.
Walker, Nick. "Improving Stormwater Management through
Low Impact Development."
Fairfax County LID Practices and Policy 11 Dec 2006 23
Feb 2007
<http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/nvswcd/newsletter/lidintern.htm>.
Ask this stakeholder a
Thoughtful Question or Respond
Thoughtful
Questions
From:
Conkreat Jungul Massanutten Reg. Gvnrs. School /
Newcomer
3/19/2007
7:36:00 AM
First of all, in regards to the 100 acre plan:
Isn't this going to require lots of additional work and
money? Instead of installing 100
pipelines, you install 200. Also, .5 acre is not very
large, so will people even want to live
there. If you do that work but no one wants to be
crammed into the small plots, what is
the point of it all? Also, we don't see the benefit in
having "more people in a tighter
acreage," since it does not actually reduce the amount
of pollution going into the water--
it just moves the pollution into a small, concentrated
source. The areas upriver may be
cleaner than they would with the spread out plots, but
in the end the same amount of
nastiness ends up in the Bay.
From:
Chesapeake Homeowners Association Massanutten Reg. Gvnrs.
School /
3/19/2007
7:40:00 AM
The plan your company outlined sounds pretty good, but
we do have just a few questions
to help clarify exactly what you're trying to do. First
off, we'd like to know just what
Low Impact Development practices are. You wrote about
them a lot and we were just
wondering what some other examples were. Also, in your
200 1/2 acre plan, you
mentioned it would reduce the number of power lines and
roads needed since there is
less acreage per plot. Wouldn't there be a greater need
for power and roads since there
are going to be 200 houses and driveways instead of 100?
How would the increase in
number of plots and then people reduce the need for
infrastructure? We were also
wondering what type of homes you were planning on
building because if you were
building actual houses, the question of how you plan on
getting people to live there
comes up. If they can already afford one of these
houses, what would stop them from
buying a house on more land somewhere else? 1/2 an acre
is a lot of land and we don't
foresee townhouses being built on a half-acre lot, it's
just too much space. With the
extra space left over, what exactly do you plan to do to
make them environmentally
friendly? You might consider the Bayscapes talked about
in our paper. For information
on this you could look at http://www.fws.gov/chesapeakebay/bayscapes.htm.
And out of curiosity, what exactly constitutes "habitat
for cars?"
From:
Fishing and Boating Industries (F.B.I.) Massanutten Reg.
Gvnrs. School /
3/19/2007
7:42:00 AM
Your point of view stated that you want to reduce the
width of roads. In reducing the
width of roads, wouldn't there be more accidents?
Regarding your 100-acre plan, what
is the plan, and how will you convince individuals to
buy homes on 1/2 acre plots instead
of a whole acre?
From:
T.A.L.K About the Bay Massanutten Reg. Gvnrs. School /
Newcomer
3/19/2007
7:45:00 AM
Overall Blankenship Development has developed (no pun
intended) a well thought out
plan; however, you have underestimated the consequences
of your ideas. Your 100 acre
plan is slightly confusing, especially to those of us
outside the development circle.
Building more houses in a smaller area has the
possibility of causing more congestion
and lead to increased tension. In addition, more people
in a tighter acreage could lead
to concentrated pollution, which will prove to be
anything but beneficial. Another idea
you presented dealt with shrinking newly constructed
roadways, in the hope of moving
towards smaller vehicles, which pollute less. In many
cases, individuals will continue to
drive large vehicles in hope of controlling the road,
which will lead to further problems.
In connection with your road plan, individuals who
already own newer vehicles will not
be willing to buy smaller vehicles in order to help the
environment. To further help
reduce the amount of paved land your plan could include
building parking decks and even
building upwards in regards to living and working
space.
From:
Conkreat Jungul Massanutten Reg. Gvnrs. School /
Newcomer
3/19/2007
7:53:00 AM
The paper is great; your ideas are well explained. Your
LID practices are good, but I
believe you could have found more examples on different
methods. I only found two
examples in your forth paragraph. The LID practices are
your main solution, but you
fail to really explain what the practices are. You tell
us how they will supplement your
tax incentive plan and many other things, but I feel
they are left to be vague.
From: Anonymous Broadway H.S
3/20/2007
12:58:00 PM
You have some great ideas, but I do have a question for
you about your acreage plan.
Have you considered the average size of homes? I have
lived in both a highly urbanized
area and a rural section of the watershed. In both
places, you could barely fit a home
on a half acre. It might be helpful to rethink this
specific plan and the sizes of the lots
you plan to use for development.
Blankenship Development
Responds to
Pretty much everybody
3/21/2007
6:42:00 AM
In response to the seemingly universal question of our
100-acre plan:
Homes must be built in order to support the population,
so no matter the size of the
acreage, we’re still going to need to build the same
amount of homes. Half of an acre (1
acre is equivalent to a football field) is sufficient
space to put a home on. Our 100-acre
plan is simply to conserve space and resources.
Resources are conserved by reducing
infrastructure (i.e. Sewage lines, power lines, etc.).
Having 200 houses on 100 acres uses
less piping, etc. than having 200 houses on 200 acres.
Population will continue to
increase; we must focus on the benefits of developing:
employment opportunities, economic
growth, and the potential for environmentally-friendly
expansion. As far as congestion and
tension, people in the city live on ¼ acre plots, on
average; most do not have these
problems. When building our 200 houses, although the
pollution will be more concentrated,
there will be less of it because we are using better
management practices. A certain
population will yield the same amount of pollution, no
matter how concentrated it is.
Please enjoy the following link to a picture further
explaining our 100-acre plan: (click on
the pictures)
http://www.bayjournal.com/article.cfm?article=1299
In response our other questions:
First off, Low Impact Development practices are pretty
self explanatory. They are simply
development practices that have a low impact on the
environment. Some examples of this
are: bioretention basins, permeable/porous pavements,
green roofs, tree box filters, soil
amendments, and bioretention swales. A car habitat is
simply pavement: roads, driveways,
etc.
Suburban roads are extremely wide as it is, and taking
an inch or two off from each side
should not pose a significant hazard to automobile
operators. Your ideas for building
parking decks and building upwards will be incorporated.
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