Conservation-Based Affordable Housing
Basics
Title
Conservation-Based Affordable Housing
Description
A comprehensive study examining the integration of land conservation and affordable housing development across the United States. The report profiles 16 successful examples of conservation-based affordable housing ranging across urban, suburban, and rural communities, documenting housing and conservation features, design, financing, and stewardship approaches.
Date
June 1, 2006
Creator Organization
The Conservation Fund
Authors
Kendra J. Briechle
Document Type
report
Full Text URL
Metadata
Keywords
land conservation
|affordable housing
|conservation development
|community land trusts
|smart growth
|green building
|inclusionary zoning
|limited development
|conservation easements
|mixed-income housing
|community partnerships
|sustainable development
|rural character preservation
|farmland protection
Time Period
2006
Document ID
202510171310
Copyright holder
The Conservation Fund
Document Filename
conservation-based-affordable-housing-study_9-06_202510171310.pdf
Storage Location
analysis/other-sources
Key Findings
The study demonstrates that communities can successfully provide well-designed homes for low- and moderate-income residents while preserving treasured community lands. The profiled developments provided between 2 and 1,200 affordable homes and from 7 to 1,500 acres of open space. Key findings include: conservation-based affordable housing can exist in urban, suburban, and rural settings; partnerships among diverse organizations allow them to share skills and reduce risk; new funding sources can spring from pairing land conservation and affordable housing; and strategic protection of conservation areas with appropriate housing placement yields best results.
Methodology
The study employed case study methodology, conducting interviews with project participants, reviewing existing documentation, analyzing 16 development projects across five states. Projects were selected based on criteria including: explicit on-site land conservation paired with affordable housing, permanent protection mechanisms, and geographic diversity. Research included site visits, document review, and stakeholder interviews to document design features, financing mechanisms, and stewardship approaches.
Graph Descriptions
Page 2: Chart showing Project Initiator types
|Page 3: Graph showing Project Age in years
|Page 3: Bar graph comparing total acres with acres of open space for profiled developments
|Page 4: Graph showing Number of Affordable Units by project
Image Descriptions
Page 1: Cover image of Conservation Fund publication
|Page 17: Photo of Battle Road Farm condominium unit and Meeting House
|Page 18: Aerial view of Battle Road Farm
|Page 19: Battle Road Farm site plan
|Page 21: Photo of Beacon Hill houses next to island open space
|Page 22: Block Island open space map showing Beacon Hill location
|Page 23: Site map of Beacon Hill Lane
|Page 24: Photo of Codman barn and crops
|Page 25: Photo of Lincoln Woods affordable housing and Mall at Lincoln Station
|Page 26: Map of Codman Farm Lands showing conservation areas and housing
|Page 28: Photo of Great Elms farmhouse and conserved land
|Page 29: Great Elms site plan
|Page 31: Photo of Greenways senior housing in historic Paine Estate
|Page 32: Photo of single-family homes at Greenways
|Page 33: Greenways site plan and acreage comparison chart
|Page 34: View of Sudbury River from Greenways
|Page 36: Photo of Island Cohousing houses
|Page 37: Aerial view and site plan of Island Cohousing
|Page 38: Photo of Jay Peak from conserved recreation land
|Page 39: Photo of selectboard members in front of new home and topographic map of Jay conservation lands
|Page 40: Photo of Lime Kiln apartment building and Winooski Gorge view
|Page 41: Lime Kiln site plan
|Page 42: Photo of affordable house and original farmstead at Loomis Farm
|Page 43: Loomis Farm Farmland Preservation Plan
|Page 44: Photo of Taylor Meadow residents and site plan
|Page 45: Photo of Taylor Meadows houses in snow and Farrell Farm fields
|Page 46: Photo of farmers at Killdeer Farm
|Page 47: Photo of OPAL Commons two-bedroom house and houses across commons
|Page 48: OPAL Commons and Bonnie Brae site plans
|Page 49: Photo of Sepiessa Point apartments
|Page 50: Sepiessa site map and reservation map
|Page 51: Stapleton Roslyn Court carriage houses and Syracuse Village
|Page 52: Stapleton Westerly Creek restoration
|Page 54: Photo of Starlake Housing and Farrell Farm site plan
|Page 55: Photo of Elizabeth and Jake Guest at organic farm
|Page 56: Photo of Willow Green at Wellington
|Page 57: Wellington houses in winter
|Page 58: Wellington Development Area site plan and mountain setting photo
|Page 59: Map of Wellington Neighborhood and surrounding conservation lands
Page Count
103
Publisher Location
Arlington, VA
File Format
application/pdf
Geographic Locations
Lincoln, Massachusetts | Block Island, Rhode Island | Harvard, Massachusetts | Wayland, Massachusetts | West Tisbury, Massachusetts | Jay, Vermont | South Burlington, Vermont | Ashfield, Massachusetts | Hancock, Vermont | Rochester, Vermont | Orcas Island, Washington | Denver, Colorado | Norwich, Vermont | Breckenridge, Colorado | Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts | San Juan Islands, Washington