Tools
|
Resources
|
| Inclusionary Zoning Bylaws: Inclusionary zoning requires private developers to set aside a certain percentage of housing units in residential projects for low and moderate income families. These bylaws exclude subdivisions below a specified minimum number of units, and sometimes allow a payment into a municipal affordable housing fund in lieu of building the affordable units. Inclusionary zoning creates new affordable housing opportunities and results in diverse, mixed-income communities. |
Essex County communities that have adopted inclusionary zoning bylaws include Ipswich
and Salisbury
PolicyLink info. on inclusionary zoning
|
| Low Impact Development Bylaws: Low Impact Development (LID) is a method of developing a new site or redeveloping an existing site in a way that respects the natural environment. Thorough site analysis is the foundation for this practice which seeks to preserve and/or restore the natural features including vegetation, soils, hydrology, views, microclimate, and areas of historic significance. LID includes a suite of site analysis and design techniques that attempt to minimize disturbance and to maintain the natural, pre-development ability of a site to manage rainfall. |
Coastal Zone Management LID Info.
More information about LID and hydrology
|
Main Street/Village Center Bylaws: A cornerstone of smart growth is the concentration of activity in already developed areas with existing municipal services. Key to achieving this goal is town center zoning, which generally incorporates mixed uses (including housing), pedestrian-friendly design, and increased densities to encourage infill and redevelopment of existing town centers. In Essex County, Amesbury village center zoning has been instrumental in achieving the redevelopment of an active, historic town center.
|
Model bylaw
Learn more about historic preservation and main streets |
Municipal Housing Trust Funds: A Municipal Affordable Housing Trust Fund is a dedicated municipal funding source for affordable housing projects and programs such as new construction, home repair, first-time buyer programs, and emergency housing. Funds can be used in other ways, including real estate speculation to develop or purchase key parcels for affordable housing. The fund is overseen by a municipal body of at least five trustees. Trust Funds are designed to address unmet local housing needs of low to very-low income residents and are administered locally. Revenues for the fund are generated usually from taxes or fees, including local HOME Investment Partnerships Program funds (the largest Federal block grant to State and local governments designed exclusively to create affordable housing for low-income households), Community Preservation Act funds, and occasionally through inclusionary funds and other creative mechanisms at the local level. Local committees often advise the Trust on funding decisions with a need-based process for granting funds.
Return to top of page
|
Information about Housing Trust Funds
A list of Massachusetts HOME contacts
North Shore Housing Trust |
Open Space Acquisition: Mounting development pressures and increasing market costs require creative tools and projects to achieve open space and natural resource preservation goals. Today, land protection requires innovative, proactive strategies built on a thorough understanding of a community’s open space assets and partnerships between government agencies, non-profit land trusts, and private land owners.
Learn more about creating an inventory of your town’s open space resources in the Essex County Forum Preserving the Future Guidebook
Return to top of page |
For a comprehensive guide to land conservation tools, see Land Conservation Options: A Guide for Massachusetts Landowners, available from Essex County Greenbelt Association.
For additional help with open space acquisition in Essex County, contact
Essex County Greenbelt Association
North Shore Office of Mass Audubon
The Trustees of Reservations
Trust for Public Land
|
Open Space Residential Design: Open Space Residential Design (OSRD) is an approach to development that helps communities preserve important natural features of a site while allowing developers to achieve the desired economic return from their properties. The OSRD approach features a partnership between the town and developer, with the two parties coming together early in the planning process to identify important conservation features of a parcel, and clustering development in a way that protects and respects these features. Several towns in Essex County have adopted OSRD or similar bylaws, including Newbury, Rowley, Ipswich, and Haverhill.
Return to top of page
|
More information about OSRD, including a model bylaw |
