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Open Space Residential Design (OSRD, also known as Conservation Subdivision Design) is a development approach that combines land preservation with clustered development.  It operates on a four step process: identify conservation areas; locate home sites; align streets and trails; and draw in lot lines.  Development is generally concentrated on a portion of a parcel of land, with the balance preserved as open space for recreation, conservation, agriculture or forestry.  By focusing on site planning flexibility rather than dimensional requirements, OSRD allows development to be arranged on a site for maximum economy, character, and preservation of environmental resources.  

Currently, just over half of the Commonwealth’s 351 communities have some type of cluster provision in their zoning by-law.  Currently, many of these provisions go unused or are severely underutilized.  The Pioneer Institute notes: “Since cluster development’s introduction in the 1970s, 80 percent of the municipalities in eastern Massachusetts have adopted some kind of cluster provision. The cluster regulations, however, are often written in ways that inhibit their use. Many require larger parcel sizes than are typically available for development in the locality (for example, 25 acres in Lynnfield, and 10 acres in Burlington). The vast majority requires special permits.  There are even towns that require town meeting approval of any cluster-zoned development. The risky permitting processes can drive up the cost of this kind of development and make conventional design more appealing to the developer.  Many of the provisions are crafted to give the developer very little flexibility in design; the provisions actually serve as alternative types of conventional zoning, still requiring large lots per unit, wide setbacks, excessive frontage, etc.  Finally, the provisions are often structured so that the special permit granting authority has little ability to negotiate increased density in exchange for benefits for the municipality, such as greater open space protection.”

The use of OSRD in Massachusetts may also be constrained by land ownership and legal barriers.  Some legal entity is needed to maintain resources held in common, such as common driveways, open space, wells, or wastewater treatment facilities.  However, conventional homeowners’ associations do not have the standing or assets that many municipalities expect for such legally responsible entities.  Meanwhile, the condominium model (in which homeowners own the structure but the association owns the underlying land) may be too unfamiliar to developers and purchasers.  Additional research is necessary to understand the various approaches that are currently used and to develop best practices and models. 

29)    Permit Open Space Residential Design “as of right” and require its use in sensitive resource areas

30)    Improve design of Open Space Residential Developments