Approaches to Growth

Typical Suburban Neighborhood

The "typical" suburban neighborhood has been popular since the 1950's. It consists of winding roads, with cul-de-sacs and courts and without sidewalks. The houses are usually similar in style, with a color scheme to match. These types of developments usually aren't planned with specific environmental or community based goals in mind. Transportation is car dependent.

Local examples: Woodbury, MN

Large Lots

The large lot developments are abundant in Washington County. The lots generally range from 2.5 to 5 acres. These developments take up of lot of land in the process, which can be considered sprawl.

Example: Cloverdale Farms, Lake Elmo, MN

Traditional Neighborhood Development

The Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND) is based on the concept of bringing back a sense of community. The idea is that people will "neighbor" and act together as a whole. This concept is new-aged, but really a throwback to the past. A major change to the typical suburban development is that the streets are given back to the people, not the garages. There is a minimum 20 foot distance between the street and garage. The idea behind this is that you admire the house for what it is, not how large the garage happens to be. There are also a large number of detached garages. This is to help people interact; they cannot simply drive into their garage and sneak into the house. They must walk through the yard or walkway, where they can be seen, and then into their home. At Liberty, there are open commons called "Greens" where people can gather and recreate. In addition, there are three parks, an adjacent elementary school, a lake, and in the future there will be a retail area. Having all this makes it easy to live, shop, and recreate within walking distance.

Local example: Liberty on the Lake, Stillwater, MN

Coving

The Coving concept is relatively new to developers. The idea is to have small individual lots with setbacks from the street, and large common greenspaces around the development. To do this the streets are large winding curves through out the development, instead of straight streets and cul-de-sacs. The winding streets create pockets or "coves" of open green space. This concept significantly reduces the amount of infrastructure, while achieving the same density as other planning methods. This development, like the traditional neighborhood, encourages community interaction.

Local example: The Coves of Stillwater, MN ( site plan)

Conservation Communities

There are now two conservation communities in Washington County, the Fields of St. Croix and Jackson Meadow, and both try to use and conserve greenspace. The Fields is set up similar to a coving development, with the emphasis on small yards and central community green spaces. There is a community farm where residents can participate in the growing of food and purchase produce shares. Jackson Meadow is set up in a cluster design, which allows for 70% of the development property to be preserved as open space. Lots are oriented towards a central green. Jackson Meadow's most unique quality is its high tech septic system. In a typical rural development each house has its own septic system, and the standard tank removes only 40-50% of pollutants. Jackson Meadows utilizes two subsurface-flow constructed wetland treatment systems to accommodate wastewater and storm water run-off. The houses at Jackson Meadow are of similar architectural style and all white. Also incorporated into the development is a system of hiking trails.

Local examples: Fields of St. Croix, Lake Elmo, MN and Jackson Meadow, Marine on St. Croix, MN

Fields of St. Croix

Jackson Meadow