In northwestern Oakland County, at the outer fringes of development in southeastern Michigan, fifty miles from the heart of Detroit, the residents and public officials in Springfield Township recognize the regionally and globally significant ecological features within their borders, and have worked hard to preserve them. Over the years, many approaches have been used to accomplish preservation. One they have been working with recently is to connect open spaces created through planned residential development.
It has always been known that the headwaters of several major rivers of southeastern Michigan lie within the boundaries of the 36-square-mile township, and that the township lies in the watershed of two more rivers. It wasn’t until they participated in an EPA-funded study called “The Shiawassee and Huron Headwaters Resource Preservation Project” (or “Headwaters” project) that they realized how important it was to connect the ecologically significant sites and natural spaces they have been working for decades to preserve.
The Headwaters project evaluated six communities in northwest Oakland County (Springfield, Rose, Highland, White Lake and Milford Townships, and the Village of Milford) for significant environmental features. The Michigan Natural Features Inventory (MNFI) staff conducted the inventory using aerial photographs and other information, and rated each site based on several criteria such as size, intactness (lack of fragmentation), and riparian corridors (mixture of uplands, wetlands, and streams/ river features) among others.
Within the six communities, the study came up with 114 sites (termed MNFI sites) worthy of further evaluation and potential preservation. Some of the most significant sites received “ground-truthing” field inventories. Twenty-four sites identified were in Springfield Township.
Once the township could see on a map where their important natural features were, they could begin to apply planning tools to these areas to better preserve not only the features themselves, but also the surrounding areas that sustained the features (remember the “ecosystem” approach?). The first tool they included was a “Natural
Areas Plan” as a chapter in their community Master Plan. A Master Plan (or Comprehensive Plan) is a document that delineates a community’s vision for its future development, and is often broken down into topics such as residential and commercial development, transportation, public facilities (sewer, water, etc.), and the like. Springfield extended this idea to discuss its vision for natural area preservation. The Natural Areas Plan shows the 24 MNFI sites, but also shows how these sites could connect to one another through riparian corridors, utility corridors, tree rows, or old fence rows. By putting this information in the Master Plan, the township went on record with potential builders and developers that preserving these sites is a priority to the community.
This is important because developers use a community’s planning documents, like the Master Plan, to help them understand what type of development a community is looking for. So if a developer owns a parcel in a community, they often read the Master Plan to determine how their development proposal can be consistent with the community’s vision for that area. The Natural Areas Plan also shows developers if their parcels have significant natural features, and what elements on their parcels could be retained to provide connections to other natural areas. In addition to considering policies in the Master Plan, developers are legally obligated to abide by a community’s ordinances, or laws regulating development.
While the Master Plan guides development decisions, Springfield’s ordinances place both guidelines and legal requirements on the development process. To translate the Natural Area Plan’s policies into its ordinance, the township created a protective ordinance called a Natural Features Overlay District. An “overlay district” is applied to an area where the underlying zoning may be varied. For instance, many of the MNFI sites within Springfield
cover several parcels, many of which have different zoning designations such as low-density and medium-density residential. The overlay district’s rules are “laid over” the underlying zoning rules, becoming an additional layer of rules or laws. Overlay districts are advantageous to a community because they leave the current zoning designations intact. This is very helpful when an MNFI site covers many parcels, but follows natural boundaries, such as streams and glacial ridges, rather than property lines.
The overlay district in Springfield applies to all MNFI sites and supplies development requirements and guidelines for areas with sensitive features. For instance, one requirement is that when a development proposal is submitted for a parcel located within an MNFI area, an ecological study be conducted if a field survey is not available. An important part of the inventory is to identify the plant communities on the site, and the occurrence of any endangered, threatened, or special concern plants. By conducting this survey, a developer will know where development will have the least impact on the site’s natural features.
The ordinance also encourages developers to use the “cluster” type of residential development. This development pattern allows the same number of homes in a subdivision as a conventional layout; but it clusters the homes on smaller lots. This then leaves part of the property undeveloped. The homes are usually located in the less sensitive areas of the site, and the more sensitive areas are preserved in open space. (Seethesidebarforanexample.)Note that a community cannot require a developer to cluster, but through cooperation, many developers choose the cluster option. They can also benefit from economic advantages such as reduced development costs (shorter roadways and utility lines) and higher prices for lots adjacent to preserved natural features. In Springfield Township, it is typical that a cluster development preserves 60% of the property in natural areas. To date, the township has approximately 500 acres preserved through approved cluster developments.
Because the cluster option directs development into less sensitive areas, such as old agricultural fields, it leaves the woodlands, wetlands, fence rows, and other sensitive plant communities undisturbed. These undisturbed areas often abut one another (after all, wetlands and woodlands don’t
know property boundaries!). As the parcels are developed, the natural open spaces then add up to create a larger, contiguous open space. In Springfield, open spaces not only connect to one another, but also to public natural areas. The open space may not be a traditional recreational greenway, but in many circumstances it does create linear preserved lands that connect or abut to other natural areas. Using the cluster technique, the natural areas are privately owned rather than under public ownership. Many developers dedicate the open space in their development to a land conservancy for management, although some homeowner associations take on this responsibility themselves.
While Springfield Township isn’t necessarily building a “greenway” as we typically think of, they are using the tools allowed them by law to preserve open space one development at a time. As the township develops and these open spaces are combined, the community will realize an integrated system of open spaces that will be able to preserve, and give habitat to the species the land currently supports.