Land
development regulations implemented by local, regional, state, and federal
agencies have increased costs, decreased buildable area and increased the time
to obtain permits to start construction.
Do
you agree or disagree?
Real
estate development practices have not really changed significantly except for
regulatory oversight, increased bulk requirements, and conservative land
development standards. Let’s first review changes to infrastructure design for
real estate projects and permits will follow.
Land development is
taken for granted until it doesn’t work properly!
Clearing – More efficient
machines used for clearing are offset by requirements to save trees and not
just specimen trees. We all recognize the benefit of specimen trees to the
aesthetic appearance of a project but government’s pendulum swings again!
·
Tree
surveys
· Tree save areas
·
Tree
buffers
·
Retain
natural vegetative cover
·
Save
endangered plants and include buffers around those plants
·
Shade
Tree Commissions
·
Urban
Foresters
·
Heat
Islands
Soil
erosion and sedimentation control – a separate set of design plans illustrating
what must be done to stop erosion from a site. Have you ever noticed public
projects i.e. schools. I have been watching one elementary school under
construction for about a year and no silt fence, tracking pad, inlet
protection, etc. as yet!
Now
there are two stages to the soil erosion plan. Phase I measures are implemented
during construction and Phase II installed once the infrastructure is in place.
·
Temporary
sediment ponds
·
Rock
dams
·
Inlet
protection – more elaborate than ever!
·
Empty
bags of seed have to be retained to show what was planted
Government’s
pendulum swings again!
Earthwork
– with
AutoCad, surveying and engineering information is vital to grading contractors.
If we would learn to design in phases corresponding with cash flow, real estate
projects would not be idle today! However, in some areas, grading is limited in
scope based on stabilization requirements rather than cash flow. “Good sites”
are limited and the cost of taking marginal land into a productive real estate
project requires a team of professionals that know how to use land.
Sewer
– government
allocated wastewater treatment plant capacity during the peak building years.
Many plants are not functioning at capacity but the plants on paper are at
capacity! Thus, most governments are NOT planning for future development.
Sewer
standards and details are based on maintenance problems and engineering
preferences. When is the last time you were able to alter a sewer design
approach from the local standards?
·
Minimum
pipe size
·
Pipe
material
·
Maximum
length of pipe between manholes
·
Maximum
depth of a sewer line
·
Cost
for wastewater treatment plant capacity
·
Cost
for a sewer connection
Government
pendulum will swing again by forcing developers to follow the sewer line and
limit extensions. We will see more sewer moratoriums than we experienced back
when the Clean Water Act was enacted
Drainage
– so
what has changed over the past 40 years in drainage? The most significant
change is the control of the quantity and quality of runoff leaving the site
after development. This requirement typically removes “upland” area from
development potential. Not only it is the cost of the land but the cost to
construct and the cost to maintain these facilities.
·
Pipe
material – not so much. Most municipalities continue to require RCP.
·
Minimum
pipe size – this continues to inch up. Used to be 12-inches and now up to
24-inches. How about the cost of manufacturing? I used for many years
$1/inch/foot for in-place cost estimating. It is probably up to a $1.50 now or
more since many plants are shut down or at reduced production.
·
Stormwater
management facilities
·
Best
Management Practice facilities
·
Limiting
the amount of impervious surface on each project
·
Bonding
requirements
·
Maintenance
requirements – some municipalities are requiring developers to post
·
10-yr
maintenance bonds for SWM and BMP maintenance!
·
Wetland
areas must not be touched! Buffers added to the wetland areas based on the
quality of the wetland. Take land off the market.
·
Jurisdictional
streams and buffers required on each stream including limited crossing
standards.
·
Do
we need to talk about the Corps or EPA?
·
Do
we need to discuss the definition of a wetland?
·
Flood
plains --- yes, I understand the FEMA (FIA) maps and the updating of
elevations. However, there are some communities which are imposing their own
flood plain limits over and above the federal requirement.
Government’s
pendulum swings again!
Water
– pipe
material, water pressure, distance between fire hydrants have all changed over
time. The cost of “water” will increase more than any natural resource used by
all consumers!
Curb
– curb
or no curb – that is the question!
Roads
& ROW– wow,
where do we start? I will just list and you fill in the blanks:
·
Maximum
and minimum grades
·
Minimum
centerline radius
·
Tangent
between reverse curves – yes or no?
·
Maximum
length of a cul-de-sac; definition of a cul-de-sac or connectivity?
·
Are
the width of streets increasing or decreasing?
·
Road
standards established by an engineer or the fire department?
·
Parking
or no parking on streets
·
Traffic
calming devices
·
Connectivity
versus cul-de-sacs
·
Bike
lanes
·
Sidewalks
- width and location
·
Street
trees
·
Utility
locations, i.e. water, sewer, drainage, gas, telephone, electric, cable
·
Pavement
material and thickness
YES, land development
design requirements have changed over the past 40-years but the incremental
cost in all of the changes combined has been offset by efficient construction
methods, material changes and creative design approaches. I am going to go out
on a limb here because costs will vary from state to state and local
jurisdiction to local jurisdiction. The land development cost to develop a
50-ft wide lot for a single family home:
1970’s cost: $10,000
2010 cost: $15,000
2013 cost: ? – interest rates and the
cost of materials are on the increase
Please correct me if
I am way out of line.
If the cost of
infrastructure cost of design professionals or cost of materials (at least NOT
YET) hasn’t significantly affected the price of a home, then what is adding to
the cost per unit?
In my opinion, LAND!
Government
regulations eliminate land from buildable area resulting in a reduction of the
number of units, commercial space, etc. and thus the cost for land increases on
a per unit basis.
True or Untrue?
In our local paper
this past week included an article quoting a government official “an increase
in land development requirements never caused a developer to leave town!” This
statement illustrates the vacuum or power sphere regulators work in.
True or untrue?
Do you
really think government’s
control of
our
land
development industry
will be less restrictive in the future?
Permitting will be a
separate blog post that will take a look at the cost but also the time to
comply with all of the regulations, permits and requirements imposed at all
levels of government. Many regulations
are void of cost considerations, void of reality, and void of practical
solutions!
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