Community Development
The challenge to all community development projects is encouraging growth that enhances the character of a community. The process requires a commitment to collaboration and judgment to bring together a mix of many voices, clear information and well-honed ideas.
Pine Hills Planned Unit Development
Town of Plymouth, MA
The Town of Plymouth’s bylaws provided for an “open space and planned unit development” project on one of the state’s largest privately owned parcels. The Greene Company, a residential development firm, prepared a planned unit development for the 3,000-acre site that proposed the creation of a new town of approximately 2,000 homes and 2 million square feet of retail and commercial development. The Collaborative, working with Earth Tech engineers, led a comprehensive review of the Greene Company proposal and behalf of the Town of Plymouth. The size of the project, its proximity to the town’s geographic center, and its historic and ecological features made this project the focus of much community concern. The town used this review for negotiations with the developer and ultimately approved the plan.
Nicholas Filla, Chairman of the Plymouth Planning Board remarked, “You and your colleagues were instrumental in helping us tread the line between a diverse set of community interests, provisions of the by-law, and the economic interests and creativity of the developer’s team. Thank you for your extra efforts in site buffers, public trails, open space, wildlife connections, and ‘Community Green’ area designs. Your firm’s experience with landscape design, public participation, environmental planning, and planning were all useful during this review.”
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