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Community Participants The Qroe Farm Preservation Development method protects open spaces, preserves active farming and provides attractive low-density housing at little or no cost to the county or municipality. Qroe Farm does this by typically developing less than 20% of the land for residential or other appropriate use and sells the lots to home buyers who will pay a premium for permanently protected land. The homebuyers end up owning all of the land, 80% or more of which is left untouched and in natural use. Land owners, who might otherwise sell to conventional developers, still capitalize on their land value up front through the home buyers, who are looking for a quiet, permanently preserved, beautiful place to live. This is an economically viable, market-based alternative that lies in between the costly approach of buying the land from the land owner in order to completely protect it and conventional, highly land consumptive “sprawl” development. Typically a 1/2 to one acre building envelope is created for each house allowing a reasonably-sized yard. The house design must be approved by the approval authority. A unique combination of permanent cross-easements, protective covenants and building restrictions prevents further development of the land. Therefore, the interests of home buyers, farmers, land owners and town planners are aligned in a way that resolves longstanding conflicts without public or charitable funding. Qroe Farm practices Low Impact Development (LID). We try to minimize water displacement through the design of narrow roads with open drainage systems. Common driveways further reduce the amount of impervious cover. Trees are kept as close to the road edge as possible to minimize the amount of tree cutting and heat-island effects. A high standard of sustainable building is also required of homebuilders. We have expanded upon the well known Earthcraft standard to create a more comprehensive Green Building standard that emphasizes sustainable rural site design. Monitoring and enforcement of protected lands are enhanced by each individual land owner (who has the individual right to enjoyment of all the land under the easement), the Homeowner’s Association, and any other entity, such as a land trust, that may be granted an easement overlay. Qroe Farm believes that there is nothing more protective of the land than a number of individuals, who each have a direct and personal stake in the preservation of the protected land. Each homeowner knows his property values are enhanced by properly maintained protected land and will work hard to insure its continuance. An “ownership mentality,” and the sense of personal investment in conservation, is key. This system is the most complete and robust way to insure that excellent stewardship of easements and restrictive covenants are adhered to. Planners recognize the value of limiting the strain on community resources. Qroe Farm Preservation Development provides low-density, high tax-value housing for both primary and second home owners, with limited or no public dedication of infrastructure or common area, and is thus often unusually positive from the perspective of community economic impact. Qroe Farm takes the design process very seriously, as this is where the value is added. The lay of the land, its natural features, the surrounding lands, and the community, all create a context in which the Preservation Development design must work. All are taken into consideration by the Qroe Farm design team to create a development that will be an asset to the community and of high value to its residents. Qroe Farm prides itself on the effort and cooperation it expends with community participants not only to create the most valuable, environmentally friendly, development in town, but also to assist the community in determining what it wants future development to be. Qroe Farm concepts have been deployed in numerous states, landscape types and environmental conditions, over more than two decades. Some of our communities’ vital statistics are listed below:
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