County encourages conservation design
Hays County may benefit from more innovative development, according to a recent study undertaken by the county’s Commissioners Court.
The 18-month study, entitled “Conservation Horizons, A Sustainable Future,” indicated that establishing inventive rules and incentives for conservation development might encourage developers to utilize the county’s existing conservation design option. The study began in 2019 and was initially spearheaded by Alexandra Thompson, natural resources coordinator for the county, Caitlyn Strickland, director of development services within the county’s Environmental Health Department, and Mark Kennedy, general counsel for the Commissioners Court. Marcus Pacheco took over as director of development services and joined the project in the spring of 2021.
A subcommittee of Precinct 3 Commissioner Lon Shell and Precinct 4 Commissioner Walt Smith provided leadership and additional oversight.
“We knew there must be some perceptual or other barrier to developers who may want to build in a conservation friendly manner yet hadn’t opted to utilize the county’s existing design option,” said Commissioner Smith. “It was important to hear directly from our rural stakeholders, members of the general public and developers who could speak freely and provide us the kind of insight needed to help guide and encourage more conservation development projects.”
Under the county’s Request for Proposal process, the team hired consulting firm Gap Strategies to look at ways to plan a better development future for the county, focusing on the potential for a more robust and enticing conservation design program.
The multi-disciplinary team from Gap Strategies reviewed the county’s existing subdivision and development regulations. From this, they produced a report on the effectiveness of conservation design trends; identified groups and organizations with special interest or expertise on development, land ownership or conservation design; and prepared initial technical and administrative recommendations.
The team then sponsored a seminar on conservation development for local stakeholders and the public and conducted a “real world” design workshop, using planners, engineers, landscape architects, regulators and financiers. Following these events, they refined recommendations and technical analysis to develop a final set of recommendations. This included incentives to make conservation design more accessible in the county and a set of criteria to qualify for those incentives.
The project planning team recommends the county use tailored, property-specific development agreements to implement this concept — and to make conservation development an integral part of the regulatory framework of Hays County. This should allow the county to negotiate with potential conservation design developers within an established, public framework, while leaving room to weigh site-specific circumstances and considerations.
“Our project team uncovered useful, tangible information that will aid the county in conservation-minded growth in order to protect the culture and community of Hays County,” Commissioner Smith said.
See the project website at haysconservation.com.