Your Development

The decisions that are made during the initial site selection and the subsequent site design will have a significant impact on the development's overall sustainability. A range of issues need to be considered, including where to actually site the community, how to incorporate the existing natural features into the design, where to place roads, dwellings, parks and community facilities and how this will all fit within the context of the existing community and the overall objectives of the development.

Site selection

There are many aspects that a developer will consider when selecting a site for development. Many of these are common to all types of residential developments regardless of their sustainability aims. Although it is not the aim of this fact sheet to deal in detail with general considerations, it is worth noting them as they will form part of the overall site selection process. Ron Forlee in his book Australian Residential Property Development, lists the following common factors to consider: (Forlee 2005)

• Location
• Physical characteristics
• Social characteristics
• Government controls
• Economic characteristics
• Real estate market trends
• Legal documentation
• Pre-purchase feasibility study

For sustainable developments there will be key issues within each of these common factors that will need addressing and in addition there may be several other factors that need to be considered. For example, location factors would traditionally include proximity to freeways or major arterial roads, shopping centres, schools and medical services and although these factors are also important to sustainable developments, proximity to public transport, natural environments and construction resources may be of greater importance.

Sustainable developments should aim as much as possible to use existing infrastructure and facilities to minimise the need to create new systems. Identifying areas that have existing services that are under used will help reduce the development's overall impact. Consequently, infill and greyfield sites are often seen as well suited for such developments. Of course, these types of developments are often limited in their size and it is rare to find an infill site that is capable of a large scale development. Infill sites also have their own unique set of problems. Vacant sites in established areas are often that way for a good reason! Soil contamination, odd shapes, community and zoning issues are all common problems facing infill developments, so careful consideration is needed before proceeding with the development process.

Case Study - Westwyck, West Brunswick, Victoria

WestWyck occupies the building and grounds of the former Brunswick West Primary School in inner suburban Melbourne. The school ran out of students in the 1980s and instead of demolition, the WestWyck developers aimed to bring the building to new and vibrant life as an urban demonstration showpiece of sustainable development and good design.

WestWyck also aspires to relate to the local community, benefitting the local economy and making use of local infrastructure including the superb public transport options. Local workers and local tradespeople were engaged and appliances and fittings were frequently sourced from local suppliers. (Westwyck 2008)

Greenfield sites will often not have existing facilities to benefit from and will initially often require residents to travel some distance to access services such as schools, shopping centres, childcare, etc. For sustainability purposes this can be problematic, but the provision of public transport links to these services and the eventual provision of the services within a development as demand grows will often overcome these initial problems. Greenfield sites can however benefit from proximity to construction resources. Quarries and material manufacturers are often located in urban fringe areas. Using these local resources in the construction of infrastructure and buildings will dramatically reduce the transport energy requirements.

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Natural features

Often one of the main drawcards for sustainable developments is the existing natural environment. Utilising and enhancing the natural features that a site offers is a critical part of the development process. Developers are often tempted to clear sites of trees and vegetation and then re-landscape after the buildings are completed. However, the sustainable development approach is to retain as much of the native vegetation and/or any planted vegetation where it involves mature trees, etc., as possible. This will not only help in retaining the sites natural uniqueness, but will also aid in the preservation of some aspects of the area's biodiversity. 

Of course, another natural feature highly sought after are natural waterways. Creeks, rivers and lakes offer developers enormous opportunities. Often these water features will determine the initial layout of parks, walkways, roads and ultimately the position of building lots. Preserving and enhancing these important environments is critical to any sustainable development. It is not that long ago that urban creek systems were seen as a hindrance to development and were piped underground so that development could proceed above. Often these areas may be degraded and require restoration. Management of this process is critical to ensure the long term health of the creek system. The siting of roads and dwellings in close proximity to these areas needs careful planning to avoid adverse impacts on the environment.

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Topography

The natural topography of a site is an important feature and should be retained as much as possible. Alterations to a site’s topography will have detrimental impacts on water flow and erosion and will impact, at least in the short term, on the local ecosystem and visual amenity of the site. Roads and buildings should use existing slopes and follow contour patterns. Steep slopes can present challenges and building on such slopes should be avoided as they will concentrate and accelerate runoff, creating erosion and flooding problems and are also expensive.
 

Figure 1 (Friedman 2007)

When arranging building lots on sloping sites it is best to try and use a terracing technique that orientates homes for good solar access (see solar access fact sheet) and also access to natural breezes. Placing homes in rows at different elevations will also help to retain views and prevent overshadowing (Figure 1). Preserving natural slopes will also aid natural drainage and allows for more effective implementation of water sensitive urban design features (Friedman 2007).
 

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Wungong Urban Water – Armadale, Western Australia

The developers engaged a team of landscape architects from the University of Western Australia to demonstrate how the landscape itself could genuinely inform the character and structure of the suburban development of the Wungong Urban Water Master Plan area. A high water table, five major drainage ways and the Wungong River define the re-development area.

The Landscape Structure Plan proposed an urban development with an integrated urban water management system structured around a matrix of avenues and living streams while also maintaining and enhancing the area's natural and rural character.

With Wungong's natural landscape and waterways as a starting point, the master plan has evolved to include a complementary range of lot sizes and housing types.

The estate showcases contemporary water sensitive and energy efficient designs in addition to community parks along avenues of eucalypt-lined public open space radiating from the Wungong River. These features make Wungong one of Australia's smartest, innovative and sustainable urban developments.

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Roads and paths

Naturally, roads and paths are an essential part of any development to allow movement of both people and vehicles. Developments will often have a variety of road types ranging from small neighbourhood streets providing access to homes to wide, dual-lane boulevards as the main access road to a development. All road types need to be incorporated into the natural setting and should try and follow natural contours and use other existing natural elements, such as, waterways and rock formations which can create enjoyable roadside vistas.

Road safety is always an important issue, and roads that follow the natural lay of the land and have gentle curves will generally slow traffic down and create a safer environment for pedestrians and cyclists. Separation of sidewalks from vehicular roads will also improve safety.

Pedestrian walkways have an even greater opportunity to follow natural contour lines as they are able to accommodate tighter curves than roads and do not need to offer the most direct route to a particular location. Paths that meander through the natural setting, say along a waterway, provide residents with a highly enjoyable experience and allow them to interact with the natural features of a development.

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Lot planning

Traditionally, lot yield has been the main driver for developers. Maximising the number of lots within a development is often the initial starting point in subdivision design. However, for sustainable developments, lot yield should not be the main driver. How lots fit within the natural setting should be the primary issue during lot design. Often, the lot layout will already be somewhat determined by the road layout that has been considered earlier. As the roads follow the natural contours, the lots that feed off these roads will fit into this natural setting.

It is important to remember how the homes that will eventually be built on these lots will be able to take advantage of sustainable practices, such as solar gain and natural ventilation. Ensuring good solar orientation of lots will aid a home’s solar access potential. This is vital, especially on small lots where the ability to alter a home’s orientation is usually limited.

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Adaptable planning

The social makeup of our suburbs changes over time hence the types of developments and houses that people want to live in also changes over time. It is a key element of any sustainable development that it is capable of adapting to changing needs. Traditionally, large-scale master planned developments will create a master site plan that will outline the development’s overall design intent. Often these developments will be spread over many years and even decades and allow only very limited scope for change. However, it may be better practice to design developments in smaller stages that are constructed within a shorter time period. Subsequent stages can then be designed later on and can adapt to any changes in the market place. It also allows for any improvements to other design features that may have been adopted in previous stages and have had a chance to be tested in the real world.

Staged developments will often benefit from having an overall “vision” for the development as a whole, but will not necessarily be locked into a detailed design. This allows for the development to evolve and adapt over time and create a community that is more in tune with its resident’s requirements.

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Key Issues

Benefits

Effective siting of roads, lots, parks and other development features that take into account the natural features of a site will benefit a development in many ways. Most importantly, it will help minimise a development’s impact on the existing natural environment and reduce the need for extensive and expensive land modification works such as excavation and levelling. Using a site's natural features will enhance the overall amenity of a development, often resulting in increased value of the development. Following natural contour lines will aid in drainage and reduce the likelihood of erosion and contamination of the environment.

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Savings

Careful site planning will often result in long-term cost savings. Minimising the need for excavation will greatly reduce the cost for road construction. Siting lots to take advantage of solar access and natural ventilation opportunities will provide long-term savings to the residents with reduced energy bills.

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Costs

Effective sustainable site planning, in many instances, will take longer to develop than traditional site planning and may involve onsite studies, monitoring and evaluation by a range of experts. This will usually result in higher upfront costs, but will often result in long-term savings. The preservation of existing vegetation can cause delays and additional costs because roads and other infrastructure need to be built around vegetation without causing damage.

Reduced lot yields may also be a result of a more sympathetic planning approach, but in many instances these reduced yields are offset by increased value in the lots that are developed.

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Barriers

Deviations from the traditional site planning process may encounter barriers, especially in the area of approvals. Government authorities may be reluctant to approve a staged development without knowing full details of how the entire development will fit together. A “vision” plan may be seen as too open-ended and often local authorities like long-term projections for their own planning of services and facilities.

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Benchmarks

Urban Development Institute of Australia’s EnviroDevelopment Standards cover siting issues as part of their Ecosystems element and cite the importance of adhering to the natural land form as an essential requirement (Urban Development Institute of Australia 2007). Section 1.3 Land Form requires a “thorough site analysis to identify areas of prime significance for preservation and to identify areas where clearing and/or major earthworks should specifically not occur.”

It also requires at least four of the following:

• Retain local and adjacent land form - integrate with topographic features
• Locate on brownfield site.
• Build on stable, non-flooding land
• Maximum cut and fill of 1.5m
• Cut and fill on maximum 30% of site
• Construction methods to minimise disruption to land form and natural drainage contours
• Minimise site disturbance during construction
• Street layout designed to fit with topography.

The USA based LEED-ND (Neighbourhood Development) scheme highlights similar areas including the prerequisite of “transportation efficiency” within their location efficiency section. This covers locating developments close to existing transport infrastructure, in particular public transport. Additional credits are given for:

• Brownfield redevelopment
• Adjacent, infill, or redevelopment site
• School proximity.

Other sections give credits for:

• Minimising site disturbance during construction
• Minimising site disturbance through site design
• Maintain and/or reduce stormwater runoff rates.

(US Green Building Council 2007)

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Development phase actions

Feasibility

Initial feasibility planning is critical for successful sustainable siting and design. As discussed earlier, determining the suitability of a particular site to a sustainable development is usually the very first step. The presence of natural features that can be utilised, the proximity of existing facilities such as public transport, retail, education and health services will all determine how well sustainability principles will be able to be employed. The general topography of the site will also be a major consideration and will highlight benefits and/or barriers to sustainable development.

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Planning

Once a site has been selected as suitable for development, the planning stage is probably the most critical part of the siting process. This stage allows the overall “vision” for the development to be established and the identification of the various natural features that will be used and enhanced to bring this vision to reality. Early site planning may involve a variety of studies to determine the best sustainability approach to be undertaken. Monitoring and assessment of existing ecosystems may be required.

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Design

Detailed design brings the site vision to reality. It is essential that the opportunities identified in the planning phase are carried forward to the design phase. Using the topography of the site to accommodate roads, paths, lots and other facilities is paramount, while natural features such as waterways need to be incorporated into the overall design intent. Staging the whole development design process allows for greater flexibility and adaptability which can more easily accommodate enhancement of the development's overall intent. This is especially important in large scale developments that may be constructed over many years and even decades.

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Construction

During construction it is important to put systems in place that ensure there is minimal site disturbance and that construction activity is restricted to only those areas that are required.

Also:

• Control road construction runoff
• Ensure access paths are adhered to and
• Protect the natural features that the site provides.

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Lot Creation

It is important that the careful planning of lots benefits house builders, to give them good access to solar and ventilation opportunities. These benefits can then pass onto the house designers. Ensuring that designers are aware of the opportunities of the lot will help ensure maximum benefits for the home owner. Homes, like the roads and paths, should take advantage of the natural contours that may exist and it is important that site excavation is kept to a minimum.

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Completion

Upon completion, review the success of the siting process. In a staged development, this will allow future stages to benefit from the lessons learnt in earlier stages. Reviewing and enhancing the site planning process within a development will help the development as a whole to adapt to changes and will benefit the siting process of future development projects.

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