Sustainable Land Development Today - April 2008 - (Page 30) CONSERVATION PROJECT Photos by Gary McCoy and Natalie Caudill courtesy of The Woodson Place Home Sustainable Home: Woodson Place From buildings to landscape, Texas family creates a Conservation Subdivision to preserve the legacy of their ancestral homestead. By Frank Hill W A 66-acre section of the family’s 160- by his grandfather, was an example of a hen Chris Allen got a call from homestead came to mind when his major eco-region in Texas called Oak Sahis mother a decade ago saying that they would be inher- mother called. The gently-rolling land- vanna. It features prairie punctuated by iting the family homestead 80 miles scape with its stands of well-established trees, reminiscent of scenes of African oak trees, which were saved from the ax Savanna. southwest of Dallas, Texas, he “As my mom was asking what started thinking. At the time, we were going to do with the Allen had been working on a property, I started thinking about Department of Energy project that one piece of land and Ranrelated to sustainable communidall Arendt’s conservation deties. He had been studying signs,” Allen said. “It sure lent Conservation Design for Subdiviitself to that concept.” sions: A Practical Guide to Creating By developing that portion Open Space Networks, a book by alone, Allen projected that there noted land-use planner, site would be enough equity to allow designer and author Randall his mother to hold onto the reArendt. He became the sustainmaining 100-acres which could be ability consultant and developer put into a trust in perpetuity. of what would become Woodson As time progressed, the family Place, in honor of his greatbought into the plan, which limgrandfather Frank Woodson who ited development on the parcel, purchased the original homeand took it a step further. They stead in 1898. would go the extra mile by reThe core concept is to dedicate quiring sustainable homes, landat least 50-percent of a subdiviscape and infrastructure designs sion to open space filled with nathroughout the development. tive species to serve as both “Our vision is that we want to recreational area and wildlife be green and sustainable from the habitat. The built areas would home to the yard to the common consist of clustered lots that are area,” he said. oriented in a way to maximize The project calls for a total of privacy while an interesting Pond restoration is also a feature of the development as seen 37 lots. Phase one construction streetscape design is interwoven here in the foreground, helping to create an environment for created the first 13. Two homes throughout the development. people and wildlife. 30 April 2008 Sustainable Land Development Today
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