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8 <br /> utility road was required along with a community.su.bsurface drip septic,system on a field on <br /> the far east of the development. <br /> Today, a project on that scale has proved to be financially and otherwise no,longer'feasible: <br /> - COVID-sg intervened, building costs have skyrocketed,while�ourown economiocapacitiesto <br /> meet them remain limited and modest,especially since we remain committed to affordability <br /> and a diverse community both culturally and across the lifespan. Moreover, the funding <br /> opportunities that"we have been able to find (for example through Community Home,7ru:st for <br /> affordable housing), and that our individual members are in the best position to`take, <br /> presuppose individual,rather than cooperative,ownership, while existing members'various ; . <br /> intentions and capacities also require more personalized opportunities as well as more variable <br /> timetables. <br /> For these reasons, iron!cally.but unfortunately, the MPD-CZ that enabled and supported the <br /> last decade's vision has become an impossible constraint on actually achieving our goa!s`in the <br /> current climate. One County planner even offhandedly described'our currentMPD-CZ`as a <br /> "dinosaur". We need to"step'back to leap forward" under different auspices. <br /> Flexible Development— Cons&vation Cluster <br /> Once reverted to R-1 conventional zoning; our intention is to bring forward an alternative site <br /> plan using the UDO's Flexible Development=,,Conservation Cluster frameworkfora similarly <br /> compact but smallerand lot-base'd village layout. The Flexible Development—,Conservation <br /> Cluster option did not exist when our MPD-CZ as in process in 2015 but in many ways,is„a far <br /> more suitable and flexible framework, and it might well have been the framework we would, <br /> have chosen in the first place had it been available then. <br /> The same goals.and strategies that motivate us also underlie the Flexible De'velopment— <br /> Conservation Cluster designation;The key idea is to cluster residences to create"a compact <br /> neighborhood while conserving farm and forest as Common Areas,'ncluding the riparian°zone, <br /> coordinated.with the proposed easements, a's lightly used or.un used areas. Under the n'ew , <br /> designation, the village itself will need to be in individually-held lots, HOA-g'overned,,rather <br /> than a cooperatively owned single plot, which is a retrenchment from,our origi'naltplans, but <br /> once again is more realistic given our present circumstances, asjust noted, and the flexibility it <br /> will allow is welcome. <br /> In parallel as this'rezoning application works its way through the planning process, we are <br /> developing and refining our alternative site plan, lot and septic layouts and other infrastructure <br /> designs, and financing arrangements, so that upon approval we should be able to move quickly <br /> to request approval for a Conservation Cluster Flexible Development and begin infrastructure <br /> construction. Another earnest of our commitment to land-preserving, conservation-and farm- <br /> oriented development is our current engagement with Commissioner Greene's Whole;Orar ge <br /> initiative and the working group of other groups and developers already embracing the <br /> Conservation Cluster framework, hoping to assist each other in fine'-tuning the framework for <br /> OC's particular needs and circumstances. <br /> 3 <br />