Planned Development

If you’re concerned about the effect of a planned unit or area development on your quality of life then contact CEDS at 410-654-3021 or Help@ceds.org for a no-cost discussion of strategy options. Please don’t hesitate. Delay almost always decreases the likelihood of success.

By “planned development” we mean projects where usual land use and zoning restrictions are relaxed. These projects are commonly known as Planned Unit Development (PUD) or Planned Area Development (PAD). Both can offer significant advantages over conventional development resulting in greater compatibility with nearby neighborhoods. However, a poorly planned PUD or PAD project can also harm neighborhoods and the environment, through effects such as:

  • Excessive traffic, noise and air pollution on neighborhood streets,
  • School overcrowding,
  • Property value decline,
  • Damage to streams, wetlands and other waters, and
  • Loss of pleasing views from your home.

Identifying & Resolving Planned Unit Development or Planned Area Development Impacts

The first step in protecting a neighborhood is to determine if a planned unit development or planned area development proposal is likely to cause these or other impacts. The CEDS Development Project Impact Assessment Checklist eases the task of assessing potential PUD-PAD effects.

The next step is to search for ways of designing each impact out of a planned unit development or planned area development project. We call these options Equitable Solutions since they resolve our clients’ concerns while allowing developers to achieve their goals. It is far easier to win adoption of Equitable Solutions when compared to killing a project.

Examples of Equitable Solutions we’ve won on behalf of CEDS clients throughout the U.S.. include:

Defeating A Fatally Flawed Planned Unit Development or Planned Area Development Project

If a planned unit development or planned area development project is so poorly conceived or sited that impacts cannot be resolved, then the only option may be to prevent approval. This goal will be far easier to achieve if you can show decision-makers that you made a genuine effort to resolve impacts. This is but one of many components of the CEDS Smart Legal Strategies approach which can triple the likelihood of defeating a fatally, flawed PUD or PAD for a small portion of the usual cost.

CEDS Initial Strategy Analysis Best Place To Start

CEDS offers many free resources that can guide you through strategies to preserve your neighborhood or the environment. These resources include the webpages listed to the right and our many free publications.

A number of folks find they lack the time to read through then implement the guidance on their own. Instead, they opt to retain CEDS to perform an Initial Strategy Analysis. Click the following for an example of a CEDS analysis of strategies to resolve concerns regarding a Planned Area Development project: Smith Park PAD ISA.

For a fee of $800 to $1500 CEDS can analyze your case and identify the most effective strategy for preserving your quality of life. The analysis usually begins with the following steps:

  1. Verify your concerns regarding project impacts by reviewing actual project plans.
  2. Assess the proposal for additional impacts. The CEDS Project Impact Assessment Checklist simplifies this task.
  3. Search for Equitable Solutions that design away each impact while allowing the property owner to achieve their goals. Many of the webpages listed to the right will help you identify possible Equitable Solutions.
  4. Review the criteria for approving the project as set forth in local and state law.
  5. Compile the evidence needed to show that one or more of the criteria cannot be met based upon unresolved impacts.
  6. Research the decision-making history of the body required to approve the project. The goal is to identify factors that prompted past denials. These past examples will help you to increase the likelihood of a denial by structuring your case to show similar factors exist.
  7. Identify issues likely to generate the widespread public support frequently needed to prompt decision-makers to deny approval for fatally-flawed projects or condition an approval in ways that resolve your concerns via the Equitable Solutions identified in Step 3 above, and
  8. Identify at least one – hopefully several – attorneys with a good reputation for helping folks in your state who were concerned about similar issues.

The analysis can usually be completed within two weeks of receiving a retainer. About half the time the analysis is the only thing our clients need pay for to win.

For examples of CEDS analyses and for further detail visit our Strategy Analysis webpage. For a no-cost discussion of how an analysis might benefit your effort contact CEDS at 410-654-3021 or Help@ceds.org.

CEDS Uniquely Qualified to Help You Preserve Your Neighborhood & Environment

For more than 30 years CEDS has been helping people across the nation protect their communities and the environment from threats posed by development and other project types. To see a map of the many communities we’ve helped preserve click on: CEDS Case Map.

CEDS is one of very few organizations that solely helps people concerned about project impacts. This specialization and our nationwide scope has allowed CEDS to acquire a unique and extensive knowledge of technical solutions as well as strategies that have proven highly success in winning battles other thought impossible.

The CEDS network consists of more than 200 attorneys nationwide along with a long list of other professionals such as traffic and stormwater engineers, land use planners, etc. Because people (not corporations) are our primary clients we’ve learned how to protect neighborhoods at a fraction of the cost you might pay if you hired an attorney or consultant outside our network.

To learn how we can greatly increase your likelihood of success for minimal expense, contact CEDS at 410-654-3021 or Help@ceds.org.