Case Studies

Collaborative Design of the Santa Fe Summit Development
The Santa Fe Summit Project spurred residents to take action. Hyde Park Road, a National Scenic Byway, connects downtown Santa Fe with a world-class ski basin at the top of the Santa Fe National Forest. During the spring of 1991, residents of the Hyde Park Estates neighborhood noticed the construction of a massive water tank and large-scale water supply lines. Following their concern about the imp...
read more >>

Community Input on the Development of an Urban Industrial Site
City officials in Somerville, MA, held off submission of development plans opposed by community members. Instead, they asked the potential developer to fund a community input process and, over the course of five months, held meetings to explore issues of community concern. The meetings led to the creation of design guidelines for the parcel and the establishment of a Development and Design Committ...
read more >>

Conflict Over Proposed Residential Subdivision in Water Source Protection Area
Landowners proposed a 5 lot residential subdivision on 30 acres in the town of Morrisville, Vermont. The parcel of land was located in a "Rural Residential with Agriculture" zoning district and also included in the overlay zoning district for the Public Community Ground Water Source Protection Area (WSPA). A municipal water department opposed the subdivision because of potential impacts to the gro...
read more >>

Conflict Over the Creation of a Homeless Shelter
A group of charitable organizations came together to create a non-profit homeless shelter in West Chester, PA, but faced objection by local businesses and residents due to fears about public safety. The County subsequently established a mediated process for working through these issues. Over the course of four sessions and many private caucuses, parties reached and amicably formalized agreement ab...
read more >>

Dune Wars: Property Rights, Conservation, and the Future of Maine’s Coastline
The Dune Wars may soon be over. For many years, Mainers have held vastly different positions on the question of rebuilding storm-damaged structures in the sensitive beachfront environment. Now, thanks in part to a consensus building process, a resolution is close at hand.
read more >>

North Jefferson County Zoning Committee Reaches Consensus
The proposal by a Montana cement plant to burn hazardous waste raised public health and environmental concerns for nearby neighbors. In response, the Jefferson County Planning Board appointed a committee to draft zoning recommendations that would address the concerns of the community. The 11-member committee worked for six months to develop these recommendations, which were refined and adopted as ...
read more >>

Protecting the Lesser Prairie-Chicken and Sand Dune Lizard in New Mexico
In December 2002, the significant decline of the Lesser Prairie-chicken and Sand Dune Lizard in southeastern New Mexico caused a coalition of federal and state regulatory and land management agencies to take action. They proposed to assemble a Working Group of public and private stakeholders to negotiate a broad strategy for the protection of the two at-risk species. After more than two years of n...
read more >>