Summary
This publication discusses basic management concepts used in new residential cluster developments, as well as the options available to municipalities and developers when establishing a management structure.
Management of Basic Functions
In a residential cluster development, the services residents are most concerned about include management of commonly-held open space, treatment of household wastewater and control of storm water runoff.
To manage these concerns, a management structure is necessary that identifies which services will be delivered, who will deliver them, and what resources will be used.
At the most basic level, management in a new cluster development means identifying individuals responsible for the construction, operation and maintenance of wastewater, storm water and open-space systems over the life of the cluster development.
This involves the basic design decisions about what services will be provided and defines construction standards. Construction is usually the developer's responsibility.
Operation
While there is operation and oversight of open space and storm water runoff, here the term operation usually refers to wastewater treatment facilities. If houses have individual on-site septic systems, the individual homeowner is responsible. As more complex wastewater treatment systems such as package plants are used, however, a professional operator will be required to oversee operations.
Maintenance
This is the most important function of the management structure, and its major components are the physical maintenance of wastewater and storm water systems. A good management structure should also provide a framework for future capital investment and system replacement. Management structures covering maintenance in most current developments usually do not have a future capital investment plan, which means that the developments tend to react to problems as they occur.
Current Management Situation
Most residential cluster developments focus management activities on the protection of open space and the enforcement of community bylaws. This includes the maintenance of active and passive recreational areas, including ballfields, tennis courts, trails, and common areas. The majority of these issues can be addressed easily through a homeowners association (HOA). Residents automatically become members when they purchase a home and each household has an equal vote in such things as the setting of annual dues, physical design standards (e.g., house color), and the hiring of maintenance crews. Open space is protected through the use of deed restrictions, conservation easements or dedication of land to the municipality.
Storm Water Drainage Systems
Currently, two distinct forms of storm water management are simultaneously in place in residential cluster developments. Developers provide a basic storm water drainage system consisting of grassed swales and large detention ponds. The prevailing view is that these do not require extensive maintenance or replacement (for more information, see publication three of this series). The municipality, which controls the stormwater management structure in the majority of cluster developments, is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the second system, the curbs and gutters of public streets.
Many cluster developments lack a formal management structure. Once construction is complete, little attention is given to the storm water system's future needs beyond the mowing of swales, a task usually done by individual homeowners. When a problem does occur, such as the need to dredge a detention pond, the HOA must independently discover the procedure for correcting the problem. This leads to a reactionary management structure where problems are only addressed as they happen.
Wastewater Treatment
When there are individual septic tanks and drainfields, there is no formal management structure in place. Homeowners are responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of their own systems. In cluster developments, where individual drainfields may be placed in commonly-held open space, proper maintenance is still the ultimate responsibility of the individual homeowner. This fact sheet concludes with a more detailed look at wastewater management structures.
Technological Advances Lead to
Increased Management Complexity
Unlike conventional subdivision developments, cluster developments explicitly incorporate greater housing density (on parts of a site), rural technologies, and innovative design to preserve more open space, to protect environmentally sensitive areas, and, sometimes, to preserve agricultural landscapes (see publication one). Technological advances in storm water drainage systems (publication three) and wastewater treatment systems (publication two) have greatly enhanced developers' ability to propose cluster designs.
Advances in wastewater treatment can ensure the protection of groundwater because systems can be located on a development's most suitable areas. Additionally, both the municipality and the developer can benefit from economies of scale by consolidating resources and minimizing duplication.
Better storm water management, including the use of vegetation and extensive overland flow systems, increases the opportunity to remove contaminants and keep sediment from discharging into local bodies of water.
However, many advances in rural technologies such as package plants, require professional maintenance and monitoring to ensure proper performance. This greater level of responsibility requires more complex management structures. Such a situation also makes it more desirable for municipalities, homeowners and developers to share this responsibility.
How to Select a Management Structure
As the complexity of residential cluster development increases, the local municipality needs to choose the management structure. This decision will be strongly influenced by the developer's design and layout proposals, however. Hopefully, the process creates a residential development that meets community goals, affords the developer appropriate financial gain, and provides homeowners with safe basic services that function properly.
- Role of the Developer
The developer is the first and most critical stakeholder in establishing a management structure. The developer designs a cluster's layout, including the type and location of commonly-held resources and rural technologies. The physical design of the proposed cluster must conform to municipal zoning and subdivision codes. Typically, the developer is the initial petitioner for the development. The developer is also the key individual in the initial establishment and the future responsibility of the HOA. As the HOA's initial member, the developer acts on behalf of future homeowners.
- Role of the Municipality
The municipality's primary role is to review and approve the formal design of the cluster development, ensuring its compatibility with local ordinances and codes. Usually this does not involve the establishment of a management structure except to require that developers create an HOA. But municipalities can establish formal management structures to aid local residents. An example is an environmental subordinate service district to correct a failing wastewater treatment system. As the need for alternative management structures arises, the municipality plays an expanded role in advising about and establishing new management structures.
Critical Components Influencing the Choice of
Wastewater Management Structure
Three critical factors influence the choice of a wastewater management structure:
- site characteristics,
- design of the service system, and
- size of the service area.
The first two are the developer's responsibility; in most cases, the municipality decides the third.
- Site Characteristics
The physical characteristics of the site such as soil conditions, vegetative cover and areas of excessive slope determine what wastewater treatment facilities are most appropriate.
- System Design
Once a specific system is chosen, its components determine the degree of monitoring and maintenance that is necessary, pointing almost inexorably to a specific management structure. For instance, a package plant has the capacity to service many units, but because it involves a number of mechanical components, it requires a professionally trained and licensed technician to ensure that the system runs smoothly. Community drainfields, on the other hand, with few mechanical components, require less strict monitoring (see Figure 1).
- Service Area
The municipality should have some insight into the potential grouping of cluster developments in its community. If multiple cluster developments are close together, the municipality may choose to consolidate resources by incorporating all the clusters under a common management structure. If clusters are independent of each other, a simpler structure is usually more appropriate.
Specific Management Options for
Wastewater Treatment
Six management options exist to handle wastewater treatment, three public and three private.
- Private Management Options
· · · Homeowners Association
The most common management entity utilized today, the HOA's structure is determined by bylaws, which are usually typical of regulations for community property. Many municipalities require an HOA as a condition of plat approval for cluster developments and many codes state basic requirements HOAs must meet. After establishing an HOA, a developer remains a member until a set number of housing units are sold, usually around 50 percent. The primary disadvantage of the HOA is its lack of dedicated support staff and technical expertise when dealing with the additional monitoring and maintenance requirements associated with community wastewater treatment facilities.
· · · Privatized Joint Venture
Private management of wastewater treatment is authorized under the Privatized Capital Intensive Services Act in Minnesota Statutes Chapter 471A. Under this statute, a local unit of government may contract for private wastewater treatment with a private vendor who provides service to residents for a user charge approved by the local unit of government. Creating the joint venture allows the HOA or the local unit of government to hire management with expertise beyond the capacities of the individual homeowners. As a permanent management structure, the joint venture also removes the burdens of monitoring and maintenance from the HOA or the local unit of government.
A privatized joint venture could be used to link a number of cluster developments' HOAs through a "master association" under the Minnesota Common Interest Ownership Act to provide wastewater treatment services beyond the capability of the individual HOA for a fee.
· · · Water Quality Cooperative
Just as residents have organized rural electric cooperatives to obtain a lower-cost essential service, the cooperative framework enables individuals to obtain management expertise, monitoring, and maintenance beyond the capabilities of individual residents or even homeowners associations. The cooperative entity has the power to levy charges for its services, but the cost savings flow back to members as profits or capital credits. Legislation enacted in 1997 by the Minnesota legislature has authorized the creation of two pilot water quality cooperatives to own, operate, manage and control alternative sewage treatment systems and provide other water quality management and treatment services.
- Public Management Options
· · · Municipal Utility
The most familiar form of public management structure is a separate government entity providing basic services such as storm water, water supply or wastewater management. Municipal utilities can assess property owners who benefit from using the public service the utilities provide. Cities, counties and townships have the authority to plan, finance, construct and maintain sewer service systems within their boundaries.
· · · Sanitary Sewer District
Sanitary sewer districts can be created in several ways. Townships, cities, counties or 20 percent of the voters residing and owning land in the affected area may petition the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Additionally, general purpose governments may enter into a joint powers agreement to create a sewer district. A county, district court and even the state legislature may create a district by passing a new law specific to the affected area.
· · · Subordinate Service District
Townships use these to establish an area for improvement. An example would be upgrading a failing wastewater treatment system. Subordinate service districts are defined areas in a town in which one or more government services or additions to townwide services are provided by the town, with revenues financed from inside the area.
Authors
Mathew Mega
Graduate Student
Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs
University of Minnesota
and SRF Consulting Group
(612) 475-0010
mmega@srfconsulting.com
Jon Erik Kingstad
Research Fellow--Attorney at Law
Center for Rural Technology & Cooperative Development (CRTCD)
Department of Landscape Architecture
University of Minnesota
(612) 626-9818
kings011@tc.umn.edu
Robert Sykes
Associate Professor
Department of Landscape Architecture
(612) 625-6091
sykes002@maroon.tc.umn.edu
For More Information
Thomas Wegner
Extension Educator
University of Minnesota Extension Service
Hennepin County
(612) 374-8400
twegner@extension.umn.edu
Paul R. Jacobs
Director, Center for Rural Technology and
Cooperative Development
Department of Landscape Architecture
University of Minnesota
(612) 626-9709
« Previous Section |
Table of Contents |
Produced by Communication and Educational Technology Services, University of
Minnesota Extension.
In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, this material is available in alternative formats upon request. Please contact your University of Minnesota Extension office or the Extension Store at (800) 876-8636.
University of Minnesota Extension is committed to the policy that all persons shall have equal access to its programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, disability, public assistance status, veteran status, or sexual orientation.
