Make a good proposal great using our scorecard
Conservation Design is an innovative approach to development that provides an equitable way for communities to balance their development objectives with achievable conservation goals. That is why many rapidly growing communities across Minnesota are looking to Conservation Design as a way to accommodate unprecedented growth while still conserving limited, yet cherished, natural resources.
But as these types of developments begin to spring up, so do questions: Are they as good as they could be when it comes to preserving the environmental integrity of the development site? Are they as good as they could be when it comes to creating a unique sense of place for a homeowner and a community? Is the application process conducted openly and transparently rather than behind closed doors with limited opportunities for neighbors and other interested community members to weigh in?
About the scorecard
The Conservation Design Scorecard, a project of 1000 Friends of Minnesota, should help answer these and other questions, and if used as part of a community’s planning and zoning process, it should raise the bar for future Conservation Design developments that are put on the ground. This scorecard is intended to be used by planners, planning commissions, local officials, developers, conservation professionals, and citizens – the very people who helped create it. It is organized in a way that makes it easy to use.
You don’t have to be an expert in Conservation Design to use or understand the scorecard, which points out that there are ten basic qualities to good Conservation Design. Each quality is explained in simple terms. For each quality, there are measurable criteria and points are awarded based on responses. If used properly, this scorecard can turn a so-so development application into a thoughtful, well-conceived application that any community would be proud to support and any developer would be proud to have associated with his or her name.
We can help you get started
If you want to have someone from 1000 Friends of Minnesota come to your community to deliver a PowerPoint presentation about Conservation Design and how to use the scorecard, please send an email to Phil Hunsicker. We would also be glad to share the PowerPoint presentation on the scorecard with you for your own use.
If you have a chance to use the Scorecard in your community, we’d love to hear from you about your experience. Please send your feedback to Phil Hunsicker.
Details about how to use the PDF
The scorecard can be printed out and filled in the old-fashioned way with a pen or pencil, or you can download it as a PDF document, save it on your computer, and at your convenience, fill it out on your computer. If filled out on your computer, the scorecard will not add up your points for you, so you do need to have some basic math skills of addition and multiplication. Also, while the directions say, “Simply read through the sections and circle the correct answer for each measurement listed,” you will not be able to “circle” the answer on your computer. In that case, simply choose the appropriate answer and fill in the points in the “Score” boxes. To save your completed (or partially completed) scorecard, simply left click on “File” in the upper left-hand corner of your screen. Then left click on “Save As.” Next, choose where you would like to save your file, pick a name for your file and left click on “Save.”
