Economic Impacts of Alternative Approaches to Storm-Water Management and Land Development
Publication: Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 135, Issue 6
Abstract
This paper explores how estimated construction costs and projected revenue from sales could influence the decision to maintain open spaces in predevelopment condition and to implement a decentralized swale-based storm-water management system characteristic of low impact development. Four development alternatives were explored for a hypothetical residential subdivision. Hedonic price analysis was used to develop a price equation for the Gainesville, Fla. residential market. The hedonic analysis indicated that reduction in lot size to preserve open-space and conversion from a curb and gutter storm-water drainage system to a swale-based system would both result in a lower sale price per lot. Estimated construction costs indicated that this same combination of site planning and storm-water system design would result in the lowest per lot construction cost. The ratio of revenue (sale price) to construction cost showed that a development incorporating lot size reductions for open-space preservation and a swale-based storm-water management system was the preferred option over the first half of the study period, but was not in the second half.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 135 • Issue 6 • November 2009
Pages: 537 - 546
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: May 9, 2008
Accepted: Feb 27, 2009
Published online: Oct 15, 2009
Published in print: Nov 2009
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