Committee clarifies RD6: conservation easement areas off-limits to development

Committee staff displayed the map and identified the green areas as permanent conservation easements that are mapped as RD6 for the West Street and Paul Street properties. Robbie (staff) said the property is partly protected by a permanent conservation easement and emphasized that no development will be allowed inside that easement.

Committee members directed staff to rewrite the RD6 language so it clearly states that no development is allowed within the conservation easement and that remaining land outside the easement will be described separately with its own performance standards. "No development shall be allowed within this permanent conservation easement," Robbie said while explaining map labeling and the need for precise ordinance wording.

Why it matters: clarifying RD6 avoids legal and planning confusion about buildable areas on parcels that include both conserved land and developable acreage; the committee asked staff to correct map text and cross-reference performance standards for the remaining land outside the easement.