Village Plan Alternative (VPA) Case Studies

Issues Addressed:
Housing Costs Housing Options Infrastructure Multigenerational Sustainable Housing

Few implementations of VPA

Five communities have adopted the Village Plan Alternative rules as of 2020, but use of the tool has been limited. The Planning Board in Enfield, one of the communities that adopted VPA, put forward a Town Meeting warrant to repeal the VPA in 2022, citing its redundancy with other tools. Nonetheless, mixed-use conservation or cluster developments have proven successful elsewhere.

Serenbe, Chattahoochee Hills, GA

Serenbe is a mixed-use conservation development located on the rural outskirts of Atlanta, GA. The 1,200 acre parcel currently houses 650 people and commercial uses while preserving 70% of the land for open space, forest, and agriculture. Homes are 134 Village Plan Alternative offered for sale or rent, and include single-family homes, cottage housing, townhomes, and live/work units. The development is divided into four “hamlets,” each of which is meant to have walkable access to shops and amenities. An organic farm operates onsite, and Sernbe residents can access weekly farmers markets and the farm’s CSA.
Mixed-use cluster development surrounded by preserved landscape in Georgia, photo and excerpted site plan. (Image via Serenbe.)

State Law

Resources

Related Tools

A drawing showing an aerial view of same plot of land three times. Above there is a version labeled "Undeveloped," with a wooded area and a lake and stream. At bottom-left there is a version labeled "Conventional Subdivision." It shows the land divided into a ten parcels of relatively even size spread out across the area. There is a large amount of road and driveway area and many of the trees have been removed. At bottom-right is a version labeled "Cluster Housing." It shows twelve relatively small homes on twelve small parcels, clustered in two groups at the bottom-left of the area. The trees have been preserved, and only a small amount of road/driveway area connects the homes to the main edge of the area. Green trails wind throughout the parcel and connect to both the houses and the public road away from the houses. The Cluster Housing diagram has additional labels: "Preserved Natural Features," "Less Infrastructure," "Bonus units," and "Public access."
Cluster Housing
A diagram of an idealized age-friendly neighborhood. The neighborhood includes a mix of housing types, including detached single-family homes of various sizes, mixed-use buildings, and a cottage court. The diagram includes the following labels pointing to aspects of the drawing: "Nearby retail, community center, and open space;" "Diverse housing options, including apartments and starter homes;" "Single-story housing layouts with shared amenities;" "Sidewalks and other accessible infrastructure;" and "Accessory dwelling units for multi-generational households."
Age Friendly Neighborhoods
A diagram showing the front facades of housing types and given labels: small single-family, townhomes (attached single-family), cottage court (grouped small single-family), duplex, stacked duplex, triplex, stacked triplex, four-plex, six-pack, courtyard apartments.
Missing Middle Housing Types
A diagram showing an axonometric view of an area with several colorful 1.5 and two-story homes. An area is demarcated on the land and labeled "Designated Housing Opportunity Zone." Below the axonometric drawing is the label "Taxes in Housing Opportunity Zone" with a column chart with two bars. The column on the left is labeled "Before new development" and "Taxed value on property before development." That column is small and shown in green. A larger column on the right is labeled "After new development." The portion of the column equal to the "Before new development" column is also green. The portion above that is gray and hatched and labeled "Untaxed value on new development: savings for up to 10 years."
Housing Opportunity Zones
A diagram with two versions of the same plot of land, one over the other. On the top version, the land contains only one single-family home with many wings and a large garage and a long driveway. This version is labeled with a large 'X' and "Regulations cannot mandate unaffordable housing everywhere." The version below contains two modestly sized single-family homes at the front of the site, and a driveway leading back to a cottage court, containing six small single-family homes around a central green. This version is labeled with a large checkmark and "Workforce housing must be allowed in a majority of residential areas."
Workforce Housing Ordinance
A diagram showing drawings connected by arrows. First, a plan view showing a large empty area next to dense urban fabric labeled "Large, complex site with single owner." Second, icons of buildings labeled "Mixed-use potential." Third, icons of a paint brush and magnifying glass labeled "Up-front planning and design." Fourth, icons of people talking labeled "public review and input." Fifth and finally, the initial empty plot of land in plan view, now with a mix of building types, a street network, and open spaces.
Planned Unit Developments (PUDs)
A subdivision of eight single-family homes surrounding a central green. The plot of land is labeled "Site plan that allows for community septic, prioritizing shared open space." Underground pipes lead from each home into a large underground box labeled "Joint septic tank." A pipe leads from that box into a smaller underground box labeled "Pre-treatment system." A pipe extends from that box and branches into many pipes with holes in them under a green area labeled "Community open space that doubles as a leach field."
Wastewater System Alternatives