THE PLANNING PROCESS FOR LID - Low Impact Development and Sustainable Stormwater Management - page 77

4
THE PLANNING
PROCESS FOR LID
4.1 SUSTAINABLE SITE PLANNING PROCESS WITH
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT
Whether a site is currently undeveloped or urban, the sustainable site planning
process must follow a few simple guidelines to understand both the limitations
and the opportunities presented by a given parcel of land.
• Guideline 1 : Understand the site and its watershed setting/context.
• Guideline 2 : Apply conservation design: fit the program to the site.
• Guideline 3 : Manage rainfall where it originates; do not convey.
• Guideline 4 : Design with construction and maintenance in mind.
• Guideline 5 : Calculate runoff volume and water quality.
Guideline 1: Understand the Site
Very few, if any, new development projects begin by asking: In what watershed is
this parcel located? It simply is not part of the current strategy of the development
community unless it is driven by some zoning or government regulation that
recognizes a specific river basin or watershed as a special place, warranting
careful land development controls. With millions of acres developed during the
past four decades across the United States, few, if any, property owners and