Page 18 - CodeWatcher Summer 2017

Raising the Bar

for Land and Home

LED lighting, Energy Star rated appliances, and natural daylighting are just some of the green techniques and practices showcased in
Derry Cottage.
areas of the home need additional hot or cold air and keeps
temperatures more constant automatically. Also, lighting
is controlled with sectional switches so the homeowner has
the option to light only specific areas, and about 90 percent
of the light bulbs used are LEDs.
“It’s probably rare that there’s as many custom features
and quality of materials in a speculative build, at least in my
experience,” Johnson says. “It was nice to be able to do some
nicer touches and some nicer flair.”

Sustainable Land Use
It’s not all just about the houses at Bundoran Farm. By
minimizing site disturbance, preserving natural features,
limiting water and energy demand, and reusing site resources, Adding to the community’s rustic beauty is Massey Barn, which is
the community reduces the impact new construction makes a working barn, housing farm storage and livestock.
on existing vegetation, drainage patterns, and topsoil. strategies is to avoid development on highly permeable
In addition, development patterns aim to protect as much soils and, instead, save permeable soils for stormwater
of the existing trees and vegetation through thoughtful house management and landscaping.
placement, delicate grading, and efficient use of space. By The farm encourages planning around large, healthy trees
organizing the layout of the house and grounds parallel to and avoiding land-disturbing activities on slopes exceed-
the contours and slopes of the land, homesites are able to ing 20 percent to avoid erosion. By orienting the primary
achieve a smaller amount of disturbance to the land. axis of the house, grounds and driveway to be parallel to
In order to achieve this, community developers used the contours of a sloping terrain, the farm minimizes need
specific low impact development strategies. One of these for cut and fill.

18 CodeWatcher / Summer 2017 www.codewatcher.us