Scenario Dwelling Units

The number of housing units planned for each scenario varies between 720 and 957 units. Given that financial returns across the scenarios are shown to be a function of more than just the total number of units included, the team found value in comparing overall impacts of the three scenarios. However, in order to allow for an equal comparison with respect to dwelling units across scenarios, some indicator results are reported on a per-dwelling-unit basis as well.

Comparing the indicators on a per-dwelling-unit basis provides additional information on the efficiencies and benefits of each scenario, as seen, for example, in the cost indicators. Dividing the total costs for roads, sewers, waterlines, and paths, trails and sidewalks by the number of dwelling units in each scenario, provides a better understanding of the cost efficiencies associated with each scenario. A per-dwelling-unit comparison of the open space and dock indicators provides a more complete picture of those results as well.

In some instances, the nature of the indicator and the methodology used to calculate its impacts were counterintuitive to a per-dwelling-unit approach. Dwelling unit calculations were not applied to impervious surfaces, pollution runoff, land clearing, vegetation buffers, water consumption, or walkability indicators because the original calculations included factors either disassociated with the number of dwelling units or not to the level of detail that a per dwelling unit comparison may imply. For example, impervious surface calculations include percentage estimates for roadways, parking, and commercial areas, but this infrastructure is not directly tied to the number of dwelling units. Polluted runoff relates to all land uses in the proposed scenario and is reported relative to the undeveloped site as a baseline. Conversely, the water consumption indicator is generally estimated for residential and park parcels only, and does not include other land uses in the scenarios. And vegetative buffers, for instance, are defined as natural open space and are therefore already captured in the results of the open space per dwelling unit calculations.

The indicator calculations accurately describe the overall features and characteristics of each scenario and overall results can be viewed in tandem with the per-dwelling-unit calculations. A user can consider any result relative to dwelling unit simply by dividing the whole site result by the number of units for that scenario. Considering both sets of indicator results may provide a more complete comparison among the three scenarios, but users are cautioned to read the indicator methods section to fully understand the general nature of some of the indicator calculations.

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