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Deer Creek, a residential conservation development project approved in Richfield Township, Summit County (Seibert Development Corp.), has 78 single-family detached units situated on a 162 acre parcel of land. Approximately 60%, or 97 acres of the site will be dedicated open space. Large contiguous areas of open space were created while retaining the allowable housing density by reducing lot sizes to 1/2 to 1 acre. By grouping houselots on land that is more suitable for development, the overall environmental impact of the project was reduced. Ecologically sensitive areas have been protected which provide habitat for plant and wildlife populations. The riparian corridor of Deer Creek is protected and the Furnace Run (Cuyahoga River) watershed benefits from reduced levels of runoff and increased water quality due to the greater effectiveness of natural filtering.

The design of Deer Creek also involved environmental considerations with regard to wastewater disposal. Septic systems were not evenly spaced across the site as in a conventional layout. Rather, an optimum location was chosen according to geologic constraints for the placement of Deer Creek’s spray irrigation wastewater reclamation and re-use system. Matching a wastewater system with the most suitable soils on the site can reduce the pollutant effect on groundwater and the incidence of system failure. Further information in included in the handbook section of the Countryside Program Resource Manual.