Infill development (replacing a single residential home or construction of a single home on an unused lot in established neighborhoods) is a tool of Smart Growth, has a revitalizing effecton neighborhoods and should be encouraged in the interest of utilizing and improving existing infrastructure. Infill development allows greater density, encourages transportation and housing choice, and enhances the urban landscape. The issue of size and scale in relation to existing homes leads some lawmakers to perceive a need to establish regulations to accommodate the changes. Such regulatory controlscan restrict the ability of infill development to compete with conventional projects in previously undeveloped areas outside the urban core.

Tree protection ordinances are frequently modified with restrictions to protect or maintain a quantifiable canopy coverage, to preserve historic species, and to serve as natural amenities and buffers from encroaching development. Overly restrictive tree protection ordinances can negatively impact private property rights as well as add unexpected costs to development. Finding a balance between maintaining natural amenities, property rights, real estate value and land use is possible with consideration of these factors when proposing legislation effecting natural resources.

Impact fees, paid by developers and builders, are in fact ultimately paid by the purchaser. Applied only to new construction, impact fees are the same whether the purchase price is $100,000 or $1 million. A fair, equitable fee is the desired goal due to their effect on affordable housing and mixed commercial development.