Center for Watershed Protection. 2017. The Code & Ordinance Work sheet: A Tool for Evaluating the Development Rules in Your Community 2017. Center for Watershed Protection, Ellicott City, MD. codes, ordinances, BSD, Better Site Design, impacts The original Better Site Design Handbook presented a process for evaluating local development regulations based on the model development principles so that strategic code changes could be made in the community. The tool provided to facilitate an in-depth review of codes and ordinances at the local level was the Code and Ordinance Worksheet (COW). The COW is intended to help communities evaluate their local development regulations to identify revisions that allow or require site developers to minimize impervious cover, conserve natural areas and use runoff reduction practices to manage stormwater. The COW can be completed by municipal staff or by non-governmental organizations who wish to improve the environmental footprint and character of development in their community. It is a tool that can be used by communities who are experiencing or anticipating moderate to high pressure for new development (urban, suburban, or rural) or redevelopment. An associated COW Scoring Spreadsheet is available that can help with tracking and to compare your development rules to the model development principles.