In the midst of a booming market, a housing shortage, and increasing confusion about the role of civic associations as neighborhood construction projects come on line, the Columbia-Savin Hill Civic Association (CSHCA) last week distributed a document that lays out broadly, with some hardline stances, the group’s approach to new development.

Association member Don Walsh spoke with the Reporter about the impetus behind the 19-point missive, which is titled “Principles for Development.” The association “supports city zoning and planning practices as a way to protect and enhance the quality of life in our community,” according to the document.

No single development issue prompted the committee, Walsh said, noting the process has been ongoing. The civic association’s approach to development, he added, hasn’t been “necessarily consistent,” and the development principles will help clarify the group’s position.

The paper outlines general considerations, such as the need to be alerted to proposals in a timely fashion, and support for a diversity of property uses that exist in accordance with the current array of single and multi-family homes in the neighborhood. More directly, Point 13 reiterates a position taken up by civic groups across Dorchester: They all “categorically oppose billboards in our community.”

“It takes a lot of time, and it makes sense to go through that process and figure out what they will tolerate in general,” said state Rep. Dan Hunt, who was at the civic meeting where the guidelines were distributed. Hunt said a guide of this nature “could be helpful for developers and others to know before purchasing a property or coming to a planning meeting of the association what is tolerable for that neighborhood.”

Among the association’s chief concerns, said Walsh, is what he characterizes as “cramming,” or turning larger plots of land into units of smaller sizes, sometimes involving tearing down smaller family homes to get significantly more units on the space.

Walsh said CSHCA’s position is not anti-development, noting that it largely approves of the DOT Block development, and has supported projects like the Columbia Point Master Plan and the construction of housing on top of the Savin Bar and Kitchen, despite parking concerns.

The development draft was completed around the time that Mayor Martin Walsh’s administration released an update to their Inclusionary Development Plan. “The actions that the civic association have put out in the past are very consistent with what the mayor put out on Tuesday,” Don Walsh said.

The Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services concurred in a statement on Tuesday from City Hall’s Dorchester liaison, David Cotter: “These planning principles put together by the CSHCA outline an approach to development proposals that is fair to both developers and the community. It is in line with Mayor Walsh’s vision for developments in Boston that all proposed projects are held to the same standards and are treated in a consistent manner. I thank CSHCA for creating these principles and look forward to using them as a resource in my work with the community to help ensure a fair and proactive approach for future developments.”

While well-intended, such an elaborate manifesto may not be the best fit for other neighborhood groups, said Robert Genduso, longtime Pope’s Hill Neighborhood Association executive board member. “Brevity is best,” he said, maintaining that a consistent policy should be the responsibility of the city and transparent to the civic groups and abutters. And development policies might be better placed in civic bylaws, he said. “I don’t think you need a charter, really, to do the right thing,” he added.

The Pope’s Hill group experienced development-related frustration in November when a proposed Neponset Avenue housing proposal got the green light from the Zoning Board of Appeals over vehement opposition from the civic group, abutters, and local officials.

Members of other Dorchester civic associations, who declined to speak on the record, also expressed doubt regarding the effectiveness of the document, mostly due to its length. They will show the CSHCA plan to their respective boards in the new year to determine if there is a need for a similar process.

Rep. Hunt said he sees the civic association’s guidelines as a possible jumping off point for other civic groups that may not have the time or resources to expend crafting a development policy from scratch. Like legislation, he said, “you don’t start from zero. You start from the last one that’s passed and specify it to your neighborhood.”

For CSHCA’s purposes, said Don Walsh, the principles will keep some of the case-by-case guesswork out of development. “The last thing in the world we want is for anyone to think they can do anything they want and no one will care,” said Walsh. “That’s not the case.”