Item 5: Public Hearing on Ordinance Establishing Chambers Special Area Zone

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LANDSCAPING Lush green vegetation is a distinguishing characteristic of the ETN, and a wide variety of plants and trees are found throughout the neighborhood. Changes to the neighborhood should be seen as opportunities to enhance this "green" character. The landscaping of a house can help reinforce the relationship the house has with its neighbors and the larger street room. The shared space of the front yard can be enhanced with green plants and a variety of plants, shrubs and trees can be used to provide interest to a house front. GUIDELINES · Frame the entry. Use landscaping to frame the entry to a house in order to make it more visible to the street, and to enhance the other guidelines, especially porch entry and front yards. · Plant at the foundation. Plant at the base of the house in order to soften the transition between house and ground, and to hide a concrete foundation. · Plant large canopy trees. The tree canopy in the neighborhood is partially provided by street trees but also by major trees on lots. The tree canopy character of the streets also extends to back yards. · Backyards as Gardens. Backyards in the ETN are highly valued by the residents as open space and a place for gardens. Extra sensitivity to neighboring yards when contemplating any kind of built structure in the backyard is critical. Notice the trees in the front yards as well as the street landscape strip. This is a pattern found throughout the ETN and ensures a strong tree canopy. Those areas without this concentration of trees feel out of place within this neighborhood landscape. This photo was provided by a resident of the ETN to show a typical backyard. This backyard has a modest sized building sharing and helping to form the open space in the backyard. II