Ordinance No. 20513 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Restaurant Row (p. 47) "To maximize the ecological functionality and human experiential values of the habitat zone from "restaurant row' toward the river, we recommend that that master plan... integrate what are currently shown as distinct zones for the pollinator prairie, upper /midbank zone and riparian floodplain zone into a more or less continuous plant community gradient. " Species selection and infrastructure design for different habitat zones (p. 48) "LEED certification has been identified as a potential goal for the master plan. The term "native or adaptive species " comes from the LEED ND landscaping criteria, which reference a criteria for new landscaping of 80 -90% "native or adaptive species. " Although LEED defines such a species as "low maintenance but not invasive ", the term "adaptive" species has no any accepted or standardized ecological meaning and we strongly recommend it not be used in the master plan. Because ecological functions are a key dimension of the EWEB design, it is essential to use terms with precise meaning. For instance, a non - native species that is well adapted to the climate and soils so that it needs little care, management or supplemental water, fertilization etc. could be relatively benign, or it could be a major invasive exotic species. Our recommendation is that only natives be used in the upper /midbank habitat zone so as to maintain high ecological value, and that plant species for the urban habitat zone be specified as "natives and non- invasive introduced species that require minimal supplemental water, fertilization or pest or disease control", rather than "adaptive plant species. " Ecological Functions, Habitat Quantity and Habitat Quality Master plans are intended to guide future design and planning implementation but do not necessarily specify the outcomes in a sufficiently detailed or "hard and fast" manner to support a quantitative assessment of ecological functions. In this final section of the full report we described five qualities that could provide a qualitative baseline for assessment: ecological function type, habitat size, habitat quality, habitat connectivity, and management of ecological dynamism. Such an assessment would provide a foundation for understanding the potential consequences of altering or further specifying different aspects of the master plan when the project shifts from the planning phase to the design phase. We refer the reader to this section of the full report for further detail. For ecological performance to be assessed post - occupancy, there are a number of mechanisms that can be used ranging from assessments of native species diversity and native v. exotic species cover, to more integrative measures of the success of indicators species such as those listed in Appendix B of the full report. One issue not addressed in the original report that will become central in the design phase is the thoughtful quantitative specification of appropriate ranges of native versus exotic plant species diversity and cover in different zones of the site. For example, specifying the number of native versus exotic species is useful but says nothing about their relative abundances. Specifying the number of individual plants of each type introduced at the time of planting is also useful but doesn't address the total amount of area covered by each type since different plant species grow to different sizes. Specifying the relative area covered by each type of plant is perhaps the most useful measurement. Furthermore, specifying plant 26