Planning Commission Agenda and Packet 2017 11 09

Home Browse Search

Planning Commission Meeting Minutes September 14, 2017 Page 8 of 10 Hsu responded that the section was Louisville Municipal Code Sec. 17.28.220 Dean asked the Commission for their thoughts on landscaping from the audit, specifically about rock mulch versus sod. She stated that sod is water -intensive and the updates for the design guidelines were going to take water consumption into account. Brauneis responded that he would recommend anything on a xeric level. Moline recommended a middle -ground between rock mulch and xeric turf. He also suggested that landscape architects could bring ideas to the Commission and staff for how to conserve water while paying attention to aesthetics. Brauneis asked about the current limiting factors on rock mulch in the design guidelines. Dean responded that staff deferred to Allan Gill, Parks Project Manager, to review landscaping standards. Zuccaro added that it depended on if the standards were under the Commercial Development Design Standards and Guidelines (CDDSG) or the Industrial Development Design Standards and Guidelines (IDDSG,) because there are some sections that require irrigated turf grass, for example. With the new design guidelines, the sustainability board and other groups want to move toward a xeric-landscape requirement. Staff is also considering aesthetic concerns in the new guidelines, since rock mulch has a lower aesthetic quality. Right now the guidelines do not have distinctions for different types of mulch. Rice commented that it was difficult to evaluate the landscaping since the plants were small and underdeveloped since they had been planted recently. This made it an unfair form of evaluation, even though he tried to consider what the landscape would look like once it matured. Pritchard added that he shared this concern and suggested that older forms of landscape development, for example at the Tech Center, could help staff and the Commission address landscaping questions. Sheets stated that even though the CTC projects were new, they were better than some of the older ones. Pritchard suggested going through the city and picking what were the best examples so the Commission could use them to compare newer projects. Zuccaro added that DELO Market was required to meet CDDSG standards in an industrial area. There is a requirement for commercial areas to have no more than 50% of rock mulch, but that there might not be a similar restriction for industrial areas. He mentioned ethos, a faux -stucco product, as another example of a higher landscaping standard. The problem with ethos is that though it is cheap, it deteriorates quickly and can get damaged easily. Brauneis stated that moving forward, the Commission and staff could suggest requirements like 50% rock mulch and then let the landscape designers have flexibility rather than being overly prescriptive. Zuccaro responded that the current planting density requirements were sometimes contrary to water conservation requirements.