05-19-2025 - Agenda Packet Planning Commission - Planning Commission Packet

Home Browse Search

Created: 2025-02-26 08:25:15 [EST] (Supp. No. 21) Page 29 of 33 experience nature. Some conservation design strategies include: identifying and avoiding sensitive natural features, planning roads along contours, allowing lots to border natural open space, integrating ecological stormwater management, using smaller lots, and educating developer and buyers about the ecological values of the landscape. The first phase entails an inventory and analysis of the potential development site's natural features, existing land uses, and wetland delineation. The second phase entails analyzing the design implications of the findings from the initial phase, alternative stormwater design, and a conceptual design for road and lot layouts. Minnesota Land Cover Classification System (MLCCS) means the Minnesota Land Cover Classification System (MLCCS) displays data on natural/semi-natural and cultural cover types at the highest level of classification. The next four levels of classification each reveal further specifications such as plant types, soil hydrology, hardcover and plant species. Using MLCCS data is the first step in producing a natural resource inventory of a development site. Orono Natural Resource Inventory means an element of the Orono Community Management Plan that displays the ecological connections within and beyond the City of Orono. Corridor enclosure means the nature, appearance and relative degrees of screening provided by roadside vegetation. Corridor enclosure types include: Open enclosure: Long views beyond the right-of-way, no real sense of corridor enclosure. Edged enclosure: Solid wall of vegetation along roadside, views focused along corridor. Tunneled enclosure: Vegetation begins to completely enclose roadway, above and sides, creating a "small scale" roadway experience. Varied enclosure: Enclosure changes rapidly along corridor, short stretches of open, edged, and tunneled corridor. View analysis means the process of determining whether a view is positive or negative. Positive views: Views of natural areas, water bodies, established parks, wetlands, rural and historic land uses. Negative views: Views of structures, particularly multi-family residential, institutional, and commercial and industrial uses. Views of power lines, telephone poles and other utility infrastructure. Landmark preservation and enhancement means preserving and maintaining distinct cultural features, landmarks and unique points of local character, both natural and man-made, to maintain a familiar sense of place in the community. Ecological Management Categories: Level 1: Ecological "off-limits" areas, including wetlands and required buffers, historic drainage. Level 2: Ecological opportunities, including existing degraded drainageways and existing degraded ecosystem remnants. Level 3: Ecological possibilities: Areas suitable for stormwater treatment. Note: These Ecological Management Categories are not intended to directly correlate with MLCCS M-34X Natural Community Quality Modifiers. Significant tree stand means a grouping or cluster of coniferous and/or deciduous trees with contiguous crown cover, occupying 500 or more square feet of property, which are comprised of deciduous trees six inches or larger in diameter (d.b.h.) or coniferous trees 12 feet or more in height. Additionally, those forest or woodland remnants identified as high, moderate or good quality in the Orono Natural Resources Inventory shall be considered as significant tree stands. (Ord. No. 67 3rd series, § 1, 1-11-2010; Ord. No. 94 3rd series, § 9, 9-24-2012) 81