02-09-2010 Council Work Session Minutes

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Orono City Council Committee of the Whole February 9, 2010,6:30 p.m. Orono City Council Chambers Present: Mayor Jim White, Council Members Cynthia Bremer, Doug Franchot, Lili McMillan and Jim Murphy; Assistant City Administrator for Long-Term Strategy Mike Gaffron, Finance Director Ron Olson, Planning &Zoning Coordinator Melanie Curtis, Planner Evelyn Turner, City Engineer Tom Kellogg and City Clerk Lin Vee 1. Green Development • Julie Westerland, Education and Communications Manager with the MCWD, gave a presentation on "green" and low impact development. Highlights of the presentation include the following: o Information is provided as part a state and national program called NEMO (Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials), which is an education program for land use decision makers. o Land use, which is decided by the local government, determines water quality. o Natural watersheds begin with the water cycle. When it rains, 40%of water is used by plants and evaporation, 50%of the water soaks in the ground (infiltration), and approximately 10% runs off. o Developing the landscape changes the nature of runoff or stormwater. Stormwater needs treatment, causes erosion and causes flooding. Streams are degraded because stormwater carries contaminants. o Natural shoreline includes plants, birds and dead trees known as large woody debris. One of the most important aspects of the shoreline habitat is large woody debris. o In the 1940's, lakeshore development began with small cabins and much of the shoreline remained intact. o Later development brought the suburban look of manicured grass lawns. Grass is considered a habitat desert for wildlife. Geese are one of the few types of wildlife that thrive in flat, grassy areas because they prefer a direct line of sight to the water. o Phosphorus and sediment are major sources of lake pollution. o Bremer asked about the impact of development within 75' of the lakeshore. Westerland responded that how runoff gets to the lake is more important than how close a home is to the lake. Greater amounts of hardcover are also a concern. o Increase in runoff and pollution load is caused by impervious surfaces—hard surfaces that prevent the percolation of runoff into the ground and send runoff downstream instead (rooftops, rocks, driveways, compacted lawns, etc.) o Policies, including federal, state and local plans and rules regarding stormwater management, need to be considered to make lakeshore lots more natural. o DNR shoreland rules are regulated through local policies, with the local government responsible for variances to the rules. o In 1970, the first set of shoreland regulations was released by the DNR. Over the years, the DNR has reduced the amount of allowed impervious surface coverage. Structural coverage has been reduced from 30% in 1970 to a proposed 15% in 2010. o Orono has asked how much credit could be given for pervious surfaces. The DNR would allow 50% credit in the reduction of pervious surface with an engineer's review, but the local government has the final decision. o Westerland is a fan of pervious surfaces in certain applications to manage stormwater, but they are not necessarily appropriate for shoreline management. Gray is no substitute for green. It is better to promote strategies that include plants. o The Blue Thumb program is a marketing program that works with shoreline organizations. Their tagline is "Planting for Clean Water." The idea is that roots of plants that are not grass are much deeper and do a better job holding the shoreline together and creating a soil structure that allows water to soak into ground. Page 1 of 4