10/25/2000 Env Bd Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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ROUGH DRAFT 09/20/00 LANDSCAPE/SCREENING ORDINANCE OUTLINE — LINO LAKES I. INTRODUCTION/PURPOSE Enhancing the environmental quality and visual character of the community is important to the City of Lino Lakes. The City places a high value on preserving its existing natural amenities and integrating new urban development into the natural environment. To achieve these objectives, the City has established landscaping and screening requirements for development on private property to promote: • Attractive Development: Landscaping and screening enhance the aesthetics of the built environment and allow better integration of new development with the surrounding landscape. Appropriate screening can mitigate potential negative impacts of certain uses while improving the visual quality of the built environment. Landscaping can also establish a sense of human scale in the built environment, making it feel more comfortable and appealing. ■ Landscape -scale Approach: Natural landscapes do not follow man -made boundaries such as property lines or jurisdictional boundaries. Therefore, the City encourages landscape plantings in new developments and/or redevelopment that reflect the plant communities intrinsic to the development site. The Lino Lakes Handbook for Environmental Planning and Conservation Development identifies the natural landscapes and ecological prototypes existing in the City. These prototypes should be used to provide a framework to determine appropriate landscaping for a development site. • Native Vegetation: Some of the existing natural landscapes and ecological systems within Lino Lakes have been severely altered by human activities such as farming, ditching, and flood control. However, where appropriate, the City encourages the use of native plants as the foundation for landscaping of new development in order to enhance overall environmental quality and ecological continuity. Wildlife Habitat: Landscaping that reflects and enhances the ecological function of the site can contribute to its value for sustaining wildlife habitat and movement corridors. ■ Environmental Quality: Landscape plantings help moderate the local micro- climate through the provision of cooling shade, wind blocks, heat reflection and absorption. Landscape plants can also improve air quality by filtering dust and other air -borne particles, intercept and filter surface water run -off, and help control erosion. Consistent Standards: Establishing reasonable standards for the provision of landscaping on private property can foster systematic improvements in the visual quality of the community while enhancing environmental quality and ecological continuity. 1