2A, Presbyterian Homes & Library Proposal

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Green Space The new development will result in losses to existing tree and vegetation making the new landscape and replacement plantings an important feature of the site. Importantly, the new landscape is intended to: • provide visual and aesthetic enhancements to the site and new buildings proposed; • mitigate impacts caused by development, especially for neighbors adjacent to new development; • highlight unique features introduced to the site with its redevelopment; and • organize the ways in which people will experience the site. This creates a significant project goal to increase the quality and variety of green space to be enjoyed by residents, families, guests and neighbors. PHS has engaged a Forester and a Landscape Architect to assist us in creating an outdoor environment that invites residents, families, guests to engage nature and in managing, improving and renewing the resources on site for the future. Their planning will provide us with a landscape resource management plan that will work to ensure planning and practices that will create an enduring and regenerating landscape. The draft plan is attached to this submission along with the Foresters report. The management plan will be updated as more details are added to the final landscaping plan. In addition, the Forester will be meeting with City staff to walk the site and discuss current conditions and proposed plans. Increasing tree stock health and creating longevity is a priority. Many new trees of varying sizes and species are planned and where ever possible healthy vibrant trees are being preserved with an undergrowth of seedlings to be ready to take their place as they age. The site is organized around two major spaces, each of which is comprised of a series of open spaces,views and vistas, and plazas, gardens, or unique features. An orientation to Lake Johanna is the major site feature. Stormwater management features are designed as focal points and supplemented with ornamental ponds; a promenade doubles as a fire lane around the north side of the new building, and terrain allows for the creation of a water feature surrounded by a"north woods" landscape. The trail and sidewalk system allows users to wander through linked ponds and weave through a variety of gardens like a butterfly garden with benches and gazebos for resting and watching. The outdoor chapel & reading area and terrace elements overlooking gardens create opportunities for enrichment and sharing. The second major space is the significant common space that visually links the intersection of Lake Johanna Boulevard and County Road D to the building's main entry and the public library. A formal walkway bounds one edge of this greensward and a meandering walk lies on the other, offering a diversity of experiences for anyone approaching the public library from the intersection. Like the lake side of the site, several smaller gardens and gathering spaces provide exterior spaces for residents of the new development. Where the existing landscape occurred largely as volunteer woodland (where succession was the primary form of the landscape), new plantings will evolve as a planned landscape with a focus on accommodating activities programmed for the site.