5. Scandia_Greenways_Presentation 2021.10.06_
GREENWAY VISIONING
Welcome everyone and thank the City for giving CLFLWD the opportunity to come and share this Greenway Visioning initiative with them.
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introduction
Meeting Purpose:
Discovery Share ideas, understandings, and gauge level of interest
Greenways Vision Create collaborative stakeholder concept for local Greenway development and implementation
Engagement & Coordination Understand how stakeholders want to be involved going forward in planning and development process.
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introduction
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District is relatively small (49 sq. miles) but 61% of the total district area falls with city boundaries (~30 sq. miles)
introduction
The District has been actively working over the past 20 years to improve the water resources of the area
Trends are positive, water quality is improving All but 1 of the 23 District monitored lakes showed better water quality than the most recent 10 year average District is 89% of the
way towards meeting State standards for Phosphorus load reductions
Continuing to use diagnostic and effectiveness monitoring to best target and prioritize water quality improvement projects
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regional approach
WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AS A CATALYST FOR CONNECTING COMMUNITIES + NATURAL LANDSCAPES FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
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Water quality is improving across many parts of the District but as we start to reach state/district water quality standards and goals now is the time to think about how to sustain our
water resources long term. How can we increase the resilience of our natural systems and maintain protection of water resources?
regional approach
Opportunities to further CLFLWD’s mission to protect and improve waters:
Additional & higher quality community benefits
Lower overall cost to taxpayers
Forward thinking
Creating desired future spaces
Credit – Upstate Greenways & Trails Alliance
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The concept of a greenway offers up opportunities to realize not only water quality improvements protection, but also possibility to realize multiple benefits including habitat preservation,
recreational & economic opportunities, and social and community benefits
It seems like an opportune time to consider the possibility of creating a greenway space given recent planning efforts with Downtown Forest Lake one of the themes mentioned at the
last EDA DT workshop was to “utilize natural amenities to the city’s advantage” and evoked images of “ribbons of green” drawing people into the downtown and as a regional destination
What and where would a Greenway Corridor for Scandia look like?
Could we build from the Bone Lake habitat complex?
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discovery
CLFLWD has started some preliminary spatial analysis to look at areas across the watershed that might be potential locations for these greenway corridors
This initial analysis has primarily considered two factors: 1) water quality improvement potential AND 2) wildlife & natural habitat preservation
This spatial analysis has currently been limited to the western portion of the watershed but we plan to expand the analysis to entire watershed
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WATER RESOURCE PROJECTS
Water Quality & Flood Reduction CIP
discovery
Consideration of water quality improvement potential was the first filter used in the spatial analysis
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discovery
COMPLEMENTARY PROJECTS
Resource restoration
Water quality + flood control
Stormwater management
CLFLWD looked at areas where water quality improvements could be significantly achieved in terms of: 1) reducing pollutant loading to important waterbodies AND also areas where 2) water
storage would be possible to mitigate increases in precipitation and attenuate flooding.
In one sense you could look at this as risk assessment and management: where are the areas where we can reduce the greatest amounts of loading and water into our systems and have these
areas act as buffers so our water resources are protected and preserved
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CONSERVATION
Biological Preservation & Enhancement
discovery
The second filter of our spatial analysis was to look at areas of biological significance overlaid on the first filter of water quality improvement potential
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CONSERVATION PRIORITIZATION
discovery
ACQUISTION NECESSARY TO FACILITITATE
Why not connect and garner additional benefits?
Here we considered several biological factors which included presence of native plant communities, rare species, in conjunction with landscape context, meaning what portions of the landscape
are already protected, either through public ownership (e.g. WMAs) or by conservation easement
These factors of habitat quality and landscape context were then applied to individual parcels, along with two additional criteria, parcel size and wetland restoration potential to assign
a conservation ranking for each individual parcel
We’ve begun to look at two aspects of a greenway corridor (habitat preservation and water quality benefits) but recognize there is an opportunity connect spaces and create recreational
opportunities which is a benefit in of itself, but also can help to realize social and economic benefits.
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discovery
As we’re looking potential greenway corridor siting we taking in consideration recreational components:
what would a connected natural corridor that offers up recreational opportunities look like?
what makes sense given existing land use planning & zoning as well as future land use plans?
where are existing trails already in place or proposed?
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collaboration
PARTNERSHIPS
Requires extensive buy-in and collaboration shared vision but with different partners taking lead on different aspects
Requires long-term commitment
Consideration of any recreational use component will impact cost, approach & players, environmental impacts
Incorporation in Comprehensive Planning
Any successful realization of a greenways vision will take many partners working together to do many different things
It will take a coordinated approach around a shared vision with a commitment to the long-term
Some of the greenway components, like trail or park development, could alter timelines, cost, and who is involved
Incorporation of protection of Natural Areas and Greenways and alignment with Comprehensive Planning would provide critical support.
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collaboration
ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES
Regional governance structure
Funding
Trail implementation across wetland dominate landscape
Perceived loss of value from tax roles in short-term; long-term gains
Multi-decade timeline
Acquisition of Land and Private Property Rights
We also have to acknowledge the challenges associated with taking on any endeavor of this magnitude
But with these challenges there are factors in our favor:
Areas of potential greenway siting are still largely undeveloped or in larger parcel configurations
Areas that are shared priorities by multiple entities
Funding available to realize vision (i.e. Legacy amendment with separate OHF and Parks & Trails Fund)
This is an opportunity for an integrated planning effort that incorporates economics & development with open space and natural resource conservation,
And there are precedents for greenway development that we can turn to, and they’re nearby
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1st LOOK (DISCOVERY)
Exploring pilot to determine interest
Identification of study areas
Explore typologies
Identify synergies
Stakeholder discussions & survey
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NEXT STEP
Synthesize survey, stakeholder discussions, share with Board & reconvene with stakeholders
Where CLFLWD is now with this is the information-gathering stage.
We’re sharing the greenways concept and origins with stakeholders.
We’re seeking to understand the level of interest across the watershed for this type of initiative and trying to get a sense of how stakeholders might want to be involved going forward
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status
PLANNING TIMELINE
This is a rough timeline of the process and crucial steps along the way
These initial stakeholder engagement meetings will most likely wrap up by early fall
The rest of the timeline is dependent on what we discover coming out the engagement meetings
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GREENWAY VISIONING
- a beginning -
“Look forward for a century, to the time when the city has a population of a million and think what will be their wants. They will have wealth enough to purchase all that money can buy,
but all their wealth cannot purchase a lost opportunity, or restore natural features of grandeur and beauty, which would then possess priceless value . . .”
— Horace Cleveland
Minneapolis Park System Landscape Architect, 1883
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