Agenda - Planning Commission - 02/02/1999

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downtown business interests support a self-imposed tax that makes transit free in the central business district. Planners understand that maintaining a viable downtown market requires that public transportation be improved both for those living there and for those commuting into downtown for work and entertainment. In contrast, providing more parking is a nightmare for cities with high-density developments. On-street parking is limited, and parking garages are usually a last resort because of the high capital cost and required space. Transit-oriented design (TOD) basically integrates public transit into the community by building rail lines and bus terminals adjacent to heavily used facilities. Public libraries, universities, grocery stores, and banks are facilities that transit planners use as indicators for TOD developments. TOD is critical for success in thZe downtown housing market because it makes daily necessities accessible to residents. Businesses tend to locate where high volumes of pedestrian traffic exist, creating a level of convenience that is a prime selling point for downtown development. Lanc~c~pe ~esi~. f¢~ ~oose Zoning would seem to have little to do with the control ofl~oose behavior. DuPage County, Illin. ois, west of Chicago, is learning otherwise. Last November, the DuPage Environmental Commission sponsored a conference to present strategies, including land-use regulations, to reduce northeastern Illinois's surging population of Canada geese. Subdivisions, corporate campuses, golf courses, parks, and schools located in the birds' Mississippi Flyway are confronting increasing problems resulting from goose excrement. Two years ago, the commission created a committee of experts to study ways to mitigate the problem. The committee's report, Canada Geese in DuPag~' CounO,: A Namral Approach to Goose ~itigatio~ focuses on the use of natural landscaping as the most sustainable way to decrease the goose popu!ation. As a result, county planners are drafting a new landscaping ordinance for new developments. Although the overall population of Canada geese in the flyway has decreased, the DuPage County population grew from 500 in the 1960s to 40,000 today. According to Laura Rericha, a waterfowl'expert who spoke at the conference, the geese prefer suburban landscapes because they offer ideal breeding habitats. The short grasses on spacious manicured lawns afford them an excellent view of predators. When ti'he grass is near a water source that does not freeze, they can sleep safely. The report states that the geese, which can grow up to 45 inches tall, are much less likely to visit lawns with tall vegetation, including tall prairie grasses and cattails, because of their reduced visibility. Fencing around water bodies and tall grass providing a buffer Zoning Newt is a monthly newsletter published by the American Planning A.uociation. Subscriptions are available for $55 (U.S.) and $75 (foreign). Frank S. So, Executive Director;, William R, Klein, Director of Research. Zoning News i~ produced at APA. Jim Schwab and Mike Davidmn, Editoes; Shannon Armstrong, Batty Ba~n, Jerome Cleland, Fay Dolnick, Sanjay Jeer, Megan Lewls, Mae/-a Morris, Becki Retzlaff, Reporten; Cynthia Cheski, Asaistant ESitor; Lisa Baa'ton, Design and Peoduct~on. Copyright ©1999 by American Planning Association, 122 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 1600, Chicago, IL 60603. Thc American Planning Association also has offices at 1776 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20036. All rights r~crved. No parr of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, eleclronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval rystem, without p~rmL~ion in writing from the American Planning Association. Printed on recycled paper, including 50-70% recycled fiber and I0% postconsumcr waste. ~ 4 zone leading to the water's edge provide a less desirable habitat for the animals by interfering with their takeoffand landing space. The committee determined that letting ponds freeze in the winter, reducing lawn areas, and planting taller grasses will help reduce the population, which Rericha says will fall by half in 10 years once their breeding habitats are modified. Instead, the birds will return to the Arctic tundra. A Glen Ellyn, Illinois, golf course owner reported that the number of geese on his property shrank when he converted the grounds to a more natural landscape for aesthetic reasons. The county's new approach is unfolding against a backdrop of other methods that often have proven to be but temporary solutions. One conference panel discussed public and private experiences with short-term techniques such as shaking eggs (which requires a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), destroying nests, and using scare tactics such as dogs and loud noises. The expense and continual maintenance that these solutions entail have made them undesirable. A local market has grown up to deal with the issue, offering services that include removal of goose excrement on a contract basis, the rental of border collies to harass the geese, and the sale of inflatable alligators and swans, large balloons, and ribbons and repellent sprays. Frustrated with the ineffectuality of such approaches, DuPage County planners are instead rethinking the design of detention ponds and stormwater basins and seeking to discourage large mowed lawns in favor of more ecologically sound habitats. The new ordinance they are drafting may require new developments to include aquatic systems and terrestrial vegetation that enhance soil filtration rates, reduce runoff, allow groundwater rec!~arge, and purify water. Meanwhile, a public awareness program is underway to provide residents with information on the geese and how to handle them humanely. The county has scheduled public meetings to refine the draft ordinance, which requires natural landscaping for detention and retention ponds for any area at least one-fourth of an acre in size. It will also require a minimum of 10 feet of native plantings along water or below the high water line of retention areas; 70 percent of the coverage must reach a mature height of at least 30 feet and consist of native plants. It must also include a mixture of trees, shrubs, grasses, and wetland and perennial native or ornamental flowers, 50 percent of which must be wildflowers and 50 percent grasses. Also, no more than 20 percent of the shoreline distance may be open for access, with that area having emergent wetland vegetation in the water for the detention pond. Provisions for administration and enforcement include maintenance and completion inspections and performing remedial work after five years if the native plantings fail. Shannon Armstrong Call for Information APA's Planning Advisory Servia' is looking for information about software for permitting arid permit tracking for an upcoming PASMemo. We are interested in reports, studies, or regulations that describe the type of software currently being used, how it is being implemented, staff training, and the benefits and/or drawbacks it has brought to the permitting process. Please send information to Barry Bain, AICP, Research Associate, American Planning Association, 122 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 1600, Chicago, IL 60603; fax: 312-431-9985; e- mail: bbain@planning.org.