Agenda - Council - 02/24/2004 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Tom Lincoln~ URrS explained a rain garden is basically an infiltration basin, which will not contmn wator tn typical mrcumstances He stated water will infiltrate into the sandy soil, and the entire basin ~siplar!ted w~th material that will tolerate periods of water inundatiOn He indicated In heavy ramslthe plants w~ll tolerate the water, and it will typically drain off,within 24 hours. Assistant Co ~mmunity Development Director Trudgeon added it is intended to improve the water quality also. Mr. Lincoln ,agreed, and indicated water run-off from a rainfall:is Worse in ti~e first 24 hours'. He stated the rain ~ga den helps to trap contaminates. ~. Chairperson Nixt asked if these were required to meet~the drainage requirements. : ~?,:: · Assistant Cornmunity Development Director Trudg%n :stated the3/'iare not necessary Staff was very clear tha~- any drainage had to be handled conventionally, ~ind the rain garden would be Commissioner, Brauer indicated that from what he is hearing, areas designed as rain gardens cannot be walked tm or pmnicked on. Mr. Lincoln i ~rglicated that depends on what is planted there. He stated sod can be used, but he would guess they would use other types of plantS;; : Chairperson N[xt asked if they would see specifics in the landscape plan. He stated his concern is not the conoept, 'but the finished 10ok. He reiterated these are supposed to be pleasing areas that attract peoDle,~ them, and he wantsto be comfortable they will not be weed-filled areas Assistant iCbh~ unity D~velopment Director Trudgeon stated they can ask for details on the landscape; plan; ~ Commissioner iBrauer Stated his concern is more on useable space. He indicated if they have all this space th{~ti~is ~..~.t 'useable, and this:is supposed to be these residents backyard, he wonders what they v~[i~se~i~°r recreational space. Assistant Cornmu '~.fi~ Development Director Trudgeon indicated there is a parl~ across the street, much closer th~in you Wo.uld'typically have. Commissib~.er Brauer asked if the rain gardens could be smaller and still perform. Mr. Lincol~¢~licated they could, and they could also be planted with sod, with an infiltration basin belo~$~o~[the area would get inundated with during a rain but the water would drain off quickly. HeJ:$t~ted if the rain garden is an issue it could be a straight infiltration area. He stated with a raih garden they can get a lot of good plants, with some flowering throughout the year. He noted they ~oultt do a combination as well. He stated what they are trying to design is an improved storm water filtering system. Commissioner Vant Scoy asked if the engineer is comfortable with the drainage plan. Planning Commission/February 5, 2004 Page 10 of 18