LARE Section 2

 Site Inventory (35%, ~28 questions)

o Determine Applicable Codes, Regulations, & Permitting Requirements
 Processes to ensure project compliance
 Zoning ordinance – City/County
 Building Code – City/County
 Permitting – Federal/State/Local
 Regulations – Federal/State/Local
 Typical Zoning Ordinance Table of Contents
 Ch1-General Provisions
 Ch2-Rules of Construction and Definitions
 Ch3-Establishment of Zones
 Ch4-Overlay Districts and Zones
 Ch5-District Development Standards
 Ch6-General Requirements, Exception and Modifications
 Ch7-Performance Based Standards
 Ch8-Conditional Uses
 Ch9-Landscaping and Buffering
 Ch10-Parking and Loading
 Ch11-Signage
 Ch12-Administration and Enforcement
 Ch13-Amendments and Changes
 Ch14-Noncormities
 Ch15-Subdivision Ordinance
 Ch16-Flood Damage Prevention
 Appendix A-Traffic Impact Analysis
 Municipalities
 Public investment – transportation / utility infrastructure, parks, open
space
 Regulations – zoning / subdivision ordinances, building codes
 Incentives & Disincentives – Preferential taxation and zoning bonuses
 Land use planning – comprehensive plan and capital improvement plans
o Collect Contextual Data
 Values stakeholder input and consensus
o Gather Stakeholder Input
 Identify Stakeholders
 Project owner(s)
 Actual users or potential users
 Non-users who may be impacted by the proposed use
 Gathering Stakeholder Input
 Questionnaires
 Meetings
 On site interviews
 
o Identify Policy Objectives
 Policy
 Specific system of principles to guide decisions and achieve rational
outcomes
 Statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol with
goals and objectives
 Has goals that describe the range of desired outcomes or what is to be
achieved by implementing the policy
 Policy Objectives (measurable)
 Written guidance contained within the policy that helps the designer
understand what he must do in order to adhere to the goals of the
policy
o Conduct Project Related Research

o Conduct Onsite Investigation and Fieldwork (Site Survey / Inventory)
 Investigation = Fieldwork – words are interchangeable
 Fieldwork / Investigation
 Informal Interviews – people with knowledge of site or situations in
questions
 Direct Observation – on-site & off-site
 Collection of Site Related Data – standard survey
 Inventory Process
 Identify existing site conditions
o Natural conditions
o Cultural conditions
o Site features
o Existing infrastructure
 Major Features / Elements to be Observed
o Natural on-site elements
o On-site man-made support systems
o Off-site influences

o Document Site Inventory
 Methods
 Drone
 Photography
 USGS maps
 Features observed
 Sub-surface conditions
 Infrastructure – on-site / off-site
 Surrounding features
  LA to use a Surveyor’s signed/sealed survey as baseline. Survey should remain
unaltered (FOR LEGAL REASONS)

o Determine Performance Metrics
 Performance metrics is the using of data to:
 Estimate positive benefits of design elements
 Ensure landscape performs to anticipated standards
 Allow the quantifying of benefits of designed landscape
 Provide hard evidence for client in balancing project budget/schedule/
demands
 Measuring Performance
 Compare project performance to design intent
 Compare project performance to similar projects
 Perform assessments based on user satisfaction of facilities
 Good metrics measure performances of project that’s meaningful to goals
 Measure landscape performance
 Environmental performance
 Social performance
 Economic performance
 Benefits
o Environmental
 Manage rainfall
 Protect from flood damage
 Sequester atmospheric carbon
o Social
 Outdoor activity
 Perception of safety
 Ease of access
o Economic
 Revenue for city
 Public / private development financial gain
o Environmental Site Assessment (ESA)
 Identifies recognizable environmental contamination and describes further
solutions
 Questions
 Has the site been filled in the past?
 Is there any knowledge it could contain hazardous or petroleum waste
products?
 Is the site currently or historically used for industrial / commercial uses?
 Is the property zoned for industrial or commercial?
 Are adjacent properties used for industrial or commercial?
 Is there any indication hazardous materials were used or stored?
 Do adjacent properties drain onto site?
  Are there reasons to suspect the quality of the runoff from adjacent
parcels?
 Are there transformers on the property?
 Is an on-site well required for water supply?

 Performance metrics
o General performance concerns
 Degree of convenience
 Comfort
 Stimulation
 Safety
 Access
 Control
 Maintainability
 Adaptability
o Notion of environmental performance
 Objectives – encourage public transit
 Implied – design table for storm sewers
 Convention – front porches
o Requirements (Design Guidelines)
 Thresholds
 Absolute determinates
 Qualities
 Anticipative specifications
 Site Analysis (40%, ~32 questions): a diagnostic process that identifies the opportunities and
constraints for a specific land use program
o Determine Appropriate Types of Analysis
 Physical attributes
 Topography, hydrology, soils, geology, microclimate
 How attributes are analyzed against context of site and surroundings
 Biological attributes
 Ecological communities, vegetation, wildlife
 Cultural attributes
 Land use, open space, regulation, property, sensory perception,
Infrastructure, people
o Perform Circulation Analysis
 Roadway Classifications
 Parking Volumes
o
o Interpret Utility Analysis
 Addresses issues in: water supply, sanitary wastewater, usage of electricity, and
gas
 Possible issues with existing utilities causing danger (ie: overhead powerlines,
underground utilities)
o Perform Visual Resource Analysis
 Portions of the landscape that can be seen, their content and composition
 Visual impact
 Determination of extent / nature of visual contrasts caused by project
 Prediction of contrast effects on landscape’s visual quality
 Prediction of emotional response from viewers
 Identification of
 Contrast analysis
 Characterize impacts to visual resources and potential viewers
 Visual analysis
 Comparison of project’s visual characteristics before and after project is
implemented
 Basic design elements: Form Line, Color, and Texture
 Viewsheds
 Typical unit of study for visual impact assessment
 Viewshed Programs
 Analyze land surface around area of interest
 Viewshed Map
 Determine visual impacts: existing conditions compared to anticipated
conditions
 Compatibility of Impact
o Ability of environment to absorb proposed project
 Sensitivity Impact
o Ability of viewers to see/care about project’s impacts
 Degree of Impact
o Beneficial, adverse, or neutral change to visual quality
o Perform Micro/Macro Climate Analysis
 Micro Climate
 Macro Climate

o Perform Hydrological Analysis
 Hydrology
 Erosion
 Groundwater
 Infiltration
 Soil moisture
 Precipitation
 Water quality
 Hydrological analysis
 Prediction
 Statistical hydrology
 Modeling
 Water movement
  Point source discharge
 Non-point source discharge
 Pollutants
 Runoff
 Manning Runoff Formula (Q = C x i x A)
o Q=
 Rate of Runoff Factors
 Amount of Runoff Factors
o Perform Vegetation Analysis
 Plant Classification
 Xerophyte
 Mesophyte
 Hydrophyte

o Interpret Ecological Analysis
 Ecological sits
 Wetlands
 Identification
o Hydraulic soils
o Abundance of hydrophytic vegetation
o Hydrology necessary to support vegetation
 Functions
o Habitat
o water collection and treatment
o Flood buffer
o Stabilization of riparian or littoral zones
o Water treatment
o Recreation
o Perform Topographical Analysis
 Topography
 Topographic maps
o Interpret Soil and Geotechnical/Geological Analysis
 Soil types
 Soil characteristics
 Issues
 Geotechnical analysis

o Interpret Environmental Studies
 Sustainability
 Environmental Site Assessment
 Identifies recognizable environmental contamination and describes
further solutions
 Questions
 o Has the site been filled in the past?
o Is there any knowledge it could contain hazardous or petroleum
waste products?
o Is the site currently or historically used for industrial /
commercial uses?
o Is the property zoned for industrial or commercial?
o Are adjacent properties used for industrial or commercial?
o Is there any indication hazardous materials were used or
stored?
o Do adjacent properties drain onto site?
o Are there reasons to suspect the quality of the runoff from
adjacent parcels?
o Are there transformers on the property?
o Is an on-site well required for water supply?
o Slope Analysis
 0-1% [Too Flat]
 Drains too poorly
 Appropriate for open space or conservation
 1-5% [Ideal for Development]
 1% - for lawns and grasses
 2% - athletic fields, terraces, and patios
 3% - noticeably not ‘flat’
 5-10% [Developable]
 Might need rails/steps
 10% maximum for walks
 10-15% [Rolling]
 Problems with erosion
 Try to minimize cut/fill
 15+% [Too Steep]
 Environmental and monetary costs usually prohibit
o Development choices
 Ridge vs Valley
 Roads and development on ridges
 Agriculture, recreation, or conservation for valleys
o Spatial Awareness
 Viewing ratios
 Less than 1:1 is too close for comfort
 1:1, 2:1, 3:1 described as ‘intimate’
 Between 2:1 and 3:1 is ideal
 6:1 described as ‘public’
 Viewing distances
 <80’ – horizontal distance = visible detail or human face
 80-450’ – grand urban spaces
  450’ – maximum distance to see human body action and movement
 Pathways
 No movement at corners
 Don’t place central feature in middle of courtyards
o Materials
 Reflection
 Concrete reflects about 55% of sunlight
 Vegetation reflects about 25% of sunlight
 Differentiation
 Paths
o Straight path from point A to point B = strong relationship
o Meandering path = incidental relationship
 Color/texture
o Separations in materials = implied activity differences between
spaces
o Similar/same materials = implied activities are same in spaces
 Scale
 Larger space = sense of ample scale
 Smaller space (tighter patterns) = sense of intimacy
 Features
 Stairs
o Risers
 Min – 4”, Max – 6.5”
 At least 2 or 3 risers
 Max ht. between landings – 4’ unprotected, or 6’
protected
o Treads
 Min – 11”
o Riser/Tread relationship
 2xRiser+Tread = 26”
 Ie: 6” riser & 14” tread = 26” [(2x6)+14]
 Handrails
o 32-36” above nose of tread
o Extend 18” beyond top and bottom treads
o For large stair expanses, place 20-30’ intervals
 Ramps
o Not exceed 12:1 (8.33%) for ADA
o 5’ landing every 30’
o Railing 32-36” above floor surface
 Seat walls
o 18” tall preferred (16-20” allowable)
o 12” deep
 Water
  Feature
o Reflective literally and figuratively of surroundings
o Visible characteristics dependent on: slope, container
shape/size/texture, temperature, wind, light
 Pool
 Pond
o Appears larger with shallow slopes
o Appears smaller with steeper slopes
o Inventory & Analysis
 Ideal Functional Diagram – Identify best and most appropriate relationships that
should exist between major proposed functions and spaces. Gain insight for
which functions and elements should be associated and which should be
separated.
Non-site related should show
 Major site functions / spaces as simple bubbles
 Relative distance or proximity to one another
 Type of enclosure for each space (ie. Open or enclosed)
 Barriers or screens
 Significant views into and from
 Points of entering / exiting
 Interior functions / spaces as well as proposed exterior functions /
spaces
 Notes
 Site Related Functional Diagram – show same as Ideal Functional Diagram
except
 Functions / spaces should relate to actual site conditions
 Functions / spaces should be drawn at approx. scale
 Concept Plan
 More detailed than site related functional diagram (in content and
graphic)
 Specific shapes / forms should NOT be studied
 Notes identify height, material space
 Form Composition Study
 Preliminary Master Plan
o Ecological Services Analysis
 Identify vegetative communities
 Presence of native and nonnative species
 Presence of invasive exotic species
 Biological diversity
 Habitat, seasonal and year round
 Presence of colonial birds
 Erosion
 Causes
o BAD – Poor site analysis
 o BAD – design and site are incompatible
o BAD – inadequately sized facilities
o BAD – wrong materials specified / used
o Site Manager – Poor installation
o Site Manager – poor maintenance
o Site Manager – Failure to compensate for seasonal differences /
extreme weather conditions
 Sediment is essentially a planned damage control
o Efforts geared toward collecting, directing, capturing, filtering
and releasing sediment laden runoff after erosion has occurred
(like what a BMP does)
 Low-Impact Design (Green Infrastructure)
o Water = resource (not problem)
o Benefits
 Increased infiltration
 Groundwater recharge
 Decreased pollution loads on surface water
 Increased biodiversity
 Reduction in heat island effect
 Improved air quality
 Emotional benefits
 Better learning environment
 Heightened sense of personal happiness
 NOTE: stream habitat quality drops once watershed reaches 10-15%
imperviousness
 Peak Runoff Calc
o Q = CiA
 Q: Peak discharge in cfs
 C: Runoff coefficient (ratio of surface runoff : rainfall)
 i: Rainfall intensity for storm duration equal to time of
concentration
 A: Area of basin (subshed)
 Detention Basins
o Typically dry basins.
o Delay storm water through releasing at rate mimicking
predevelopment flow
 Retention basins
o Holds water in pool.
o Only outlet is emergency spillway.
o Basin loses water through infiltration and evaporation
 Bioretention – should be 5-10% of impervious area draining to it
 Stream / wetland protection services
 Local climate
  Wind breaks
 Temperature modification
 Hydrology
 Surface water presence
 Water purification services
 Flod buffers
 Seasonal hydrology
 Wetlands
 Riparian functions
 Ground water recharge
 Soils
 Nutrient transfer
 Permeability
 Structure
 Productivity (tilth)
 Contextual Analysis (25%, ~20 questions)
o Analyze Codes, Regulations, and Permitting Requirements for Design Impact
 Municipalities
 Public investment – transportation / utility infrastructure, parks, open
space
 Regulations – zoning / subdivision ordinances, building codes
 Incentives & Disincentives – Preferential taxation and zoning bonuses
 Land use planning – comprehensive plan and capital improvement plans
o Interpret Cultural, Historical, and Archeological Analysis
 Historic character / nature of site / proposed use must be compatible
 “Time Context” of site must be developed to understand historic period of site
 Comprehensive identification and assessment process must be completed to
identify distinctive elements of site and how elements are placed in time
context of site
 Restoration preferred over replacement of elements
 Treatments
 Preservation – protect / stabilize site features
 Rehabilitation – repair / alter property within cultural significance
 Restoration – accurately depict historic form / features
 Reconstruction – new construction through form and features for non-
surviving landscape / object
o Interpret Social Analysis

o Interpret Economic Analysis

o Analyze Contextual Data
 Characteristics of quality community
 Sense of place
  Human scale
 Self-contained neighborhoods
 Diversity
 Transit-friendly design
 Trees
 Alleys and parking lots
 Humane architecture
 Outdoor rooms
 Maintenance and safety
o Analyze Stakeholder Feedback

 Terms
o Ridge
 Elongated raised form at narrow end of form. Contours point in downhill
direction
o Valley
 Elongated depression that forms space between two ridges. Contours point in
uphill direction
o Concave slopes
 Contour lines are spaced at increasing distances in downhill direction
 Slope is steeper at height of slope, progressively flatter at lower elevation
o Convex slopes
 Contour lines are spaced at decreasing distances in downhill direction
 Slope is flatter at height of slope, steeper at lower elevation
o Interpolation
 Process of computing intermediate values between related known values
 Calculation: d/D = e/E
 d = distance from point A to contour line
 D = total distance between contour / grid intersections
 e = elevation change between point A
 E = total elevation change between contour / grid intersections
 Interpolation between contours
 (Distance from point to contour) / (Total distance between contours) x
(contour interval) = elevation difference
o Impervious surfaces
 Pavements / roofs, channelization of streams, floodplain encroachment
(typically in urban and suburban areas)
 Lowered water totals
 Increased fluctuation of water levels in streams, ponds and wetlands
 Increased potential flooding hazards
 Flooding is a threat to safety, health and well-being
o Frost
 Freezing = soil expansion
  Thawing = soil saturation
o Water quality in streams
 Degradation of quality in streams occurs when impervious cover within drainage
area approaches approx. 20%
 Sediment – by volume is the largest non-point water pollutant
 Erosion from construction
o 5 times that of agricultural land
o 10 times that of pasture land
o 250 times that of forest land
o Green Construction
 Cost competitive for capitol projects
 More cost-effective from pint of operations
 Increases construction costs 2-11%
o BEES (Building for Economic and Environmental Sustainability
 Global naming potential
 Acidification potential
 Eutrophication potential
 Natural resource depletion
 Indoor air quality impacts
 solid waste impacts
 smog
 ecological toxicity
 human toxicity
 ozone depletion
o Soil Characters
 Expansive soils
 Extensive cracking of sidewalks, foundation failures, retaining wall
failure, etc
 Soil is hard, resists penetration by hand, difficult to crush when dry
 Display cracks in more or less regular patterns
 When wet, very sticky and will clump to sheets in 2-4” thickness
 A ball rolled in your hands will leave powdery residue
 A cut surface when wet will be smooth and shinny
 Heavy construction equipment will get coated and impede function
 Liquification
 Condition in which solid ground turns mushy when soils are vibrated
 Is associated with earthquakes
 Conditions associated with fin to medium grained sands and silts in
loosely packed layers
 Quick Clays
 Form of liquification
 Confined to northern states and Canada
 Very fine, flower-like clays formed as sediments in shallow waters and
later raised above sea level
o Ordinances
 Zoning
 Most important piece of local information
 Provides prescription for development to be done in community
 Graphic Conventions
o Yellow = Residential
o Brown = Multi-Family
o Red = Commercial
o Purple = Industrial
o Blue = Institutional
o Green = Recreational
o Gray = Industrial Utilities
 Land Development Regulations
 Local ordinances that reflect experience, concerns and biases
o Brownfields
 Abandoned or underutilized properties that are environmentally contaminated
or are perceived as being contaminated from past industrial or commercial
activities
 Strategies
 $ - do nothing: not often an option
 $$ - administrative / institutional controls: limiting land use / public
access, carry specific insurance for exposure, etc.
 $$$ - engineering controls: caps for isolating / containing contaminants
 $$$$ - on-site remedial action: pump and treat groundwater,
bioremediation, vitrification, phytoremediation
 $$$$$ - off-site disposal / treatment: remove and dispose
o Porosity
 Amount of pore space in a soil and is related to grain size distribution and
consolidation
o Permeability
 The rate at which water will freely drain through a soil
o Soil strength
 Ability to resist deformation
 Function of friction and cohesion of grain to grain contact
o Cohesion
 Measure of soil particles sticking together (typically clays)
o Shear strength
 Measure of friction resistance and cohesion of soil
o Bulk density
 Weight per volume of unit of soil
 The higher the bulk density, the greater the support for foundations
o Plasticity index
 Range of moisture in which soil behaves as plastic material
  LL – Liquid Limit
 Soil flows and won’t retain shape
 PL – Plastic Limit
 Soil deforms plastically
o Landscape
 Patches: Concentration of habitat type
 Edges: Boundaries between different habitat types are blurred (buffers and
filters)
 Ecotones: transition zone
o Most productive part of landscape due to containing aspects of
both areas
 Littoral Zone: between upland and open water (generally associated
with oceans, beachy areas)
 Connecting Corridors: Recognize elements and provide connections between
them
 Mosaic: Overall (pattern of patches, edges, connecting corridors)
o Rehabilitation
 Actions taken to restore environmental functions and vitality of landscape
o Reclamation
 Requires construction of new landscape features to replace what was lost
 Typically caused by damages from development, agriculture or mining
o Remediation
 Mitigating conditions resulting from degraded landscape
 Brownfields or acid mine drainage
o Streams
 Graded Stream: stream in state of dynamic equilibrium
 Degradation: alternate deepening by snow and shallowing by deposition
 Aggradation: deepening or widening for capacity
o Thalweg
 Deepest part of stream
 Meanders, not center
o Sinuosity
 Braided, or meandering
o Fascine
 Bundle of branches 2-3’ long used with rebar in stream stabilization
o CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act)
 “Superfund”: Landowners are liable for contamination on their property
weather/not they did it
o Phytoremediation
 Using plants to clean site contamination
 Phytoextraction: plants absorb materials into tissue, then plants are destroyed
 Phytodegradation: plant metabolizes contaminants
o Municipalities
 Public investment – transportation / utility infrastructure, parks, open space
  Regulations – zoning / subdivision ordinances, building codes
 Incentives & Disincentives – Preferential taxation and zoning bonuses
 Land use planning – comprehensive plan and capital improvement plans
o Eutrophication
 Increase in biomass of waterbody leading to infilling of basin and eventual
disappearance of open water
o Ericaceous plants
 Plants prefer acidic soil (4.5-5.0 pH)
 Family that includes heather, rhododendron, azalea
o Mass wasting
 Downhill movement of soil / rock fragments induced by gravity
o Mesophytes
 Plants that grow with moderate supply of water
o Hydrophyte
 Aquatic plants grow in or near water, emergent, submergent, floating
o Xerophyte
 Plant needs very little water
o Connected imperviousness
 Runoff drains from impervious surfaces into drainageways
 Runoff is MAXIMIZED
o Disconnected imperviousness
 Runoff drains from impervious surfaces as sheet flow to pervious surfaces
 Runoff is MINIMIZED (ideal)
o Scenic Easements
 Uniform Conservation Easement Act expressly allows conservation easements
that retain or protect natural, scenic, or open-space values of real property
o National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
 Part of USDA
 Helps America’s farmers, ranchers and forest landowners conserve the nation’s
soil, water, air and other natural resources
o Zoning ordinance preservation controls
o Zoning ordinance
o Variance
 A deviation from the set of rules a municipality applies to land use and land
development, typically a zoning ordinance, building code or municipal code
o Programming activities
o Aerial photograph
o Level of Service (LOS)
 a quantitative standard for transportation facilities describing operational
conditions. Level of service may be described for intersections (signalized or
unsignalized) or street segments (between signalized intersections)
o Sight Distance Lines
o Rain-Shadow Effect
 Rain moves from west to east
  Storm hits mountain and dissipates leaving no rain to hit the other side of the
mountain
 One side of the mountain has vegetation, the other side is more dry and desert-
like
o Drainage Basin Divides
 Drainage basins are separated by ridges called divides, which are like continuous
lines of high land. A is a ridge from which water drains to one side or the other.
Divides can run along high mountains. On flatter ground, a divide can simply be
the highest line of land and can be hard to see
o Soil coloration
 Red/Yellow = Ferric Iron Oxide
 Dark Brown/Black = High Organic Matter
 Blue/Gray = Poor Drainage
o Alluvial soils
 Alluvial soils are soils deposited by surface water
o Planning
 Child Care Facility