Maine Association of Planners Annual Meeting 06/07/02 Minutes
I. Business Meeting
A. President's Report - MAP Accomplishments and Acknowledgements
Karen Martin has - sponsorships
Matt - Membership directory
Jim, Matt and Fred created a membership database
Maureen organized the NNECAPA Conference
Jean Marshal and Karen Martin - nominations committee - geographically correct
David Carpenter- Welcome packet - and New member orientation - documents were passed around for comments
Have a new Logo thanks to ...
Site plan workshop -want to do that again
Legislative committee - wrote and presented papers to legislature
Smart Growth institute created
GIS Bill - library , coordinating state agencies
Digitizing bond for next year
Municipal trust fund
Subdivision law - removed retroactivity clause, require communities to use the State definition for subdivisions
Greater understanding in the legislature of these issues
Newsletter - Mary Coolidge and Maureen O'Meara
B. Jim -WEB Report - Not much news. Web feed of planning news.
C. Fred - Treasurers report - see handout
Looking at the budget - ways to avoid erosion of reserves
Membership directory doesn't appear in the budget
Membership renewals appear to be stabilizing and possibly increasing. Newsletter has helped.
Beth proposed that money be set aside for a legislative committee
David - a miscellaneous line item can cover this
D. Theresa presented the list of nominees
Jim Fisher, Matt Nazar, Doug Webster, Fred Marshal, Maureen O'Meara, David Sanborn, Sarah Flaks, Karen Martin, Noel Musson, David Galbraith, Theresa Oleksiw, Jean Marshall, David Schmidt
Ballot approved.
E. Maureen - Sept 12-14th Conference in Providence Northeast Region $155 for three days,
Big session with different professionals from NYC about post 9-111 planning, How planners work with other professionals.
II. Presentation on Landscape Architecture- Terry Dewan and Sam Coplon
"Just how did that happen?"
What to look for when evaluating a site plan
Presentation technology
Definition of landscape
Being a Landscape Architect
Degree
Experience - 2 years
Examination
History
Frederick Law Olmsted
Beatrix Farrand
Fletcher Steele
Mission: Working now to create future historic landscapes
Village Green in Bar Harbor
Town plan for Bethel
Great American neighborhoods
Transit oriented development
Falmouth Village Center
Landscape architects design space
Site Analysis
Discussion of slope requirements
McCargian analysis of suitability
process is often obscure when you see the finished project
Example of finding a build-able site for Dept of Education at the U of ME Farmington
Planning boards like to see the process
Three dimension analysis with overlays help people to understand how a site was designed
Location maps are often approved when they are bare bones
Aerial photograph with animation showing traffic patterns, nice demo
Prefer that landscape architects be involved early in the process
Very often they are called in to "shrub-up" a building or parsley around the pig
Other times the LA is dismissed early in the project
Players
LA, client,
Ordinance review -sometimes not adequate. Ordinance is too weak
Yikes series of bad design - driveways are permitted that are very poorly built
Detailed example for Mill Stream in Freeport
Primary constraint
secondary constraints - defined in the process
Create a sketch plan prior to brining in the engineers
Concept design is a lot :less expensive than an engineering design
JT question -subtract environmentally sensitive land from developed ratio
Isolated pieces of land around subdivisions are difficult to enforce. Land trusts don't want them.
Have to negotiate with government agencies - housing will have to have sprinklers.
Construction project
site analysis
program development
concept design
permitting
construction documents
contract administrator
Occupancy
Landscape analysis
Follow-up and project maintenance ate often overlooked. Rarely considered in site plan review.
Bottom 10 list
10 "scalpture gardens" - fast food landscaping bump bushes, bush burgers, horizontally cut-off bushes
9. Maintenance
8. Barking the dogwoods - pine bark mulch should see hat the plants will grow together in 5 years or less
7. concrete tubs
6. Industrial strength - guardrail in unnecessary places
5. Islands of discontent - curbing islands, yellow curbs, dead plants, need to pay attention to the soil under the planting and don't put plants where they will die
4. Block heads - stacking blocks used as retaining walls. Need to cover them with plants.
3. poor lonesome me -
2. ?
1. Rock bushes
Top 10 list
Tree spades - move large trees
Interpretive kiosks
Alleys(?), not alleys
Tree planting techniques
- work at Cornell for adapting trees to urban situations
need tapered holes, mix local soil with compost, encourage roots to spread out, structural soil - sub-base includes constituents to encourage roots to move down
4. Work around it. Try to save trees - need to prune the trees if the roots are cut
3. Flower flowers everywhere
2. Bit of humor - street sculpture
1. respect for small places
Things we wish we had done
Handout- has information on plant selection - need to consider growing conditions,
Showed ways to use intense landscaping to mask industrial facility
Illustrations are on the web site
www.sierraclub.org/sprawl
$14 CD - Regional Councils have the CD
series of great examples showing landscaping alternatives
III. Lunch / Awards
IV. Boat Ride