+

Unpacking the Black Box: The Menomonee River Watershed Codes & Ordinances Project
Clean Rivers, Clean Lake Conference
Thursday, April 25, 2013 Juli Beth Hinds, AICP Birchline Planning LLC

Project Collaborators
THE FUND FOR LAKE MICHIGAN 1,000 Friends of Wisconsin Kate Morgan, Water Policy Director MMSD Karen Sands, AICP, Bre MacDonald & Milwaukee County Stevan Keith, PE GIS - Will Mobley, UW-Milwaukee/MMSD WI DNR Bryan Hartsook The good humored, patient municipal staff from: City of Brookfield * Village of Butler * Village of Elm Grove * City of Milwaukee * Village of West Milwaukee * Village of Germantown * City of Greenfield * Village of Menomonee Falls * City of Wauwatosa

+ Basic Premise of Green Infrastructure:

Land Disturbance & Development Lead to Water Quality & Watershed Impairments Green Infrastructure Reduces Impacts & Improves Resilience

An Extreme Example:

A site-level example:
Landscaped islands shall be surrounded by a continuous curb of no less than 3 in height. The use of required landscaped islands for storm water management is strongly encouraged.

+ Why isnt zoning requiring Green Infrastructure?

Why doesnt our foxhound point upland birds?
Petey (Foxhound) Kirby (Brittany)

+ We have a furnace (municipal codes), and we

need it to heat the house (protect water quality) not make snowballs (connected impervious).

What is the Codes & Ordinances Project Intended to Accomplish?

Phase 1. Figuring out the plumbing How do municipal, regional (MMSD) and state codes, ordinances and policies interact with the staff review and board approval process to promote, or discourage, GI practices and to reduce site-based pollutant loads? Phase 2. Retooling the furnace to heat the house: What specific code changes, and applicable to what areas of the Menomonee River watershed, could yield the greatest benefit for GI implementation and pollutant reduction? Phase 3. Checking back on implementation

Why the Codes & Ordinances Project?

We have been talking about this for years!

1.

Update MMSDs 2005 survey for the Menomonee Watershed has progress been made on specific code language that impeded GI?

Examples: outright prohibitions on permeable surfacing, basic SW and erosion control regs
2.

To date, code & ordinance work has not shown WHY the furnace is making snowballs: what are the details of whats on paper, and especially whats not, that encourage or discourage GI? Checklists and scorecards address dimensional standards, but have not addressed PROCESS or DISCRETION. Model ordinances and large-scale changes have not been effective what are realistic, adoptable changes, linked & prioritized by WQ issue and location?

3.

4.

+ Who, where, when and what are the GI lion traps in this process?
Municipal staff present application to review board(s)
City Planner recommends additional trees and berm

Developer secures interest in site, outlines Pro Forma (SF, building configuration, parking, uses, lease requirements)

Review boards make findings of fact on consistency of application with applicable municipal standards and policies; approve, approve with conditions, or deny

ACTUAL CODE LANGUAGE

How will volume requirement be met?

Consulting Engineer integrates Pro Forma with zoning Dimensional Standards & SW/ other on site infrastructure requirements

Consulting engineer responds to feedback while working with State, MMSD, other authorities

Final permits are issued by other authorities

Fire Chief wants wider streets

Board chair hates weedy landscape

Municipal staff review plan & comment on consistency with codes, ordinances & municipal policies

Land development with inspection, maintenance & reporting

Who is ensuring maintenance?

Phase 1: Figuring out the Plumbing

1.

Checklist Development (147 questions vs. 53) Initial Code Review In-Depth Discussions Detailed Code Review Summary & individual municipal reports

2. 3. 4. 5.

Checklist: Updating the 2005 Audit

2005 Audit Categories
n n n n n n n n

New/Revised 2013 Audit Categories

n

Plan Review Process Rooftop Runoff & Plumbing Parking Streetscaping Paving Materials Native Soils & Vegetation Stormwater Management Maintenance, Inspection & Enforcement

Integrated Design & Standard Approval Process Buildings Reducing Effective Impervious Cover Functional Landscapes Effective Thresholds Inspection & Maintenance Pollution Prevention (new)

n n n n n n

Asking More & More Specific Questions:

2005
n

2013
n

Are preliminary/sketch plans reviewed? Is landscaping required within parking lots?

Do preliminary/sketch plan application requirements include landscaping and stormwater treatment concepts? Do parking lot edge landscaping requirements (islands & edges) specifically allow/encourage use as stormwater control areas? Is a standard adopted? Does the use of permeable materials reduce the stormwater quantity required to be managed? If so is this a written or informal standard? What design storm is used for sizing stormwater control measures?

Is permeable surfacing allowed for parking lots?

Are stormwater management plans required for sites disturbing > acre of area?

Adding Detail: Whats a Yes or a No to Green Infrastructure?

YES

2005

NO

2013 ENABLED

CONDITIONAL

AMBIGUOUS DISCOURAGED

Discre6onary approval, prac6ce encouraged or Enabled, but some standards or Enabled as of ambiguity or process right poten6al conict adopted

Prac6ces men6oned, discre6onary approval, no No policy or standards, but standards not disallowed adopted

Some limits or prohibiCons, but Prohibited or ac6ve potenCally conict allowable

+ Results: The 2005 Audit Update

Results: The 2005 Audit Update

Significant Improvement
STORMWATER STANDARDS: Adoption of/reference to MMSD Ch. 13 n Erosion Control Standards: WI DNR n Downspout/foundation drain disconnection options n Use of Shared Parking n Maintenance agreements required n Street Standards & Flexibility n ** Development Review Flexibility ALL OVER THE MAP: n City of Milwaukee targeted amendments ALSO IN PLACE but not in 2005 Audit: n SPECIFICITY of erosion control standards n Native lawns n DESIGN STORMS in stormwater n Rain barrels
n

Lack of Movement
n

n n n

PERMEABLE SURFACING Inspection of Sewer Laterals Use of drain restricters/streets as temporary storage (not interested)

ordinances Types and degrees of LANDSCAPE requirements STANDARDS for approval in discretionary process

Results: The 2005 Audit Update

+ And now for the 2013 Audit

question results

Building & Architectural Codes: SILENCE.

Use of Landscaping for Stormwater: All over the map

Bermitis Some very prescriptive requirements some none Stating affirmatively that bioretention areas count as required landscaping

+ Supplemental Standards for Potentially

Polluting Uses: Under-Utilized!

The Tyrany of Turfgrass!

We are still paving paradisebut maybe less so and it needs plants.

I HEARD IT FAILED: The legend of permeable pavement

+ Maintenance

= More Consistent BUT! **Concerns about maintaining small, plant-based distributed practices are a significant and important barrier to GI!

Phase 2: Whats Next

Working Group Issues: Technical issues common to municipalities & watershed
n

DESIGN STORMS: MMSD sets the release rate, and the nine munis have @ 6 different design storms. What design results? Discuss. THRESHOLDS: Most development in the Menomonee is going through without any review for stormwater treatment & control. Maybe there needs to be a different or graduated threshold in some areas or situations. Discuss. STATE BUILDING CODE for graywater/reclamation MAINTENANCE: How can any municipality ensure that distributed LID practices are sufficiently maintained to carry out their intended stormwater functions, especially with increasingly severe storm events? Discuss. PERMEABLE MATERIALS: Discussion facilitated by Snake Plissken

n n

Phase 2: Whats Next (continued)

Changes at the MUNICIPAL level, to deal with a pollutant or WQ issue of concern
n

Parking: ratios, in communities with older zoning; reducing residential parking impacts, in design & operation Shared parking: how can it be made as easy as possible? Standards for LANDSCAPING of parking lot edges & islands! Wiggle room (or better yet, standards) for GI in landscape features difficulty varies with the age & nature of the communitys regulations Turfgrass, lawns, and native plantings: proactive standards, not complaintdriven as well as regulations Supplemental standards for WQ hotspot uses (Kirbys Kennels) Standards & guidance for discretionary approvals: helping boards say yes, responsibly

n n n

n n

+ STAY TUNED! THERES

MORE TO COME!