Site Evaluation and Design
Property Mapping
Click here
to see a prototype tool from a pilot project for Duluth Township to help landowners gain access to
working maps of their property.
A careful evaluation of how you design your site can actually minimize runoff and save money.
This first step in managing stormwater is often forgotten, however. The following documents will
help you to evaluate your site and determine what you can do to control stormwater runoff.
The information below is reproduced directly from the
Minnesota
Stormwater Manual 2005.
[ =
pdf file; it will be opened in a new window]
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Better Site Design Fact Sheet -
Ch. 12-02
[ 1.0 MB]
A 10 page fact sheet on Better Site Design, incuding a guide, key considerations,
and Minnesota examples. |
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Better Site Design Techniques -
Chapter 4
[ 1.4 MB]
This chapter provides guidance to designers on how to plan and apply better site design
practices at new development projects. Including a series of techniques that reduce impervious
cover, conserve natural areas, and use pervious areas to more effectively treat stormwater runoff. |
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Choosing Best Management Practices -
Chapter 7
[ 384 KB]
This chapter guides designers through 9 key factors involved in stormwater BMP selection,
and features a series of tables that present comparative BMP information. |
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Few watershed management practices simultaneously
reduce pollutant loads, conserve natural areas,
save money, and increase property values. Indeed,
if such "wonder practices" were ever developed,
they would certainly spread quickly across the nation.
As it turns out, these practices have existed for
years. Collectively called "better site design," the
techniques employ a variety of methods to reduce
total paved area, distribute and diffuse stormwater,
and conserve natural habitats. Better Site Design
is a fundamentally different approach to residential
and commercial development. It seeks to accomplish
three goals at every development site: to reduce
the amount of impervious cover, to increase natural
lands set aside for conservation, and to use pervious
areas for more effective stormwater treatment. To
meet these goals, designers must scrutinize every
aspect of a site plan- its streets, parking spaces,
setbacks, lot sizes, driveways, and sidewalks- to
determine if any of these elements can be reduced
in scale. At the same time, creative grading and
drainage techniques reduce stormwater runoff and
encourage more infiltration.
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Regional Site Design Examples:
Stormwater "friendly" site designs are on the
increase in the Northland. Some good examples are listed
here and we encourage users to contact us with other examples
to potentially include in this section of the LakeSuperiorStreams
website.
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- Hawk
Ridge Estates (Duluth HRA):
stream
buffers [ 350
KB], open space preservation, minimum site clearing
- Fryberger Estates:
natural vegetation preservation
- Poplar River Condominiums:
building
layout, native vegetation
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Conservation easements provide an important mechanism for
conserving natural resources and stormwater runoff by providing
a financial incentive to landowners.
Conservation easements
Conservation planning and development |
