Best Practice Action 18.4
GreenStep City Best Practices: Environmental Management
Parks and Trails No. 18
Increase active lifestyles and property values by enhancing the city's green infrastructure.
Best Practice Action Detail
Best Practice Action 4
Adopt low-impact design standards in parks and trails that infiltrate or retain all 2 inch, 24-hour stormwater events on site.
- Green Infrastructure in Parks (US EPA: 2017) is a guide to funding partnerships and collaboration between park agencies and stormwater agencies that result in cost-saving green infrastructure on park lands.
- The State of MN's Minimal Impact Design Standards (MIDS) include new modeling methods and credit calculations that standardize the use of a range of innovative structural and nonstructural stormwater techniques.
- See the SITES Rating System - the most comprehensive tool for guiding and measuring landscape sustainability.
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Standards exist for new parks/trails. |
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Standards are met in most or all parks. |
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Standards exist based upon the Sustainable Sites Initiative. |
Who's doing it
Elko New Market -
Date action report first entered:
Date of last report update:
Year action initially completed: 2016
Implementation details:
All public areas in the City of Elko New Market are required to meet low-impact design standards n parks and trails that infiltrate or retain all 2 inch, 24-hour storm water events on site as development occurs.
For example, when the City of Elko New Mark built Wagner Park's new shelter, it was built with efficiency and sustainability in mind. The utilities fixtures and appliances within the structure meet today's energy efficiency standards. In the interests of enhanced heating and cooling efficiency, 3-pane main entry sliding doors were installed, allowing the shelter to operate more efficiently as well as service the community from approximately April to October, as opposed to May to late September, as is often the case with park shelters in Minnesota weather. Sky lighting and ceiling air circulators allow for dramatic control over the climate indoors without the need for traditional heating and cooling systems and with the aid of motion sensors controlling the lighting systems, the city has managed to construct a facility that costs taxpayers only $30 year in gas & electric costs.
For example, when the City of Elko New Mark built Wagner Park's new shelter, it was built with efficiency and sustainability in mind. The utilities fixtures and appliances within the structure meet today's energy efficiency standards. In the interests of enhanced heating and cooling efficiency, 3-pane main entry sliding doors were installed, allowing the shelter to operate more efficiently as well as service the community from approximately April to October, as opposed to May to late September, as is often the case with park shelters in Minnesota weather. Sky lighting and ceiling air circulators allow for dramatic control over the climate indoors without the need for traditional heating and cooling systems and with the aid of motion sensors controlling the lighting systems, the city has managed to construct a facility that costs taxpayers only $30 year in gas & electric costs.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
Descriptive File: view file
Descriptive links: http://www.ci.enm.mn.us/vertical/Sites/%7B97941C7E-666C-4328-9370-1A15F984EEE3%7D/uploads/%7B3BBEE42B-DB17-4644-9380-6BF77BDC8306%7D.PDF
For more information contact:
Jake Skluzacek (City Staff) | jskluzacek@ci.enm.mn.us | 952-461-2777
Partners:
Maplewood -
Date action report first entered:
Date of last report update:
Year action initially completed:
Implementation details:
Maplewood has adopted low-impact design standards in parks and trails that infiltrate and/or retain all 2 inch, 24-hour stormwater events on site. Maplewood is very proactive to low-impact design standards and stormwater.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
Descriptive File:
Descriptive links:
For more information contact:
Audra Robbins (City Staff) | Audra.robins@maplewoodmn.gov | 651-249-2125
Partners:
New Prague -
Date action report first entered:
Date of last report update:
Year action initially completed: 2015
Implementation details:
Within New Prague's Zoning Ordinance, we as a city require that all parks are able to retain water for a minimum of 2.5 inch rain events (Section 734.6.E.10.c)
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
Descriptive File:
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For more information contact:
Joshua Tetzlaff (City Staff) | jtetzlaff@ci.new-prague.mn.us | 952.758.4401
Partners:
Saint Paul -
Date action report first entered:
Date of last report update:
Year action initially completed:
Implementation details:
Lowertown Ballpark reuse of stormwater for infiltration, irrigation and gray water use. Stormwater detention ponds planned and implemented throughout City park system. Research and design using structural soils and also Stockholm tree planting and stormwater infiltration method.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
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For more information contact:
Kurt Schultz (City staff) | kurt.schultz@ci.stpaul.mn.us | 651-266-6590
Partners:
Brainerd -
Date action report first entered:
Date of last report update:
Year action initially completed:
Implementation details:
New park and trail projects are held to the same stormwater standards as any other development in the city.
These requirements are detailed in Ordinance 725.04: Release rates from storm water
treatment basins shall not increase over the predevelopment twenty-four (24) hour two (2) year,
ten (10) year and one hundred (100) year peak storm discharge rates, based on the last ten (10)
years of how that land was used.
These requirements are detailed in Ordinance 725.04: Release rates from storm water
treatment basins shall not increase over the predevelopment twenty-four (24) hour two (2) year,
ten (10) year and one hundred (100) year peak storm discharge rates, based on the last ten (10)
years of how that land was used.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
Infiltration basins were included as part of reconstruction at Bane Park and Buffalo hills Park. Two new stormwater retention areas have been constructed at Memorial Park.
Descriptive File:
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For more information contact:
Mark Ostgarden (City staff) | mostgarden@ci.brainerd.mn.us | 218-828-2309
Partners:
Fergus Falls -
Date action report first entered:
Date of last report update:
Year action initially completed:
Implementation details:
There is a rain garden located in Adams Park and additional rain gardens are being planned throughout the city. We are moving toward natural grasses along river banks to reduce the water flow and filter the water prior to the water entering the river.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
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For more information contact:
Len Taylor (City Staff) | len.taylor@fergusfallsmn.gov | 218-332-5418
Partners:
LaPrairie -
Date action report first entered:
Date of last report update:
Year action initially completed:
Implementation details:
Park enhancement: Not only is all water collected in the park returned to the ground, we have a plan in place to add trees and shrubs that will further aid water absorption.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
We obtained a grant from GABA to purchase trees and shrubs and have volunteers that plan on completing this project in 2011.
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Partners:
Roseville -
Date action report first entered:
Date of last report update:
Year action initially completed:
Implementation details:
The city's standards for new parks/trails, include the requirement of "low-impact design standards in parks and trails that infiltrate or retain all 2 inch, 24 hour storm water events on site."
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
Descriptive File:
Descriptive links:
For more information contact:
Ryan Johnson (City staff) | Ryan.johnson@cityofroseville.com | 651-792-7049
Partners:
Saint Cloud -
Date action report first entered:
Date of last report update:
Year action initially completed:
Implementation details:
As a best management practice the City has adopted a one inch, 24-hour stormwater events on site standard. The Park Department often exceeds this standard and most recently implemented a greenhouse building construction project that applied best management practices by constrcuting wet and dry native vegetation ponds/gardens for two inch events.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
Descriptive File: view file
Descriptive links:
For more information contact:
Partners:
Savage -
Date action report first entered:
Date of last report update:
Year action initially completed: 2007
Implementation details:
The City looks to provide stormater management for new and existing park areas. Examples include Hollywood Park, Hidden Valley Park, and Environmental Learning Center (ELC). The City developed the ELC in 2007 and developed a stormwater plan that infiltrates a 10-year design storm through the use of a green roofs, pervious pavements, and rain gardens.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
Reducing stormater runoff through volume management will decrease the demand on City stormwater infrastructure as well as improve water quality.
Descriptive File:
Descriptive links:
For more information contact:
Jon Allen (City Staff) | jallen@cityofsavage.com | 9522243441
Partners:
Greenstep Advisor
Eric Weiss, Program Director, Community Powered Parks - Trust for Public Land: 651-999-5306, eric.weiss@tpl.org, www.tpl.org/our-work/minnesota