6.0. SR 09-22-2003 - Laserfiche WebLink

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in a classic NIcHargian approach, landscape fea- tures were layered with sensitivity thresholds applied and then recombined in GIS to paint a of sensitive landscapes, and thus prime greenway op- portunities, within the study area. Landscape Thresholds ~ Higll Sensitivity Lar~/s ~ ~ow Sens~ffw~ Lands Water Ce.ter .ivot ~rrigaao. In October 2002, Dakota County passed a $20 million referendum for open-space acquisition that will be matched by stare funds. HKGi and the Friends worked ro build suppox for the bond. The fact that so many residents had already participated in work- shops probably helped to improve voter support. Some of these funds will assist in open-space acquisition for the greenway plan. But many other partnership and conservation tools will be needed. '9(Tkh the completed greenway plan as a guide, Lewanski now travels the surrounding townships to talk with residents about conserva:ion issues. He o£ten re/ers property owners to local land trusts and conservation easements. "Our role is to build relations with the land owners," he says. "There are sev- eral high-quality ecosystems in this area, including the Ver- milion River Boz~oms, approximately 5,000 acres of emergent marsh, floodplain forest, and lakes, with habitat fbr bald eagles, cerulean warblers, and red-shouldered hawk," Lewanski ex- plains. Upstream i'rom Has,rings, the Pine Bend Bluffs are home to deep meltwater ravines with oak forests on the north- facing slopes and rare sand gravel prairies on the south-facing slopes. DESIGN AT MA_.~Y SCALES HKGi's relationship with Hastings is condnmng with site-specific planning for the Hastings River Flats, an "envi- ronmental sculpture park" ~har will bring together art installations docu- menting Mississippi River ecology. Located bet-ween downtown and the river's edge, the 200-acre floodplain site is a small piece of the larg- er greenway system. The Flats promise to become a highly visible at~raction for downtown and a catalyst for increased understanding of riparian ecosystems. Paul Neseth of Locus Architecture worked with HKGi ~o de- sign an outdoor classroom, pedestrian bridge, interpretive center, and bandsheli. "Since it is a former industrial zone, we wanted to represent it by recycling pieces of old oil tanks and other refinery materials." Locus located a treasure trove of metal at a nearby rank farm. Massive arcs of plate steel will be reused as curved sound baffling on the ceiling of the bandshell. Flat refinery panels are recycled as surface ma- terial in retaining walls while old oil pipes serve as load-bearing columns in ~he 3000 SF interpretive center. Designed to work together, the center serves backstage function for the bandshell. With its low elevation, the interpretive center is de- signed to withstand flooding, wkh horizontally hinged doors on the lower level that can open up during spring flooding and for large summer pub- lic events. Acting to mitigate flood effects while making a bold visual statement, berming around the bandshell and the interpretive center provides an upwater barrier to debris during flooding. At a metropolitan scale, HKOi is working with ~rban planner Calrhorpe & Associams to create a regional plan for Pool 2, the Army Corps of Engi- neers term for the Mississippi River segment FEBRUARY 2003 [ 43 [ £a~=ch'ca?e Arc/3arecrure