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<br />lQ)~~~1 <br /> <br />If the City does not want to require donation of these lands, it could make NRI status a <br />"criteria for determining suitability of the land" under Section 30-327(h), and use this <br />criteria in negotiations for park dedication. <br /> <br />As well, the City may consider adding language to the park dedication ordinance that <br />specifically states park dedication funds may be used for the purposes of ecological <br />restoration (restoring native plant communities). Such activities could be considered a <br />form of park "development". This would allow for necessary active management of <br />purchased or existing natural areas. <br /> <br />Section 30-353. Data for Preliminarv Plat <br />This section could specify that the proposer include the mapped information from the <br />Natural Resource Inventory in the "existing conditions" data provided to the City. <br /> <br />This "existing conditions" data could then be compared to the requirements in Section <br />30-415, that require that existing trees and native vegetation on the site be preserved <br />to the maximum extent feasible in the subdivision design. <br /> <br />Section 30-415. Preservation of trees and other veqetation. <br />This section includes a general statement that "existing healthy trees and native <br />vegetation on the site shall be preserved to the maximum extent feasible, and shall be <br />protected by adequate means during construction." <br /> <br />The City could reference the NRI by indicating specifically that "native vegetation <br />communities identified in the City's Natural Resources Inventory shall be preserved". <br /> <br />This statement is a general one, and does not give a standard for the amount of native <br />vegetation that should be protected. Some communities have adopted "woodland <br />protection ordinances" (instead of or in addition to individual tree protection <br />ordinances) that give performance standards for the proportion of woodland areas that <br />must be protected from development. <br /> <br />The City could identify such performance standards to this ordinance, and therefore <br />require that at least a portion of the woodland area be protected. (Ordinances typically <br />do not require that 100 percent of an area be protected because this may allow for no <br />use of the property, and would be termed a "taking".) <br />