Executive Summary CHAPTER CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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PLANNING BACKGROUND
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THE AUBURN LANDSCAPE
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LANDSCAPE VISION
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LANDSCAPE STANDARDS
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POST-CONSTRUCTION STORMWATER MANAGEMENT
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DESIGN RECOMMENDATIONS
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Executive Summary Introduction In 2012, the University began a collaborative process to update the Comprehensive Campus Master Plan (Master Plan). In parallel with the Master Plan, the University also began the campus’ first Landscape Master Plan effort. This Campus Landscape Master Plan (LMP) will satisfy the requirement of the Campus Planning, Capital Projects and Space Management Policy. This policy states that “all University landscape areas shall be planned integrally, comprehensively, responsibly, fiscally and aesthetically, to express an image that Auburn is a place of quality, excellence and rich tradition”. Further, it is the “responsibility of the Office of the University Architect to develop and maintain a Campus Landscape Master Plan with guidelines for design and maintenance of landscape, plant materials, tree management, irrigation, hardscape, exterior furniture, bicycle racks, trash containers, exterior signage, and exterior lighting”. The Master Plan began this process by establishing a Landscape Framework which illustrated the overall open space structure of the campus. This LMP seeks to build upon that framework, providing a specific vision and structure for the further development of the Auburn University campus landscape. Figures 1-4 showcases a few of the recent landscape improvement projects on campus. In addition to the Master Plan, a number of other documents helped guide the planning process when developing this plan. Although there has never been a prior LMP for the University, much thought and guidance have been developed over the years to inform design and construction activity on campus. Several key themes were observed during the review of these documents including a commitment to long-range planning, a desire to restore campus environmental systems and a focus on creating a pedestrian oriented campus. These trends are reinforced and further expanded upon throughout this LMP.
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Auburn University Landscape Master Plan, Comprehensive Campus Master Plan Update 2014
Figure 1. South side view of a stretch of Parkerson Mill Creek that has been improved with check-dams and native plantings
Figure 3. A view of the newly improved Ross Square
Executive Summary
Figure 2. The newly renovated Toomer’s Corner includes specialty paving design
Figure 4. The internal courtyard at the new South Donahue Residence Hall offers a mix of gathering opportunities
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Planning Background While Auburn University has produced multiple campus master plans over the years, this LMP represents the University’s first in-depth effort to shape a cohesive, long-term vision for its landscape. The preparation and adoption of this plan establishes a specific vision and policy platform that elevates the campus landscape to a higher institutional priority level at the University. The Auburn campus landscape is dynamic and multifaceted and should be viewed as a complex system which includes both elements of the “ecological landscape” and elements of the “cultural landscape”. Going forward, it will be important for the campus community to view holistically all aspects of the campus landscape and to recognize and manage this landscape as an essential element of the campus’ critical infrastructure. LMP Purpose The purpose of the LMP is to provide prescriptive, rather that descriptive, requirements of a design approach that will guide the University toward implementation and realization of the landscape vision for the Auburn campus. The program and processes described within the LMP serve as a component, or sub-plan, of the Auburn University Comprehensive Campus Master Plan. The LMP document is intended to aid in defining the project scope of each campus project that affects Auburn University exterior facilities, including but not limited to; buildings, roads, walkways, trails, grading, lighting, signage and landscape. The LMP provides a series of tools designed to ensure that each project is viewed within its larger campus context and that each project therefore contributes to the success of the larger campus landscape.
Planning Assumptions
Project Scoping Standard
The Vision for the Auburn University LMP is founded on a series of key planning assumptions. These include the foundational assumptions that the LMP will be wholly supportive of the Auburn University Mission & Vision and their emphasis on the University’s unique land grant heritage; and that the LMP is a clearly defined requirement of the Master Plan.
Campus landscape improvements consistent with the requirements, standards and guidelines of the LMP document must be included as an integral part of all projects that affect exterior facilities on the Auburn University campus. Landscape improvements must be included in the initial budgeting, scoping and design of a project and be included in the base bid of all projects.
Draft Campus Landscape Policy The LMP serves as the guiding policy for the future development of the campus landscape. The policy basis for the LMP is established in the Master Plan. As a component sub-plan of the Master Plan, the LMP compliments and further supports the current Board Policy (D-2) Campus and Capital Projects Planning Policy. This policy states that the University shall develop and maintain a Campus Master Plan as a physical plan and comprehensive set of policy directives that provide long-range strategies for the growth and development of the campus. Building upon the campus-wide goals and strategies, and the landscape framework developed in the Master Plan, the LMP outlines a broad general vision for the future development of the campus landscape and provides guidelines and standards for its future development. Consistent with the Facilities Management Policy on Final Project Design Approval on Building Exteriors, Facilities Management is charged with the implementation of this plan and with the authority to enforce and apply it, without exception, to each and every improvement project undertaken on the campus – building, infrastructure, and landscape. LMP governance
Basis of Plan - Policy A clear basis and rationale for the creation and implementation of the LMP exists as a result of existing and established University policy. The Auburn University Board of Trustees adopted, on April 14, 2014, the Campus and Capital Projects Planning Policy (D-2). This policy provides the basis and policy foundation for the development of a Campus Master Plan and Capital Projects Plan. The Master Plan establishes a framework for the LMP. The landscape framework prescribes the overall organizational pattern of landscape types for the campus landscape. The LMP is therefore a sub-plan component of the Master Plan and becomes the guiding policy for the future development of the Auburn University campus landscape. The LMP reinforces the goals established in the Master Plan, defines a Twenty-First Century Vision for the campus landscape and establishes a set of tools to help guide the implementation of the vision. Basis Of Plan - Relevant / Guiding Plans It is clear there have been significant effort and much thought placed on planning the future physical evolution, character and form of the campus. As a result, there are a number of guiding policies and foundational plans and reports which form the basis of the LMP. The 2013-2018 University Strategic Plan, the University Vision and Mission Statement, and the 2013 Comprehensive Campus Master Plan Update are perhaps the most essential of the guiding documents for the formulation of the LMP.
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The governance structure for the LMP will be the same as the Master Plan. The governance structure is designed to assist Facilities Management during the process of developing a campus Master Plan. In order to provide technical expertise, guidance and input to the LMP, a landscape steering committee will be established as part of the University Master Plan Committee. These members will advise the Master Planning Team on the development of the LMP and make a recommendation on approval. The Master Planning Team will recommend approval to the Executive Facilities Committee, who will recommend approval to the University President, who will advance the LMP to the Board of Trustees for formal approval. LMP Project Approval Process A series of seven steps has been developed to provide a LMP-related process for the review and approval of all maintenance and improvement projects on campus, exterior to buildings, which involve site improvements, land disturbance and/or changes of any kind to the existing campus grounds. This process is to be managed by Facilities Management and every project on campus must adhere to this process regardless of size, location, schedule or budget.
Auburn University Landscape Master Plan, Comprehensive Campus Master Plan Update 2014
Figure 5. Near-term Illustrative Plan from the Comprehensive Campus Master Plan Update 2013
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The Auburn Landscape Regional Context and Location
Historic Growth and Future Development
Auburn University is located in the City of Auburn, an east-central Alabama city situated within Lee County. In 1872, Auburn University, known at the time as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama, became the first public land grant university in the south. Auburn University lies adjacent to Alabama’s “fall line”, a geographic delineation separating the Piedmont Upland and East Gulf Coastal Plains Physiographic regions. Typically, the fall line descriptor represents a unique geographical feature in which harder rock of the Piedmont meet softer rock of the plains. In this case, the Alabama fall line also represents a drastic change in topography and slope. The physiographic conditions at Auburn University have directly informed the development patterns which have shaped today’s campus.
Auburn University’s development, and the evolving place of landscape within the campus, serves as a guide for envisioning how the University may evolve over the next 50 years. The 21st century landscape will continue to densify the campus core, preserve and conserve natural resources, and establish a landscape framework. Utilizing a landscape zone structure, it will guide future growth and development. Future development will be focused within development growth zones identified in the Campus Master Plan Update. This focus will eliminate continued sprawl into the green field, undeveloped parts of campus - protecting them for the Auburn Family’s future generations.
Auburn University, in 2009, was the first college or university in the state of Alabama to receive designation as a Tree Campus USA. Each year, the University seeks to maintain this recognition and has placed a focused importance on tree preservation, analysis and education. A total of 139 different tree species occur across campus - with crape myrtles being the most abundant species at 1,639 trees. Coupled with crape myrtle, four oak species help make up over 40% of the trees on campus.
Auburn’s landscape character is defined by a combination of elements that blend to create a harmonious campus landscape. The land grant heritage (agriculture, forestry, horticulture, etc.) plays a significant role in defining the campus landscape. Auburn’s character has been formed over time by an emphasis on the land and its ties to the education and research mission of the University. Cultural influences also play an important role in shaping the campus landscape. The University’s ties to athletic tradition - in particular Gameday (parking & tailgating), Toomer’s Corner, Tiger Walk, Campus Green and the Recreation and Wellness Center represent these influences. This combination of influences should be celebrated, embraced and reclaimed by appropriate preservation, adaptive re-use and, in select cases, focused efforts to reinstate “lost” landscapes where appropriate.
Native plants are generally described as species which occurred in the region prior to human intervention. The University has done a good job of preserving the native landscape and minimizing the invasion of exotic species. Native species are best suited for local environmental conditions and this characteristic makes them a key component of a sustainable campus. They require less maintenance, less irrigation water and less need for chemical applications. The continued preservation and expansion of native plant species across the Auburn campus is encouraged. As a general observation, the stormwater management system (SWM) at Auburn University represents the evolution of best practice and standards as they have evolved over the past 50 years. Beginning with its significant expansion in the 1960’s, the campus has addressed SWM using a variety of means and methods. The LMP, together with the Post-Construction Stormwater Management Manual, completed in 2013, establishes principles, guidelines and standards for SWM planning and design. This puts in place a comprehensive, best practices stormwater management plan for the campus.
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Defining the Auburn Image and Character
As evidenced in the traditional architectural styling prevalent on campus, Auburn’s character is generally one of unity. Building styles are conservative, human scale and generally consist of brick with limestone detailing and pitched roofs. This consistent sense of scale and materiality helps to create a unified campus image. An increased emphasis on urban ecology should be an essential part of the evolution of Auburn’s campus landscape. Urban ecology involves designing landscapes that reflect increased urbanization while incorporating components of lost or redefined ecological systems. This approach will allow the further blending of cultural and natural landscapes that reinforce the Auburn character.
Auburn University Landscape Master Plan, Comprehensive Campus Master Plan Update 2014
ORGANIZATION AND EVOLUTION OF THE CAMPUS
Figure 6. Pre 1900: land grant, primarily agricultural/natural, village quality
Figure 7. 1900-1949: development of core campus, primarily agricultural/natural
Figure 8. 1949-2005: age of the automobile, rapid expansion + sprawl, fragmented ;landscapes, natural systems ignored + diverted
Figure 9. 2013-future: 21st century landscape, densify core campus, preserve and conserve natural resources
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Landscape Vision Introduction
21st Century Landscape Vision
Landscape Performance and Sustainability
The Auburn University Campus has grown dramatically since its early days as the East Alabama Male College and subsequently as the Alabama Polytechnic Institute. As the first public land grant university in the south to be established separate from a state institution, Auburn has a long history of stewardship for, and cultivation of, the land. That unique heritage continues and is reflected in the character and quality of the Auburn University campus landscape today.
The Vision for the Auburn University landscape is to provide a structure that will shape a beautiful, memorable and enduring pedestrian-oriented campus while reintegrating cultural and natural systems through constructed urban ecologies and restored and revitalized ecosystems.
The Auburn University campus landscape, within each of the zones identified above, must continue to strengthen its core role as essential campus infrastructure. This is achieved by enhancing the campus environment, natural and built, and expanding the landscape’s role in assisting the University to attain a number of sustainability goals outlined in the University’s Climate Action Plan.
The campus landscape is comprised of many interconnected parts and includes elements of both the ecological landscape and the cultural landscape. As a result the campus landscape must be perceived and managed holistically. It is a complex system that should be viewed not simply as a landscape park but rather as a dynamic, multidimensional system – part natural and part constructed. The understanding of the Campus landscape as essential, mission-critical infrastructure must be elevated in both real and perceived value by the entire Auburn University campus community.
The five following campus landscape master plan goals have been developed to help guide the University toward the realization of this Vision for the twenty-first century Auburn University campus landscape.
Implementing the Vision The successful realization of a new vision for Auburn’s campus landscape lies in achieving a sustained, long-term, campus-wide community commitment to implementing that vision. The LMP, through the tools and the processes contained within, provides the basis for implementation of the vision. There are seven levels, or steps, in the implementation structure of the Landscape Master Plan (LMP). The seven levels are: Level 1 – Campus Master Plan Goals & Associated LMP Objectives: Level 2 – Twenty-First Century Campus Landscape Vision
Campus Landscape Master Plan Goals
1. Make Landscapes Expressive Of Auburn 2. Make Landscapes That Celebrate the University’s Land Grant Legacy
4. Make Landscapes Safe and Secure 5. Make Landscapes That Reinforce Campus-Wide Mobility Initiatives Campus Landscape Zones A series of ten (10) campus landscape zones have been identified for the Auburn Campus. These zones are generally based on the Proposed Land Use Plan established within the 2013 Master Plan Update. The Landscape Zones represent specific geographic areas of the campus (See Figure 10) and each zone has a defined set of landscape expectations and requirements. The ten Campus Landscape Zones are: 1. Campus Concourses
Level 4 – Campus Landscape Standards
2. Academic, Housing, Research, Athletics Buildings, and Health Science Sector
Level 5 – Application / Design Recommendations
3. Fraternity
Level 6 – Stormwater Management Plan
4. Service
Strategic Plan and Campus Master Plan Alignment In 2012 the University began two critical, long-term planning processes that were integral to the formation of the Landscape Master Plan. The University initiated both the update to the University’s Strategic Plan and began the process to update the Campus Master Plan.
Landscape Performance Requirements include: Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities; Shade, Biomass and Carbon Sequestration; Stormwater Best Management Practices (BMP’s); Site Lighting; and Invasive Species.
3. Make Landscapes Sustainable
Level 3 – Landscape Zones & Zone Design Requirements
Level 7 – Landscape Project Check-List
In order to ensure substantive progress is made toward achieving a more sustainable campus environment, the Landscape Master Plan defines a set of key landscape performance goals. These goals should be incorporated into the planning, design and construction of each major new campus improvement project and all major University-related operations and maintenance activities. The landscape performance goals are organized into three distinct groups: Requirements, Expectations and Considerations.
Landscape Performance Expectations include: Tree Campus USA; Turf and Other High Maintenance Landscape Areas; Irrigation Potable Water Usage; and Sustainable Materials and Practices. Landscape Performance Considerations include: Eco-agriculture / Integrated Landscape Management; Sustainable Sites; and Integrated Pest Management (IPM).
5. Athletics (Gameday and Fields)/Recreation 6. Field Labs 7. Park 8. Natural Resource Management Area, Water, Floodplain 9. Surface Parking and Roadways
The University first reaffirmed its vision, mission and values during the 2013-2018 Strategic Planning Process. Subsequently and early in the master planning process a series of goals was developed to help guide and inform the University’s Comprehensive Campus Master Plan Update. These goals are intended to reinforce the University’s vision, mission and values. These goals inform the Campus Landscape Master Plan and are coupled with an aspirational statement describing the Landscape Master Plan’s role in supporting the parent Master Plan Goal.
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10. Leased to Third Parties A series of design requirements has been established for each of the Campus Landscape Zones. These requirements are described in greater detail in the LMP. They are intended to be addressed at an appropriate level as each new construction project is initiated on campus and as landscape maintenance and renovation activities are undertaken.
Auburn University Landscape Master Plan, Comprehensive Campus Master Plan Update 2014
PROPOSED LANDSCAPE ZONES
LAND USE PLAN BY CATEGORY
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Figure 9. The Land Use Plan defines the long-term land use categories and general land use areas for the campus. Detailed information on specific uses in each category is provided in the Land Use Zone descriptions.
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Figure 10. The Proposed Landscape Zone Plan builds upon the long-term land use categories to provide a landscape framework in which campus landscape standards can be defined
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Academic (A)
Athletics (AU)
Natural Resource Management Area (NR)
Campus Concourses
Field Lab
Housing (H)
Recreation (R)
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Park
Fraternity (F)
Field Lab (FL)
100-Year Floodplain
Academic, Housing, Research, Athletics (Buildings), Health Science Sector
Research (RE) Health Science Sector (HS) Service (S) Executive Summary
Cultural/Public (C)
Leased to Third Parties
Fraternity
Park (P)
Service
Surface Parking (SP)
Athletic (Gameday / Fields), Recreation
Surface Parking, Roadways Natural Resource Management Areas, 100-Year Floodplain Leased to Third Parties, Cultural, Public
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Landscape Standards
Applying The Standards Across the campus, landscape types vary greatly in terms of function, visibility, scale and utilization. Certain standards are appropriate for use across the entire Auburn University campus. However, other standards will not be appropriate for use in every application. A Landscape Standards Application Matrix (See Figure 11) has been prepared to connect each landscape standard with the landscape use zone(s) in which they can be utilized. As part of any future project on campus, the design team will utilize the matrix to determine the appropriate standards for each particular project site. In addition to the matrix, the LMP provides detailed information pertaining to each landscape standard. The use of these standards will connect appropriate materiality and aesthetics to each site and help to establish the appropriate level of continuity and a consistent “Auburn look� to the campus landscape. Landscape Standards The Landscape Standards cover a wide range of landscape related elements. These include: tree preservation, heritage trees, planting standards, a preferred species list, mulch, stormwater management, site walls, paving, stairs, crossings, tree grates, lighting, site furnishings, bicycle facilities, fencing and bollards. Surface Parking and Roadway Standards Streets and surface parking lots comprise a significant portion of the campus landscape. As a result, a set of standards has also been developed which apply to all campus streets and surface parking lots.
Key Minimum Standard
Leased to Third Parties / Cultural / Public
Surface Parking & Roadways
Natural Resource Management Area, Water, 100-Year Floodplain
Park
Field Labs
Athletic (Game-Day and Fields), Recreation
Service
Fraternity
Academic, Housing, Research, Athletics (Buildings), and Health Science Sector
This set of standards provides a recommended plant materials list, a prohibited species list, and creates a new identifier for special trees on campus - Heritage Trees. The standards also establish appropriate treatments for site walls, paving materials, site furnishings and lighting. In addition, standards are introduced for the future treatment of campus gateways, parking lots and transit stops.
CAMPUS LANDSCAPE ZONE:
A key element in the implementation of the LMP Vision is the ability to achieve consistency in the use of design elements and materiality across the campus. The Campus Landscape Standards provide detailed guidance on the use of those elements and materials. This set of standards will help reinforce the Auburn University campus character by providing consistent treatments throughout campus and increasing the legibility of various open spaces.
Campus Concourses
LANDSCAPE STANDARDS APPLICATION MATRIX
Introduction
LANDSCAPE STANDARDS: Tree Preservation Heritage Trees Preferred Species List Prohibited Species List Stormwater BMP Permeable Paving Bio-retention Enhanced Grass Swales Infiltration Trenches / Dry Wells Regional Detention / Dry Detention Subsurface Detention Site Walls Type A - Brick with Granite Cap Type B - Brick with Precast Cap Type C - Brick with Brick Cap Type D - Concrete Wall Paving Type A - Special Paving Type B - Decorative Brick Patterns Type C - Concourses - Concrete with Brick Bands Type D - Concrete with Brick Bands Type E - Concrete Paving Stairs Special - Granite Standard - Concrete C.I.P. Crossings Type A - Raised Crossing Type B - Paved Crossing Type C - Standard Crossing Detectable Warning Strips Decorative Tree Grates Curbing - Concrete 6" Ht. and 18" Gutter Lighting Type A - Street / Parking Lot Type B - Pedestrian Scale Type C - Lighted Bollard Type D - Recessed Stair Lighting Emergency Call Box
Figure 11. The Proposed Landscape Standards Application Matrix guides future projects by determining which standards are applicable within each landscape zone category.
Allowed with Review Prohibited
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Auburn University Landscape Master Plan, Comprehensive Campus Master Plan Update 2014
Leased to Third Parties / Cultural / Public
Surface Parking & Roadways
Natural Resource Management Area, Water, 100-Year Floodplain
Park
Field Labs
Athletic (Game-Day and Fields), Recreation
Service
Fraternity
Academic, Housing, Research, Athletics (Buildings), and Health Science Sector
Campus Concourses
CAMPUS LANDSCAPE ZONE: Site Furniture Benches Type A - Standard Victor Stanley with Bronzed Finish Type B - Backless Victor Stanley with Bronzed Finish Type C - Specialty Victor Stanley with Grey Finish Picnic Table - Backless Victor Stanley with Bronzed Finish Table Ensemble - Center Post Victor Stanley with Bronzed Finish Non-Fixed Seating - Land Forms with Metallic Bronze Litter Receptacles - Victor Stanely with Bronze Finish and Tavern Corner Green Finish Hot Coal Bin - High Temp Enamel Paint Finish Bicycle Storage Bike Shelter - Covered with Architecture to Match Adjacent Buildings Rack - Single or Double-Sided per Required Spaces. Fencing / Barriers Ornamental - Guard Rail or Fencing with Square Steel Railing with Bronze Finish Standard - Chain Link Fence with Black Finish Maintenance Area Screening Brick Screen Wall Privacy Slats - Black to Match Chain Link Fence Decorative Bollards - Bronze Finish per Campus Standards Post and Chain - Decorative Ball Top with Bronze Finish Rail - Bronze Finish Transit Stops Type A - Decorative Shelter with Architecture to Match Adjacent Buildings Type B - Standard Shelter Type C - Standard Bench Stop Parking Lots Type A - Campus Core Parking Lots - Smaller & Formal for Close Proximity Access Type B - Efficiency Parking Lots - Larger Expansive for Outside Campus Core Type C - Gravel Parking Lots - Typically on Outskirts of Campus
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Post-Construction Stormwater Management Introduction
Stormwater Best Management Practices Implementation
A discussion about campus landscape vision and standards is not complete without the inclusion of stormwater management goals. Every campus landscape improvement project must include stormwater best management practices (BMP) in their design. If this approach is applied consistently, on a project by project basis, long-term benefits to the campus will include increased flood protection, resource protection, regulatory compliance, aesthetic enhancement and educational benefits.
The goal of the Campus Landscape Master Plan is to improve the character and increase the use of vegetation across the campus. Many stormwater best management practices (BMPs) include using vegetation. Often the only difference between a landscaped island and a stormwater management BMP is that in order to improve stormwater management, the landscape island would be designed as a depression to encourage more stormwater to collect there. By integrating landscape planning and stormwater management planning, the University can achieve their goal of having a cohesive landscape plan and meet the regulatory requirements of protecting Parkerson Mill Creek at the same time and with the same practices.
This section of the plan shows how various BMP’s can be utilized within the landscape to manage stormwater and ultimately restore the stream corridor to its natural conditions. This can take many forms including visible treatments like pervious pavement, bio-retention and wet detention basins, and non-visible approaches such as stormwater collection cisterns and infiltration cells. In addition to stormwater, this section offers guidance for erosion and sedimentation control and sustainable maintenance practices. Stormwater Conditions at Auburn University In most highly developed areas across the country, stormwater is piped and discharged into local streams at faster rates, higher volumes and increased levels of contamination than if some of the runoff had naturally infiltrated into the soils. This is the case at Auburn University, where much of the original Parkerson Mill Creek and its tributaries are now piped beneath the campus urban core. The current system has become outdated and its increased discharge rates are causing significant impacts to the stream corridor. See Figure 12 for the Existing Stormwater Drainage System Diagram.
Stormwater BMPs can range from vegetated practices to maintenance guidelines. Table 5-2 outlines BMPs which have been selected as appropriate for Auburn University. They are divided into structural practices (post construction and construction related) and nonstructural practices (educational, operation and maintenance and program/evaluations). The Table provides a brief description of the practice, the stormwater management goal it supports, and if available, the estimated pollutant removal of the practice based on the best available local resource data. The overall goal of any stormwater BMPs proposed for Auburn University is to improve the quality and reduce the quantity of stormwater reaching Parkerson Mill Creek and other water resources in Auburn.
Stormwater Management Integrated Goals Goals of the Auburn University stormwater management program include the following key components: 1. Safe Stormwater Conveyance and Flood Protection 2. Stormwater Runoff Quality Control 3. Stormwater Runoff Volume Reduction 4. Regulatory Compliance 5. Local Collaboration 6. Education and Outreach 7. Standardization of Stormwater Best Management Practices 8. Standardization of Operation and Maintenance Guidelines 9. Formalization and implementation of a Stormwater Site Plan Review Process 10. Integrated Data Management and Record keeping
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Auburn University Landscape Master Plan, Comprehensive Campus Master Plan Update 2014
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Design Recommendations Corridor Assessment and Design Recommendations The Landscape Master Plan provides, in Section 6, a thorough assessment of Auburn University’s key campus corridor network and makes preliminary design recommendations for potential landscape interventions along these corridors. The campus corridors’ framework is divided into three classifications: primary, secondary and tertiary. The corridors are listed below:
5 Magnolia Ave
Primary (see Figure 13) 1. College Street 2. Mell Street
6 Thach Ave
4. Donahue Drive
4 Donahue Dr
1.1 Tiger Concourse at Magnolia Avenue
5. Magnolia Avenue 6. Thach Avenue and Concourse 7. Parkerson Mill Creek
3 Concourse
3. The Concourses (Ginn, Haley, Duggar and Roosevelt)
2 Mell St
8. Duncan Drive and P.O. Davis Drive 9. Wire Road 10. Samford Avenue
1 College St
Secondary
11. Lem Morrison Drive Tertiary 12. Biggio Drive 13. Hemlock Drive
7 Parkerson Mill Creek
14. War Eagle Way 15. Heisman Drive *Note: College Street and Magnolia Avenue are not property of Auburn University; however, these corridors are of great significance to the function and aesthetic of the campus landscape. Each corridor section includes an assessment of the existing condition, in diagrammatic form, and offers a series of potential design enhancements for consideration and incorporation into a future campus improvement project. These design concepts also include suggestions on how landscape guidelines and standards contained within the LMP might be applied to future projects on the campus.
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Figure 13. The Primary Corridors Diagram.
Auburn University Landscape Master Plan, Comprehensive Campus Master Plan Update 2014
Detailed Focus Areas A series of focus areas on campus were selected for greater in-depth analysis to further illustrate recommendations for future landscape design and development. Detailed plans for these areas provide a better understanding of how the Campus Landscape Master Plan, landscape vision and guidelines are to be applied at the project level. These focus area plans also offer the University a tool for University administrators to evaluate future design proposals in these areas. The focus areas include: Samford Park, the Academic Success Center, Parkerson Mill Creek and Thach Concourse. Samford Park is the front door to campus and includes iconic elements at Toomer’s Corner and Samford Hall. Currently the park denies access to available open spaces and shaded seating with the overuse of understory planting along pathways. The proposed solution opens up the ground plane to encourage students to embrace and more actively utilize this front campus gem. See Figure 14 for a view of the proposed improvements. The Academic Success Center will ultimately provide much needed classroom space at the southern edge of the campus’ urban core. This development will bring with it many exciting landscape vision opportunities including the potential to restore natural ecological processes to the campus core. This focus area plan reintroduces Parkerson Mill Creek and its hydrologic processes as a celebrated centerpiece of the proposed facilities. Figure 15 shows a proposed view of the courtyard area.
Figure 14. Proposed view of Samford Park
Figure 15. Proposed perspective into the Academic Success Center courtyard
Figure 16. Proposed improvements along a restored Parkerson Mill Creek
Figure 17. Proposed view down Thach Concourse
Parkerson Mill Creek existed long before there was an Auburn University. It is an important natural system which has been severely degraded over the years. Fortunately, the University now recognizes its value and plans to preserve, protect and enhance it in coming years. To further demonstrate the importance of returning the Parkerson Mill Creek corridor as a central feature on campus, a portion of Parkerson Mill Creek has been analyzed on a focus area level. This area highlights how a key stretch of Parkerson Mill Creek, near the intersection of Biggio Drive and Samford Avenue, can be modified to create a restored stream with nearby park and trail features. See Figure 16 for a view of the proposed improvements. Thach Concourse acts as the major East/West pedestrian corridor connecting much of the campus’ urban core. Recently closed to vehicular travel, this portion of the concourse is lacking in pedestrian friendly design amenities. The concourse currently exhibits an absence of shade, a large amount of impervious surface, a lack of clear definition of the promenade, and a shortage of comfortable gathering spaces. Potential improvements to the concourse include the introduction of stormwater management systems, shade trees to define the path and a series of gathering spaces along the corridor. Figure 17 shows a re-envisioned Thach Concourse.
Executive Summary
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Auburn University Landscape Master Plan, Comprehensive Campus Master Plan Update 2014