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7 Suitability Analysis For this report a final suitability analysis of the site was conducted. In total, 10 different factors were considered: six of these factors were natural environment constraints and five of these factors were built environment constraints. Each of these factors is furthered detailed in their respective sections below. 7.1 NATURAL ENVIRONMENT FACTORS The six natural environmental factors that were considered are: •
Parks & Green Space
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Wildfire Response Index
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Floodplains
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Wetlands
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Soil Conditions
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Slope
Wetlands and floodplains are the most important environmental constraints that we considered. The City of Austin prohibits development entirely within the 25-year floodplain and severely restricts development within the 100-year floodplain. Thus development within these areas will be almost entirely prohibited. Because 11% of the study site falls within the 100-year floodplain that land be not be able to be developed. Additionally, wetlands are environmentally sensitive areas that should not be developed. In terms of soil, the majority of the site is Houston Black Clay or other, similar prime farmland soils. Thus, an additional constraint was placed on our model in attempt to avoid development in prime farmlands whenever possible. Wildfire Figure 13: Natural Environment Factors
BCPS Associates
