Topic: Environment

Revise subdivision regulations to include connectivity standards and guidelines that require greater street connectivity, and provide allowances for pedestrian and bicycle connections when street connectivity cannot be made.

Establish access management requirements that limit driveways on arterials and collectors and increase connections between uses to improve safety and traffic efficiency.

Change subdivision regulations to determine the number of entries into a residential development based on number of lots in order to improve connectivity of the roadway network and emergency response.

In order to accommodate desires for large-lot development in Urban Reserve areas, implement innovative techniques such as build-through acreages (otherwise known as shadow platting or ghost platting) that permit interim large-lot development of a site or a portion of a site with a master plan that achieves an overall future density target for urban development.

Prioritize and concentrate development where facilities, infrastructure, and services have capacity and in areas where the Police and Fire Departments are best able to respond. Guide the location and timing of development through the proactive and strategic installation of infrastructure.

Use one or more of the following methods to ensure infrastructure and facility capacities are adequate for proposed development:

• Ongoing master planning to determine the necessary water, sewer, and road infrastructure to serve development.
• An impact fee system that collects funds for specific areas as they develop and installs needed infrastructure in a timely manner.
• Use of special service districts to ensure appropriate levels of service, sufficient revenue, and timely installation of infrastructure and facilities for each district.
• Require developers to construct or fully fund infrastructure or other improvements needed to serve their development, with reasonable accommodation for future adjacent or nearby development.
• Require developers to wait until the City (or the State as the case may be) constructs the infrastructure needed to serve their development.
• For development proposed in areas not currently within one-half mile of existing water infrastructure, require a service area study to first be completed to determine the best method for providing water to the service area.

For development proposed in areas not currently within a sanitary sewer drainage basin, a drainage basin study should first be completed to determine the best method for sanitary sewer service.

Preserve existing rural residential character while pursuing optimal use of existing infrastructure in rural areas.

Ensure that development in rural areas is consistent with local design and scale and does not detract from the open character of the landscape.

Support limited amounts of commercial in rural areas appropriate to the needs of rural residents and passersby. Commercial uses in rural areas should be located in small clusters either on uninterrupted arterials or at freeway interchanges.

Adopt subdivision regulations that ensure new neighborhoods meet the basic needs of residents while supporting an efficient development pattern. Regulations should cover:

• Open space (passive and active),
• Demonstration of sustainable funding levels for common area and facility maintenance costs,
• Walkability and bikeability,
• Internal and external street connectivity,
• Block length,
• Integration of uses,
• Integration of a variety of home sizes,
• Integration of a variety of unit types, and
• Preservation of Environmentally Sensitive Areas.

Regulations could be based on a point scale to allow flexibility, while still requiring basic minimum thresholds be met.
New regulations should remove the existing requirement for development in Rural LUTAs to connect to water and sewer systems and establish a minimum one-acre lot size for lots with on-site sewer treatment.

Pursue grants, partnerships, and programs that accomplish the following:

• Restore tree stands and wildlife habitats in environmentally sensitive areas.
• Acquire land or establish conservation easements in environmentally sensitive areas to reserve as permanent open space and protect wildlife and habitat.
• Establish a comprehensive habitat management program.
• Provide education and resources for proper use of pesticides and fertilizers, with special focus on encouraging integrated pest management and organic practices.
• Provide education about land management practices that address fire suppression, invasive species, use of herbicides/pesticides, and overgrazing.
• Promote the economic and aesthetic value of preserving Oklahoma City’s natural resources such as riparian areas, Cross Timbers forest, grasslands/prairie, bottomland forests, and wetlands.

Avoid under-grounding streams to the greatest extent possible. Where feasible, encourage the re-surfacing of buried streams. Limit the use of culverts or other structures that alter natural streams, and require designs that minimize impacts to stream health and function.

Using performance standards related to flow quantity, quality, and pattern, modify development regulations, codes, and policies to support the use of green infrastructure/low impact development techniques to mimic natural systems for developments within aquifer recharge zones with moderate or high vulnerability or in areas where streams and riparian areas have been channelized or developed (primarily in the Downtown, UH, and UM LUTAs). Low impact development techniques include but are not limited to:

• Onsite treating or filtering of stormwater contaminants.
• Discharging run-off as sheet-flow after passing through grassy or vegetated open space areas, rather than discharging run-off through concentrated outfalls.
• Creating attractive open space amenities that double as stormwater detention, retention, and / or filtering systems.
• Utilizing pervious pavement, pavers, or asphalt in appropriate locations (i.e. sidewalks, parking spaces, trails, patios, etc.).
• Utilizing planters (at grade or raised), vegetated landscape strips adjacent to roads and parking areas, and alternative curbing designs (allowing stormwater to easily move from impervious areas to pervious areas), to encourage stormwater infiltration and temporary detention.
• Rain Gardens
• Bioswales
• Green streets and alleys
• Green roofs
• Rooftop collection
• Underground detention
• Increased tree canopy preservation/tree planting
• Land/open space conservation
• Cluster development

Establish development regulations to help protect Oklahoma City’s water resources through standards that:

• Require buffers, setbacks, and vegetation conservation requirements to protect riparian and littoral zones and filter waterborne pollutants from development activities and storm water runoff. Buffer widths should be based on water quality function and wildlife habitat needs.
• Encourage natural drainage systems and methods for onsite infiltration and onsite sediment retention.
• Require new developments to maintain or decrease the site’s pre-development runoff rate.
• Allow low-impact development design features such as pervious pavement, rain gardens, landscaped parkways, and alternative curbing designs.
• Reduce the amount of impervious surfaces allowed in buffer zones around Environmentally Sensitive Areas.
• Restore watershed features such as forest, wetlands, and natural stream channels.

Revise policies, codes and development regulations to reduce the risk of damage resulting from flooding and preserve water quality and stream related habitat by avoiding alterations to the 100-year floodplain (as depicted on the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map). Allow these areas to remain in their natural state to the greatest extent possible. Revised policies should allow positive alterations, such as restoration of natural riparian areas with appropriate vegetation.

Preserve wetlands in their natural state to the greatest extent possible to increase water quality, minimize quantity of runoff, and increase groundwater recharge. Maintain wetland headwaters and avoid the alteration of surface or subsurface drainage patterns that would eliminate, reduce, or severely alter the frequency and volume of water entering wetland areas.

Develop a comprehensive watershed management strategy that identifies programs, partnerships, actions, and incentives that the City and partners can take to protect the city’s water resources and aquatic areas. The strategy should address the following:

• Creation of a Stormwater Master Plan.
• Update to the City’s sediment control program and establishment of performance measures.
• Coordinated watershed restoration projects.
• Preparation and implementation of Small Watershed Action Plans (SWAPs) and participation in studies to identify needs and opportunities for stream restoration, wetland creation and restoration, and storm water management.
• Identification of opportunities to create wetlands to offset construction and other land development impacts.
• Identification and utilization of “receiving lands” that can absorb storm surge overflows.
• Public education on how to conserve water and minimize chemicals, pathogens, sediment, and nutrients in urban and rural watersheds.
• Acquisition and protection of greenways, river buffers and flood prone areas.

Evaluate the City’s stormwater detention/retention requirements, including the current fee-in-lieu of program, and compare to current best management practices. Based on findings, modify codes, policies and development regulations to update stormwater detention/retention requirements. These requirements should focus on:

• Reducing the risks of property damage due to flooding.
• Managing runoff rates and minimizing stream bank erosion by ensuring that post-development runoff rates do not exceed pre-development rates, even in areas where risks of flooding have historically been low.
• Maintaining surface water quality by managing the release of the first flush stormwater volume in order to encourage settling and filtering of particle and chemical pollutants before releasing water into adjacent water bodies.

Revise development regulations to require the following factors to be addressed in development and redevelopment proposals:

• Preservation of existing natural resources, such as wooded areas, habitat areas, and floodplains.
• Utilization of natural treatments and methods to stabilize or rehabilitate stream and river banks as a means to preserve downstream habitats.
• Integration of a variety of native or compatible non-native, non-invasive plant species.
• Mitigation of impacts of development on habitat, wildlife corridors, riparian and littoral areas, and water quality, through actions such as restoration or re-vegetation of disturbed natural areas and replacement of trees/habitat on-site or off-site.
• Management of invasive plant and animal species.
• Management and maintenance of natural areas, common areas and drainage areas.
• Impact on surface and groundwater supply.
• Impact on water quality caused by land uses and activities.
• Impacts on floodplains, riparian and littoral areas and wetlands and areas with significant landforms.

In areas where standard on-site wastewater systems are not feasible (such as in areas with shallow or poor soils), require very low-density development or development that utilizes conservation design and a centralized treatment facility or other environmentally sensitive systems for wastewater treatment.

Develop a manual of best management practices that can be integrated into City codes. These include, but are not limited to:

• Tree care and management.
• Tree planting.
• Tree protection.
• Street trees (location, conflicts, maintenance, etc. – in addition to general tree care guidelines).
• Placement of utilities (e.g., under streets vs. under park strips)
• Low impact development techniques.
• Habitat protection and restoration.
• Conservation easements and/or subdivisions.

Revise the landscape ordinance to include the following:

• Define terms such as invasive species, exotic/non-native species, and native/indigenous species
• Require removal of invasive species from existing sites, and prohibit such species from being planted or maintained in new development.
• Provide a reference list of native plants and drought-tolerant plants.
• Provide incentives for using native and drought-tolerant plants and disincentives for using high-water plants and turf grass.
• Establish requirements for using design practices that minimize the need for supplemental irrigation.

Preserve natural habitat, maintain wildlife food sources, and reduce the risk of propagating invasive plant species by utilizing vegetation native to Oklahoma, preferably central Oklahoma, for all mitigation and habitat restoration efforts associated with new development and redevelopment projects, public and private, to the greatest extent possible.

Establish an Urban Forestry Program and City Urban Forester position to achieve the following:

• Measure and monitor tree canopy coverage and habitat on a regular basis so that any policies, programs, and regulations may be adjusted accordingly as situations change. Establish a process to maintain current data.
• Develop and maintain regulations, policies, processes, and programs that focus on protection and preservation of native trees.
• Provide assistance with proper tree selection, location, and maintenance to prevent power outages, reduce property damage, and coordinate emergency response during natural disaster events (excessive snow and ice, tornadoes, etc.), address the urban heat island effect, and reduce energy costs, etc.
• Establish programs such as tree give-aways, neighborhood planting programs, and education workshops.
• Provide resources to the public about tree selection, management, and care.
• Seek grant funding for community tree planting to improve City parks, publicly maintained rights-of-way and other areas of the city.
• Inventory the City’s street trees and develop a tree replacement program.
• Partner with volunteer and nonprofit organizations to recruit volunteers for tree planting and maintenance and to coordinate community-wide tree planting efforts.

Develop and adopt a tree preservation ordinance that achieves the following:

• Defines methods of preservation;
• Defines situations where preservation of trees is mandatory versus optional;
• Establishes incentives for tree preservation;
• Establishes mitigation options if preservation cannot be accomplished; and
• Establishes penalties for unauthorized tree removal.

Preserve mature healthy trees and incorporate them into the design of new development or redevelopment projects to the greatest extent possible. Include provisions and best management practices to ensure proper tree protection throughout the construction process. Best management practices include but are not limited to:

• The use of proper pruning techniques;
• Appropriate watering;
• Installation of protective fencing at the drip lines of trees or groups of trees;
• Designated material storage areas; and
• Approved equipment and vehicle parking and maintenance areas.

Provide the public with resources, tools, and guidance to deal with environmental hazards, such as:

• Information about safe disposal options for household contaminants such as motor oils, paints, computers, televisions, batteries, etc.
• Information on environmental hazards, such as brownfield sites.
• Information about funds available to assist with environmental cleanups.

Modify development and subdivision regulations, and City policies to minimize alteration of natural landforms and native vegetation and maximize retention of distinctive natural features for public and private projects.

Coordinate with local, regional, and State agencies to pursue initiatives and regulations that help reduce automobile emissions, such as:

• Transitioning commercial and City fleets to alternative-fueled and hybrid vehicles;
• Determining the feasibility of an idling restriction ordinance for all vehicles.

Establish development regulations that help improve air quality, including:

• Specifying construction controls that reduce airborne dust;
• Increasing landscaping and tree planting to absorb carbon dioxide and air pollutants; and
• Encouraging development patterns and densities that support alternative modes of transportation in the urban LUTAs.

Promote improved air quality and reduced ground-level ozone levels by developing a public education program that will inform residents about the air quality benefits of:

• Proper automobile maintenance
• Proper maintenance and use of gas-powered lawn and garden equipment
• Limiting car idling times
• Alternative fuels
• Alternative / active transportation modes (public transit, walking, biking, car-sharing, etc.)
• Reducing vehicle-miles traveled (VMT)
• Employer sponsored emission reduction programs (carpooling, work from home, telecommuting, etc.)
• Native landscaping (requiring less maintenance)
• Energy efficient housing / buildings

Establish strategies, procedures and policies for City construction projects to achieve higher energy efficiency, including:

• Implementing an energy management plan for City facilities.
• Monitoring energy consumption of City facilities, tracking conservation progress, and communicating results to City administrators, employees, elected officials and the public.
• Assessing water use in City facilities to identify opportunities for conservation and implement appropriate measures.

Partner with agencies, non-profits, and private entities to:

• Implement a sustainable development online forum – an educational and networking resource that will inform the public about local opportunities and the benefits of sustainable development while increasing builder and developer participation.
• Educate citizens on energy and water conservation opportunities both at work and at home.
• Encourage appropriate re-use and reclamation of water in new development and redevelopment to reduce the reliance on potable water use.
• Provide detailed cost-benefit information about green building practices to encourage increased use of such practices in Oklahoma City.
• Reduce reliance on electricity produced by fossil fuel by encouraging the use of renewable energy sources in new development and redevelopment.
• Explore mechanisms (incentives, regulations, programs) to divert demolition debris from landfills and redirect to facilities that can reuse these materials.
• Establish a promotion/award program to showcase innovative development that utilizes low-impact development practices and energy-efficient building techniques / equipment, conserves riparian buffers, and extends greenway networks with hiking/biking trails.

Preserve overall landscape character and natural landforms (rolling hills, native vegetation, etc.) to the greatest extent possible.

Increase the amount of biodiversity-rich green space in urban and suburban areas by:

• Integrating vegetation to support biodiversity in parks, gardens, trails, and green roofs. Native vegetation that provides food and habitat for native wildlife such as “micro prairies” and urban forests will have the greatest effect.
• Encouraging optimal mowing practices on large lots that are adjacent to natural features.

Enrich natural biodiversity in agricultural areas by promoting practices that provide food, water, and habitat for wildlife and minimize negative impacts. Strategies to achieve the goal include:

• Working with farmers, rancher, conservationists, sustainable agricultural organizations, and other stakeholders to develop a plan to conserve nature in farming and ranching landscapes.
• Implementing optimal mowing strategies, which include harvesting grasses at a growing height of 10 plus inches; creating early successional habitat with burning, disking, and haying every 3-5 years; mowing from the center of a field outward to allow wildlife to escape the surrounding areas; adding flushing bars to mowing equipment to minimize bird injuries and death; leaving 4-6 inches of stubble after harvest to capture snow and water; harvesting or mowing after first frost to avoid disturbing bird nests and improve grass quality; and leaving portions of fields as standing crops.
• Increasing nesting habitat.
• Adopting best practices for fertilizer and pesticide applications.
• Developing landscape conservation cooperatives.
• Encouraging grassland ranching as an ecologically beneficial alternative to cultivation, particularly practices such as “mob grazing” that mimic natural grazing patterns.
• Promoting ranching of bison, which benefit conservation efforts by dispersing seeds, increasing plant biodiversity, and enhancing groundwater recharge.
• Restoring grassland on previously cultivated landscapes, particularly in buffer zones near natural features.
• Encouraging and supporting agricultural parks that combine recreation and food production and foster appreciation for agricultural heritage.
• Promoting sustainable intensification, which increases production and profitability while providing rich sources of habitat for biodiversity.

Protect and preserve natural resources, by:

• Identifying and mapping valuable natural resources, such as, native prairies.
• Maintaining a comprehensive inventory and assessment of natural resources and critical habitats.
• Identifying opportunities to create an interconnected green infrastructure network throughout and beyond Oklahoma City’s municipal boundaries via existing trail and greenway projects, parks, stream corridors, and natural areas.
• Seeking the voluntary sale of land or dedication of conservation easements on private land that is identified as critical habitat or is necessary to link wildlife corridors.
• Pursuing protection of strategically identified natural areas by placing them in conservation easements or land banks, and reserving them for future use as open space and passive recreational areas.
• Managing invasive plant and animal species.
• Partnering with applicable State agencies and non-profit entities.

Strive to preserve natural open spaces, including native prairies, and re-plant native vegetation to take advantage of their drought tolerance and deep root structures that slow and adsorb stormwater runoff and reduce erosion by anchoring the soil.

Identify and protect critical habitats for state and federally listed threatened or endangered species.

Establish strategies, procedures and policies that prevent degradation or loss of critical habitat and sensitive areas, such as Cross Timbers, upland forests, wetlands, wildlife corridors, groundwater recharge zones, and riparian areas. Protection methods should ensure that placement of lots, alignment of roads, and installation of structures and infrastructure minimize disturbance of the environmentally sensitive areas using tools such as:

• Directing development to appropriate locations;
• Greenbelt preservation;
• Assurance of no development in protected open space;
• Clustering / conservation subdivisions;
• Pervious surface treatments;
• Density transfers; and/or
• Conservation easements.

Ensure that strategies, procedures, and policies incorporate principles of connectivity, minimal fragmentation, representativeness, and heterogeneity.

Modify codes to allow residential clustering in rural land use typology areas, provided water supply and sewage disposal requirements are met, and permanently preserve nearby open space through means such as conservation easements.

Adopt subdivision regulations that ensure new neighborhoods meet the basic needs of residents while supporting an efficient development pattern. Regulations should cover:

• Open space (passive and active),
• Demonstration of sustainable funding levels for common area and facility maintenance costs,
• Walkability and bikeability,
• Internal and external street connectivity,
• Block length,
• Integration of uses,
• Integration of a variety of home sizes,
• Integration of a variety of unit types, and
• Preservation of Environmentally Sensitive Areas.

Regulations could be based on a point scale to allow flexibility, while still requiring basic minimum thresholds be met.
New regulations should remove the existing requirement for development in Rural LUTAs to connect to water and sewer systems and establish a minimum one-acre lot size for lots with on-site sewer treatment.

Maintain the traditional grid street pattern where it currently exists, reconnect it where possible, and keep alleys open and functioning. When improving older streets in neighborhoods, maintain original street widths and curb radii.

Improve the functionality and efficiency of the street network by:

• Providing direct connections from residential developments to nearby places and to each other.
• Providing street and sidewalk stubs to adjacent vacant land in anticipation of future development.
• Connecting new development to existing street and sidewalk stubs, and to existing trail, open space, and bicycle networks.
• Reducing block sizes and use of dead-end streets.
• Maintaining the existing street grid to preserve connectivity and mobility options.

Revise subdivision regulations to include connectivity standards and guidelines that require greater street connectivity, and provide allowances for pedestrian and bicycle connections when street connectivity cannot be made.

Change subdivision regulations to determine the number of entries into a residential development based on number of lots in order to improve connectivity of the roadway network and emergency response.

Maintain existing alleys or construct new alleys where feasible to provide trash collection service and parking behind primary buildings and minimize curb cuts along the primary street frontage.

Target specific areas of the city for enhanced safety and proactive enforcement. Selection of target areas will be informed by the Intelligence Led Policing program, with coordinated involvement from Police, Code Enforcement, Public Works Department, Planning, and community-based organizations.

Evaluate development proposals to assess design components that contribute to or detract from safety and analyze emergency response capacity and capability.

Pursue grants, partnerships, and programs that accomplish the following:

• Restore tree stands and wildlife habitats in environmentally sensitive areas.
• Acquire land or establish conservation easements in environmentally sensitive areas to reserve as permanent open space and protect wildlife and habitat.
• Establish a comprehensive habitat management program.
• Provide education and resources for proper use of pesticides and fertilizers, with special focus on encouraging integrated pest management and organic practices.
• Provide education about land management practices that address fire suppression, invasive species, use of herbicides/pesticides, and overgrazing.
• Promote the economic and aesthetic value of preserving Oklahoma City’s natural resources such as riparian areas, Cross Timbers forest, grasslands/prairie, bottomland forests, and wetlands.

Support and incentivize the adaptive use of existing buildings, infill development, and brownfield development.

Establish development regulations to help protect Oklahoma City’s water resources through standards that:

• Require buffers, setbacks, and vegetation conservation requirements to protect riparian and littoral zones and filter waterborne pollutants from development activities and storm water runoff. Buffer widths should be based on water quality function and wildlife habitat needs.
• Encourage natural drainage systems and methods for onsite infiltration and onsite sediment retention.
• Require new developments to maintain or decrease the site’s pre-development runoff rate.
• Allow low-impact development design features such as pervious pavement, rain gardens, landscaped parkways, and alternative curbing designs.
• Reduce the amount of impervious surfaces allowed in buffer zones around Environmentally Sensitive Areas.
• Restore watershed features such as forest, wetlands, and natural stream channels.

Establish incentives such as a simplified permitting process, reduced application fees, and special recognition for projects that:

• Utilize best management practices or other low-impact development methods for storm water management.
• Bring buried streams to the surface and restore riparian habitat.
• Install bridge systems instead of culverts for stream crossings to help maintain the natural ecosystem associated with the stream.

Revise policies, codes and development regulations to reduce the risk of damage resulting from flooding and preserve water quality and stream related habitat by avoiding alterations to the 100-year floodplain (as depicted on the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map). Allow these areas to remain in their natural state to the greatest extent possible. Revised policies should allow positive alterations, such as restoration of natural riparian areas with appropriate vegetation.

Preserve wetlands in their natural state to the greatest extent possible to increase water quality, minimize quantity of runoff, and increase groundwater recharge. Maintain wetland headwaters and avoid the alteration of surface or subsurface drainage patterns that would eliminate, reduce, or severely alter the frequency and volume of water entering wetland areas.

Develop a comprehensive watershed management strategy that identifies programs, partnerships, actions, and incentives that the City and partners can take to protect the city’s water resources and aquatic areas. The strategy should address the following:

• Creation of a Stormwater Master Plan.
• Update to the City’s sediment control program and establishment of performance measures.
• Coordinated watershed restoration projects.
• Preparation and implementation of Small Watershed Action Plans (SWAPs) and participation in studies to identify needs and opportunities for stream restoration, wetland creation and restoration, and storm water management.
• Identification of opportunities to create wetlands to offset construction and other land development impacts.
• Identification and utilization of “receiving lands” that can absorb storm surge overflows.
• Public education on how to conserve water and minimize chemicals, pathogens, sediment, and nutrients in urban and rural watersheds.
• Acquisition and protection of greenways, river buffers and flood prone areas.

Revise development regulations to require the following factors to be addressed in development and redevelopment proposals:

• Preservation of existing natural resources, such as wooded areas, habitat areas, and floodplains.
• Utilization of natural treatments and methods to stabilize or rehabilitate stream and river banks as a means to preserve downstream habitats.
• Integration of a variety of native or compatible non-native, non-invasive plant species.
• Mitigation of impacts of development on habitat, wildlife corridors, riparian and littoral areas, and water quality, through actions such as restoration or re-vegetation of disturbed natural areas and replacement of trees/habitat on-site or off-site.
• Management of invasive plant and animal species.
• Management and maintenance of natural areas, common areas and drainage areas.
• Impact on surface and groundwater supply.
• Impact on water quality caused by land uses and activities.
• Impacts on floodplains, riparian and littoral areas and wetlands and areas with significant landforms.

In areas where standard on-site wastewater systems are not feasible (such as in areas with shallow or poor soils), require very low-density development or development that utilizes conservation design and a centralized treatment facility or other environmentally sensitive systems for wastewater treatment.

Develop a manual of best management practices that can be integrated into City codes. These include, but are not limited to:

• Tree care and management.
• Tree planting.
• Tree protection.
• Street trees (location, conflicts, maintenance, etc. – in addition to general tree care guidelines).
• Placement of utilities (e.g., under streets vs. under park strips)
• Low impact development techniques.
• Habitat protection and restoration.
• Conservation easements and/or subdivisions.

Revise the landscape ordinance to include the following:

• Define terms such as invasive species, exotic/non-native species, and native/indigenous species
• Require removal of invasive species from existing sites, and prohibit such species from being planted or maintained in new development.
• Provide a reference list of native plants and drought-tolerant plants.
• Provide incentives for using native and drought-tolerant plants and disincentives for using high-water plants and turf grass.
• Establish requirements for using design practices that minimize the need for supplemental irrigation.

Preserve natural habitat, maintain wildlife food sources, and reduce the risk of propagating invasive plant species by utilizing vegetation native to Oklahoma, preferably central Oklahoma, for all mitigation and habitat restoration efforts associated with new development and redevelopment projects, public and private, to the greatest extent possible.

Establish an Urban Forestry Program and City Urban Forester position to achieve the following:

• Measure and monitor tree canopy coverage and habitat on a regular basis so that any policies, programs, and regulations may be adjusted accordingly as situations change. Establish a process to maintain current data.
• Develop and maintain regulations, policies, processes, and programs that focus on protection and preservation of native trees.
• Provide assistance with proper tree selection, location, and maintenance to prevent power outages, reduce property damage, and coordinate emergency response during natural disaster events (excessive snow and ice, tornadoes, etc.), address the urban heat island effect, and reduce energy costs, etc.
• Establish programs such as tree give-aways, neighborhood planting programs, and education workshops.
• Provide resources to the public about tree selection, management, and care.
• Seek grant funding for community tree planting to improve City parks, publicly maintained rights-of-way and other areas of the city.
• Inventory the City’s street trees and develop a tree replacement program.
• Partner with volunteer and nonprofit organizations to recruit volunteers for tree planting and maintenance and to coordinate community-wide tree planting efforts.

Develop and adopt a tree preservation ordinance that achieves the following:

• Defines methods of preservation;
• Defines situations where preservation of trees is mandatory versus optional;
• Establishes incentives for tree preservation;
• Establishes mitigation options if preservation cannot be accomplished; and
• Establishes penalties for unauthorized tree removal.

Provide the public with resources, tools, and guidance to deal with environmental hazards, such as:

• Information about safe disposal options for household contaminants such as motor oils, paints, computers, televisions, batteries, etc.
• Information on environmental hazards, such as brownfield sites.
• Information about funds available to assist with environmental cleanups.

Pursue methods to reduce the impact of the urban heat island effect on Oklahoma City by:

• Establishing a minimum canopy coverage requirement over paved surfaces such as parking lots.
• Instating a “continuous canopy” requirement for new streets and street reconstruction projects.
• Promoting the use of building and roofing materials that reduce heat island effects.

Modify development and subdivision regulations, and City policies to minimize alteration of natural landforms and native vegetation and maximize retention of distinctive natural features for public and private projects.

Establish development regulations that help improve air quality, including:

• Specifying construction controls that reduce airborne dust;
• Increasing landscaping and tree planting to absorb carbon dioxide and air pollutants; and
• Encouraging development patterns and densities that support alternative modes of transportation in the urban LUTAs.

Develop an enforcement mechanism for the City’s Building Energy Code. Develop a healthy building code to support construction of durable, health-promoting and energy efficient buildings that incorporate proven green development practices, locally-sourced and environmentally responsible materials, water conservation fixtures, innovative design and construction techniques, and low waste construction practices. Incentivize their use with shorter approval procedures, priority permits and inspections, and reduced fees.

Partner with agencies, non-profits, and private entities to:

• Implement a sustainable development online forum – an educational and networking resource that will inform the public about local opportunities and the benefits of sustainable development while increasing builder and developer participation.
• Educate citizens on energy and water conservation opportunities both at work and at home.
• Encourage appropriate re-use and reclamation of water in new development and redevelopment to reduce the reliance on potable water use.
• Provide detailed cost-benefit information about green building practices to encourage increased use of such practices in Oklahoma City.
• Reduce reliance on electricity produced by fossil fuel by encouraging the use of renewable energy sources in new development and redevelopment.
• Explore mechanisms (incentives, regulations, programs) to divert demolition debris from landfills and redirect to facilities that can reuse these materials.
• Establish a promotion/award program to showcase innovative development that utilizes low-impact development practices and energy-efficient building techniques / equipment, conserves riparian buffers, and extends greenway networks with hiking/biking trails.

Preserve overall landscape character and natural landforms (rolling hills, native vegetation, etc.) to the greatest extent possible.

Increase the amount of biodiversity-rich green space in urban and suburban areas by:

• Integrating vegetation to support biodiversity in parks, gardens, trails, and green roofs. Native vegetation that provides food and habitat for native wildlife such as “micro prairies” and urban forests will have the greatest effect.
• Encouraging optimal mowing practices on large lots that are adjacent to natural features.

Enrich natural biodiversity in agricultural areas by promoting practices that provide food, water, and habitat for wildlife and minimize negative impacts. Strategies to achieve the goal include:

• Working with farmers, rancher, conservationists, sustainable agricultural organizations, and other stakeholders to develop a plan to conserve nature in farming and ranching landscapes.
• Implementing optimal mowing strategies, which include harvesting grasses at a growing height of 10 plus inches; creating early successional habitat with burning, disking, and haying every 3-5 years; mowing from the center of a field outward to allow wildlife to escape the surrounding areas; adding flushing bars to mowing equipment to minimize bird injuries and death; leaving 4-6 inches of stubble after harvest to capture snow and water; harvesting or mowing after first frost to avoid disturbing bird nests and improve grass quality; and leaving portions of fields as standing crops.
• Increasing nesting habitat.
• Adopting best practices for fertilizer and pesticide applications.
• Developing landscape conservation cooperatives.
• Encouraging grassland ranching as an ecologically beneficial alternative to cultivation, particularly practices such as “mob grazing” that mimic natural grazing patterns.
• Promoting ranching of bison, which benefit conservation efforts by dispersing seeds, increasing plant biodiversity, and enhancing groundwater recharge.
• Restoring grassland on previously cultivated landscapes, particularly in buffer zones near natural features.
• Encouraging and supporting agricultural parks that combine recreation and food production and foster appreciation for agricultural heritage.
• Promoting sustainable intensification, which increases production and profitability while providing rich sources of habitat for biodiversity.

Protect and preserve natural resources, by:

• Identifying and mapping valuable natural resources, such as, native prairies.
• Maintaining a comprehensive inventory and assessment of natural resources and critical habitats.
• Identifying opportunities to create an interconnected green infrastructure network throughout and beyond Oklahoma City’s municipal boundaries via existing trail and greenway projects, parks, stream corridors, and natural areas.
• Seeking the voluntary sale of land or dedication of conservation easements on private land that is identified as critical habitat or is necessary to link wildlife corridors.
• Pursuing protection of strategically identified natural areas by placing them in conservation easements or land banks, and reserving them for future use as open space and passive recreational areas.
• Managing invasive plant and animal species.
• Partnering with applicable State agencies and non-profit entities.

Strive to preserve natural open spaces, including native prairies, and re-plant native vegetation to take advantage of their drought tolerance and deep root structures that slow and adsorb stormwater runoff and reduce erosion by anchoring the soil.

Identify and protect critical habitats for state and federally listed threatened or endangered species.

Identify migratory birds and their nesting sites prior to construction. Protect migratory birds and their nesting sites throughout the construction process and refrain from construction near nesting sites until migratory birds are no longer actively nesting and have moved on from the site. Verify compliance with Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Establish strategies, procedures and policies that prevent degradation or loss of critical habitat and sensitive areas, such as Cross Timbers, upland forests, wetlands, wildlife corridors, groundwater recharge zones, and riparian areas. Protection methods should ensure that placement of lots, alignment of roads, and installation of structures and infrastructure minimize disturbance of the environmentally sensitive areas using tools such as:

• Directing development to appropriate locations;
• Greenbelt preservation;
• Assurance of no development in protected open space;
• Clustering / conservation subdivisions;
• Pervious surface treatments;
• Density transfers; and/or
• Conservation easements.

Ensure that strategies, procedures, and policies incorporate principles of connectivity, minimal fragmentation, representativeness, and heterogeneity.

In conjunction with City regulatory changes, such as significant modifications to zoning ordinances, building codes, or subdivision regulations, assess the effects of the proposed modifications on housing development costs and overall housing affordability, considering the balance between housing affordability and other objectives such as environmental quality, urban design quality, maintenance of neighborhood character and protection of public health, safety and welfare. This assessment should be integrated into the code amendment process, identify barriers to housing affordability, and include recommended mitigation.

Modify codes to allow residential clustering in rural land use typology areas, provided water supply and sewage disposal requirements are met, and permanently preserve nearby open space through means such as conservation easements.

Require that new development tie into the park and trail system by providing linkages to existing parks or dedicating new park land. Connect existing parks and neighborhoods to create a continuous system of open spaces, for example along stream corridors.

Enhance public park design standards to allow for public art and innovative design solutions regarding stormwater management, use of native vegetation, open space, and play areas.

Revise subdivision regulations to require development adjacent to parks and public open spaces to maintain open sight lines to parks and public open space.  Reduce/limit residential rear yards, fences, walls, and physical and visual enclosures around park and public open space perimeters.  Encourage designs that allow homes to face into parks or where side yards are located near parks.

Pursue all opportunities, including donations, conservation easements, inheritance trusts, naming rights, and developer incentives to accomplish the following:

• Acquiring new lands for parks, open space;
• Acquiring natural areas that provide greater opportunities for people to access nature;
• Maintaining existing and future parks, open space, and natural areas;
• Enhancing existing landscaping at parks and along trails by planting additional native vegetation.

Adopt new citywide site design and building regulations that ensure new developments meet basic functional and aesthetic minimums related to:

• Walkability and bike-ability
• Internal and external street connectivity
• Integration of uses
• Signage
• Building location
• Building appearance
• Open space (passive and active)

Adopt subdivision regulations that ensure new neighborhoods meet the basic needs of residents while supporting an efficient development pattern. Regulations should cover:

• Open space (passive and active),
• Demonstration of sustainable funding levels for common area and facility maintenance costs,
• Walkability and bikeability,
• Internal and external street connectivity,
• Block length,
• Integration of uses,
• Integration of a variety of home sizes,
• Integration of a variety of unit types, and
• Preservation of Environmentally Sensitive Areas.

Regulations could be based on a point scale to allow flexibility, while still requiring basic minimum thresholds be met.
New regulations should remove the existing requirement for development in Rural LUTAs to connect to water and sewer systems and establish a minimum one-acre lot size for lots with on-site sewer treatment.

Avoid under-grounding streams to the greatest extent possible. Where feasible, encourage the re-surfacing of buried streams. Limit the use of culverts or other structures that alter natural streams, and require designs that minimize impacts to stream health and function.

Using performance standards related to flow quantity, quality, and pattern, modify development regulations, codes, and policies to support the use of green infrastructure/low impact development techniques to mimic natural systems for developments within aquifer recharge zones with moderate or high vulnerability or in areas where streams and riparian areas have been channelized or developed (primarily in the Downtown, UH, and UM LUTAs). Low impact development techniques include but are not limited to:

• Onsite treating or filtering of stormwater contaminants.
• Discharging run-off as sheet-flow after passing through grassy or vegetated open space areas, rather than discharging run-off through concentrated outfalls.
• Creating attractive open space amenities that double as stormwater detention, retention, and / or filtering systems.
• Utilizing pervious pavement, pavers, or asphalt in appropriate locations (i.e. sidewalks, parking spaces, trails, patios, etc.).
• Utilizing planters (at grade or raised), vegetated landscape strips adjacent to roads and parking areas, and alternative curbing designs (allowing stormwater to easily move from impervious areas to pervious areas), to encourage stormwater infiltration and temporary detention.
• Rain Gardens
• Bioswales
• Green streets and alleys
• Green roofs
• Rooftop collection
• Underground detention
• Increased tree canopy preservation/tree planting
• Land/open space conservation
• Cluster development

Establish development regulations to help protect Oklahoma City’s water resources through standards that:

• Require buffers, setbacks, and vegetation conservation requirements to protect riparian and littoral zones and filter waterborne pollutants from development activities and storm water runoff. Buffer widths should be based on water quality function and wildlife habitat needs.
• Encourage natural drainage systems and methods for onsite infiltration and onsite sediment retention.
• Require new developments to maintain or decrease the site’s pre-development runoff rate.
• Allow low-impact development design features such as pervious pavement, rain gardens, landscaped parkways, and alternative curbing designs.
• Reduce the amount of impervious surfaces allowed in buffer zones around Environmentally Sensitive Areas.
• Restore watershed features such as forest, wetlands, and natural stream channels.

Establish incentives such as a simplified permitting process, reduced application fees, and special recognition for projects that:

• Utilize best management practices or other low-impact development methods for storm water management.
• Bring buried streams to the surface and restore riparian habitat.
• Install bridge systems instead of culverts for stream crossings to help maintain the natural ecosystem associated with the stream.

Revise policies, codes and development regulations to reduce the risk of damage resulting from flooding and preserve water quality and stream related habitat by avoiding alterations to the 100-year floodplain (as depicted on the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map). Allow these areas to remain in their natural state to the greatest extent possible. Revised policies should allow positive alterations, such as restoration of natural riparian areas with appropriate vegetation.

Preserve wetlands in their natural state to the greatest extent possible to increase water quality, minimize quantity of runoff, and increase groundwater recharge. Maintain wetland headwaters and avoid the alteration of surface or subsurface drainage patterns that would eliminate, reduce, or severely alter the frequency and volume of water entering wetland areas.

Create a comprehensive wastewater program for areas not planned for service by the City’s sewer system. This includes:

• Locating and mapping all existing decentralized sewage treatment systems.
• Creating policies and regulations regarding septic system design, installation, maintenance, and testing.
• Producing guidelines for alternative wastewater treatment, such as community wastewater systems.
• Developing monitoring, testing, and inspection requirements and responsibilities.
• Partnering with State agencies and other entities.

Develop a comprehensive watershed management strategy that identifies programs, partnerships, actions, and incentives that the City and partners can take to protect the city’s water resources and aquatic areas. The strategy should address the following:

• Creation of a Stormwater Master Plan.
• Update to the City’s sediment control program and establishment of performance measures.
• Coordinated watershed restoration projects.
• Preparation and implementation of Small Watershed Action Plans (SWAPs) and participation in studies to identify needs and opportunities for stream restoration, wetland creation and restoration, and storm water management.
• Identification of opportunities to create wetlands to offset construction and other land development impacts.
• Identification and utilization of “receiving lands” that can absorb storm surge overflows.
• Public education on how to conserve water and minimize chemicals, pathogens, sediment, and nutrients in urban and rural watersheds.
• Acquisition and protection of greenways, river buffers and flood prone areas.

Evaluate the City’s stormwater detention/retention requirements, including the current fee-in-lieu of program, and compare to current best management practices. Based on findings, modify codes, policies and development regulations to update stormwater detention/retention requirements. These requirements should focus on:

• Reducing the risks of property damage due to flooding.
• Managing runoff rates and minimizing stream bank erosion by ensuring that post-development runoff rates do not exceed pre-development rates, even in areas where risks of flooding have historically been low.
• Maintaining surface water quality by managing the release of the first flush stormwater volume in order to encourage settling and filtering of particle and chemical pollutants before releasing water into adjacent water bodies.

Revise development regulations to require the following factors to be addressed in development and redevelopment proposals:

• Preservation of existing natural resources, such as wooded areas, habitat areas, and floodplains.
• Utilization of natural treatments and methods to stabilize or rehabilitate stream and river banks as a means to preserve downstream habitats.
• Integration of a variety of native or compatible non-native, non-invasive plant species.
• Mitigation of impacts of development on habitat, wildlife corridors, riparian and littoral areas, and water quality, through actions such as restoration or re-vegetation of disturbed natural areas and replacement of trees/habitat on-site or off-site.
• Management of invasive plant and animal species.
• Management and maintenance of natural areas, common areas and drainage areas.
• Impact on surface and groundwater supply.
• Impact on water quality caused by land uses and activities.
• Impacts on floodplains, riparian and littoral areas and wetlands and areas with significant landforms.

Revise the landscape ordinance to include the following:

• Define terms such as invasive species, exotic/non-native species, and native/indigenous species
• Require removal of invasive species from existing sites, and prohibit such species from being planted or maintained in new development.
• Provide a reference list of native plants and drought-tolerant plants.
• Provide incentives for using native and drought-tolerant plants and disincentives for using high-water plants and turf grass.
• Establish requirements for using design practices that minimize the need for supplemental irrigation.

Provide the public with resources, tools, and guidance to deal with environmental hazards, such as:

• Information about safe disposal options for household contaminants such as motor oils, paints, computers, televisions, batteries, etc.
• Information on environmental hazards, such as brownfield sites.
• Information about funds available to assist with environmental cleanups.

Establish development regulations that help improve air quality, including:

• Specifying construction controls that reduce airborne dust;
• Increasing landscaping and tree planting to absorb carbon dioxide and air pollutants; and
• Encouraging development patterns and densities that support alternative modes of transportation in the urban LUTAs.

Develop an enforcement mechanism for the City’s Building Energy Code. Develop a healthy building code to support construction of durable, health-promoting and energy efficient buildings that incorporate proven green development practices, locally-sourced and environmentally responsible materials, water conservation fixtures, innovative design and construction techniques, and low waste construction practices. Incentivize their use with shorter approval procedures, priority permits and inspections, and reduced fees.

Partner with agencies, non-profits, and private entities to:

• Implement a sustainable development online forum – an educational and networking resource that will inform the public about local opportunities and the benefits of sustainable development while increasing builder and developer participation.
• Educate citizens on energy and water conservation opportunities both at work and at home.
• Encourage appropriate re-use and reclamation of water in new development and redevelopment to reduce the reliance on potable water use.
• Provide detailed cost-benefit information about green building practices to encourage increased use of such practices in Oklahoma City.
• Reduce reliance on electricity produced by fossil fuel by encouraging the use of renewable energy sources in new development and redevelopment.
• Explore mechanisms (incentives, regulations, programs) to divert demolition debris from landfills and redirect to facilities that can reuse these materials.
• Establish a promotion/award program to showcase innovative development that utilizes low-impact development practices and energy-efficient building techniques / equipment, conserves riparian buffers, and extends greenway networks with hiking/biking trails.

Preserve overall landscape character and natural landforms (rolling hills, native vegetation, etc.) to the greatest extent possible.

Protect and preserve natural resources, by:

• Identifying and mapping valuable natural resources, such as, native prairies.
• Maintaining a comprehensive inventory and assessment of natural resources and critical habitats.
• Identifying opportunities to create an interconnected green infrastructure network throughout and beyond Oklahoma City’s municipal boundaries via existing trail and greenway projects, parks, stream corridors, and natural areas.
• Seeking the voluntary sale of land or dedication of conservation easements on private land that is identified as critical habitat or is necessary to link wildlife corridors.
• Pursuing protection of strategically identified natural areas by placing them in conservation easements or land banks, and reserving them for future use as open space and passive recreational areas.
• Managing invasive plant and animal species.
• Partnering with applicable State agencies and non-profit entities.

Strive to preserve natural open spaces, including native prairies, and re-plant native vegetation to take advantage of their drought tolerance and deep root structures that slow and adsorb stormwater runoff and reduce erosion by anchoring the soil.

Identify and protect critical habitats for state and federally listed threatened or endangered species.

Identify migratory birds and their nesting sites prior to construction. Protect migratory birds and their nesting sites throughout the construction process and refrain from construction near nesting sites until migratory birds are no longer actively nesting and have moved on from the site. Verify compliance with Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Establish strategies, procedures and policies that prevent degradation or loss of critical habitat and sensitive areas, such as Cross Timbers, upland forests, wetlands, wildlife corridors, groundwater recharge zones, and riparian areas. Protection methods should ensure that placement of lots, alignment of roads, and installation of structures and infrastructure minimize disturbance of the environmentally sensitive areas using tools such as:

• Directing development to appropriate locations;
• Greenbelt preservation;
• Assurance of no development in protected open space;
• Clustering / conservation subdivisions;
• Pervious surface treatments;
• Density transfers; and/or
• Conservation easements.

Ensure that strategies, procedures, and policies incorporate principles of connectivity, minimal fragmentation, representativeness, and heterogeneity.

Require that new development tie into the park and trail system by providing linkages to existing parks or dedicating new park land. Connect existing parks and neighborhoods to create a continuous system of open spaces, for example along stream corridors.

Enhance public park design standards to allow for public art and innovative design solutions regarding stormwater management, use of native vegetation, open space, and play areas.

Replace existing high-maintenance, high-water plant material with attractive native plants.

Establish incentives such as a simplified permitting process, reduced application fees, and special recognition for projects that:

• Utilize best management practices or other low-impact development methods for storm water management.
• Bring buried streams to the surface and restore riparian habitat.
• Install bridge systems instead of culverts for stream crossings to help maintain the natural ecosystem associated with the stream.

Revise development regulations to require the following factors to be addressed in development and redevelopment proposals:

• Preservation of existing natural resources, such as wooded areas, habitat areas, and floodplains.
• Utilization of natural treatments and methods to stabilize or rehabilitate stream and river banks as a means to preserve downstream habitats.
• Integration of a variety of native or compatible non-native, non-invasive plant species.
• Mitigation of impacts of development on habitat, wildlife corridors, riparian and littoral areas, and water quality, through actions such as restoration or re-vegetation of disturbed natural areas and replacement of trees/habitat on-site or off-site.
• Management of invasive plant and animal species.
• Management and maintenance of natural areas, common areas and drainage areas.
• Impact on surface and groundwater supply.
• Impact on water quality caused by land uses and activities.
• Impacts on floodplains, riparian and littoral areas and wetlands and areas with significant landforms.

Develop a manual of best management practices that can be integrated into City codes. These include, but are not limited to:

• Tree care and management.
• Tree planting.
• Tree protection.
• Street trees (location, conflicts, maintenance, etc. – in addition to general tree care guidelines).
• Placement of utilities (e.g., under streets vs. under park strips)
• Low impact development techniques.
• Habitat protection and restoration.
• Conservation easements and/or subdivisions.

Establish an Urban Forestry Program and City Urban Forester position to achieve the following:

• Measure and monitor tree canopy coverage and habitat on a regular basis so that any policies, programs, and regulations may be adjusted accordingly as situations change. Establish a process to maintain current data.
• Develop and maintain regulations, policies, processes, and programs that focus on protection and preservation of native trees.
• Provide assistance with proper tree selection, location, and maintenance to prevent power outages, reduce property damage, and coordinate emergency response during natural disaster events (excessive snow and ice, tornadoes, etc.), address the urban heat island effect, and reduce energy costs, etc.
• Establish programs such as tree give-aways, neighborhood planting programs, and education workshops.
• Provide resources to the public about tree selection, management, and care.
• Seek grant funding for community tree planting to improve City parks, publicly maintained rights-of-way and other areas of the city.
• Inventory the City’s street trees and develop a tree replacement program.
• Partner with volunteer and nonprofit organizations to recruit volunteers for tree planting and maintenance and to coordinate community-wide tree planting efforts.

Develop and adopt a tree preservation ordinance that achieves the following:

• Defines methods of preservation;
• Defines situations where preservation of trees is mandatory versus optional;
• Establishes incentives for tree preservation;
• Establishes mitigation options if preservation cannot be accomplished; and
• Establishes penalties for unauthorized tree removal.

Preserve mature healthy trees and incorporate them into the design of new development or redevelopment projects to the greatest extent possible. Include provisions and best management practices to ensure proper tree protection throughout the construction process. Best management practices include but are not limited to:

• The use of proper pruning techniques;
• Appropriate watering;
• Installation of protective fencing at the drip lines of trees or groups of trees;
• Designated material storage areas; and
• Approved equipment and vehicle parking and maintenance areas.

Provide the public with resources, tools, and guidance to deal with environmental hazards, such as:

• Information about safe disposal options for household contaminants such as motor oils, paints, computers, televisions, batteries, etc.
• Information on environmental hazards, such as brownfield sites.
• Information about funds available to assist with environmental cleanups.

Pursue methods to reduce the impact of the urban heat island effect on Oklahoma City by:

• Establishing a minimum canopy coverage requirement over paved surfaces such as parking lots.
• Instating a “continuous canopy” requirement for new streets and street reconstruction projects.
• Promoting the use of building and roofing materials that reduce heat island effects.

Establish development regulations that help improve air quality, including:

• Specifying construction controls that reduce airborne dust;
• Increasing landscaping and tree planting to absorb carbon dioxide and air pollutants; and
• Encouraging development patterns and densities that support alternative modes of transportation in the urban LUTAs.

Preserve overall landscape character and natural landforms (rolling hills, native vegetation, etc.) to the greatest extent possible.

Protect and preserve natural resources, by:

• Identifying and mapping valuable natural resources, such as, native prairies.
• Maintaining a comprehensive inventory and assessment of natural resources and critical habitats.
• Identifying opportunities to create an interconnected green infrastructure network throughout and beyond Oklahoma City’s municipal boundaries via existing trail and greenway projects, parks, stream corridors, and natural areas.
• Seeking the voluntary sale of land or dedication of conservation easements on private land that is identified as critical habitat or is necessary to link wildlife corridors.
• Pursuing protection of strategically identified natural areas by placing them in conservation easements or land banks, and reserving them for future use as open space and passive recreational areas.
• Managing invasive plant and animal species.
• Partnering with applicable State agencies and non-profit entities.

Identify and protect critical habitats for state and federally listed threatened or endangered species.

Identify migratory birds and their nesting sites prior to construction. Protect migratory birds and their nesting sites throughout the construction process and refrain from construction near nesting sites until migratory birds are no longer actively nesting and have moved on from the site. Verify compliance with Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Initiate efforts to educate the public regarding programs that provide assistance for neighborhood clean-up efforts. Such efforts could include the following:

• Provide assistance to residents to make housing and neighborhood improvements and provide training in property maintenance skills.
• Develop and organize volunteer programs (such as adopt-a-street, adopt-a-park, and neighborhood clean-up days) and/or coordinate efforts to obtain grant funding to establish community clean-up programs in neighborhoods where inadequate property maintenance is prevalent.
• Publicize Bulk Waste Days and/or explore the possibility of adding more days/increased frequency.
• Develop a list of outside funding sources that could be used for property maintenance and make this information available to all citizens, especially those in targeted low-income areas.
• Establish public educational programs and advertising campaigns to discourage littering. Education should begin at the elementary level and continue through the adult level.

Pursue grants, partnerships, and programs that accomplish the following:

• Restore tree stands and wildlife habitats in environmentally sensitive areas.
• Acquire land or establish conservation easements in environmentally sensitive areas to reserve as permanent open space and protect wildlife and habitat.
• Establish a comprehensive habitat management program.
• Provide education and resources for proper use of pesticides and fertilizers, with special focus on encouraging integrated pest management and organic practices.
• Provide education about land management practices that address fire suppression, invasive species, use of herbicides/pesticides, and overgrazing.
• Promote the economic and aesthetic value of preserving Oklahoma City’s natural resources such as riparian areas, Cross Timbers forest, grasslands/prairie, bottomland forests, and wetlands.

Support and incentivize the adaptive use of existing buildings, infill development, and brownfield development.

Establish incentives such as a simplified permitting process, reduced application fees, and special recognition for projects that:

• Utilize best management practices or other low-impact development methods for storm water management.
• Bring buried streams to the surface and restore riparian habitat.
• Install bridge systems instead of culverts for stream crossings to help maintain the natural ecosystem associated with the stream.

Develop a comprehensive watershed management strategy that identifies programs, partnerships, actions, and incentives that the City and partners can take to protect the city’s water resources and aquatic areas. The strategy should address the following:

• Creation of a Stormwater Master Plan.
• Update to the City’s sediment control program and establishment of performance measures.
• Coordinated watershed restoration projects.
• Preparation and implementation of Small Watershed Action Plans (SWAPs) and participation in studies to identify needs and opportunities for stream restoration, wetland creation and restoration, and storm water management.
• Identification of opportunities to create wetlands to offset construction and other land development impacts.
• Identification and utilization of “receiving lands” that can absorb storm surge overflows.
• Public education on how to conserve water and minimize chemicals, pathogens, sediment, and nutrients in urban and rural watersheds.
• Acquisition and protection of greenways, river buffers and flood prone areas.

Evaluate the City’s stormwater detention/retention requirements, including the current fee-in-lieu of program, and compare to current best management practices. Based on findings, modify codes, policies and development regulations to update stormwater detention/retention requirements. These requirements should focus on:

• Reducing the risks of property damage due to flooding.
• Managing runoff rates and minimizing stream bank erosion by ensuring that post-development runoff rates do not exceed pre-development rates, even in areas where risks of flooding have historically been low.
• Maintaining surface water quality by managing the release of the first flush stormwater volume in order to encourage settling and filtering of particle and chemical pollutants before releasing water into adjacent water bodies.

In areas where standard on-site wastewater systems are not feasible (such as in areas with shallow or poor soils), require very low-density development or development that utilizes conservation design and a centralized treatment facility or other environmentally sensitive systems for wastewater treatment.

Provide the public with resources, tools, and guidance to deal with environmental hazards, such as:

• Information about safe disposal options for household contaminants such as motor oils, paints, computers, televisions, batteries, etc.
• Information on environmental hazards, such as brownfield sites.
• Information about funds available to assist with environmental cleanups.

Ensure clean-up and mitigation of contaminated sites is done prior to issuing new development permits.

Establish development regulations that help improve air quality, including:

• Specifying construction controls that reduce airborne dust;
• Increasing landscaping and tree planting to absorb carbon dioxide and air pollutants; and
• Encouraging development patterns and densities that support alternative modes of transportation in the urban LUTAs.

Coordinate with local, regional, and State agencies to pursue initiatives and regulations that help reduce automobile emissions, such as:

• Transitioning commercial and City fleets to alternative-fueled and hybrid vehicles;
• Determining the feasibility of an idling restriction ordinance for all vehicles.

Promote improved air quality and reduced ground-level ozone levels by developing a public education program that will inform residents about the air quality benefits of:

• Proper automobile maintenance
• Proper maintenance and use of gas-powered lawn and garden equipment
• Limiting car idling times
• Alternative fuels
• Alternative / active transportation modes (public transit, walking, biking, car-sharing, etc.)
• Reducing vehicle-miles traveled (VMT)
• Employer sponsored emission reduction programs (carpooling, work from home, telecommuting, etc.)
• Native landscaping (requiring less maintenance)
• Energy efficient housing / buildings

Establish strategies, procedures and policies for City construction projects to achieve higher energy efficiency, including:

• Implementing an energy management plan for City facilities.
• Monitoring energy consumption of City facilities, tracking conservation progress, and communicating results to City administrators, employees, elected officials and the public.
• Assessing water use in City facilities to identify opportunities for conservation and implement appropriate measures.

Develop an enforcement mechanism for the City’s Building Energy Code. Develop a healthy building code to support construction of durable, health-promoting and energy efficient buildings that incorporate proven green development practices, locally-sourced and environmentally responsible materials, water conservation fixtures, innovative design and construction techniques, and low waste construction practices. Incentivize their use with shorter approval procedures, priority permits and inspections, and reduced fees.

Reuse brownfield, greyfield, and other vacant building sites to provide new opportunities for mixed-used and mixed-income housing.

Utilize existing natural streams as amenities in public parks, and regularly monitor and maintain stream banks for safety of park users.

Improve the functionality and efficiency of the street network by:

• Providing direct connections from residential developments to nearby places and to each other.
• Providing street and sidewalk stubs to adjacent vacant land in anticipation of future development.
• Connecting new development to existing street and sidewalk stubs, and to existing trail, open space, and bicycle networks.
• Reducing block sizes and use of dead-end streets.
• Maintaining the existing street grid to preserve connectivity and mobility options.

Prioritize opportunities to restore and reconnect the street grid.

Prioritize construction of pedestrian and bicycle facilities that improve connectivity and eliminate gaps in the transportation network.

Identify areas that could be used to establish a greenbelt network throughout the City that connect major employment centers, commercial sites, parks, and key locations within major residential neighborhoods. Use the greenbelt as the backbone for a bicycle trails network which all other bicycle trails feed into.

Market the trails system as a transportation and recreation system to residents and visitors.

Change subdivision regulations to determine the number of entries into a residential development based on number of lots in order to improve connectivity of the roadway network and emergency response.

Support the creation of a regional transit authority and pursue the establishment of a dedicated funding source, such as sales tax or property tax to achieve long term transit service goals.

Increase frequency and time of transit operations to ensure adequate, convenient and safe service for visitors, employees, and residents.

Implement policies and strategies recommended in the 2013 COTPA Transit Service Analysis.

Develop an urban rail and/or bus rapid transit system to connect downtown with strategic corridors and nodes.

Work with the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments to implement the Early Action Compact to mitigate air quality issues.

Support and incentivize the adaptive use of existing buildings, infill development, and brownfield development.

Preserve natural habitat, maintain wildlife food sources, and reduce the risk of propagating invasive plant species by utilizing vegetation native to Oklahoma, preferably central Oklahoma, for all mitigation and habitat restoration efforts associated with new development and redevelopment projects, public and private, to the greatest extent possible.

Establish an Urban Forestry Program and City Urban Forester position to achieve the following:

• Measure and monitor tree canopy coverage and habitat on a regular basis so that any policies, programs, and regulations may be adjusted accordingly as situations change. Establish a process to maintain current data.
• Develop and maintain regulations, policies, processes, and programs that focus on protection and preservation of native trees.
• Provide assistance with proper tree selection, location, and maintenance to prevent power outages, reduce property damage, and coordinate emergency response during natural disaster events (excessive snow and ice, tornadoes, etc.), address the urban heat island effect, and reduce energy costs, etc.
• Establish programs such as tree give-aways, neighborhood planting programs, and education workshops.
• Provide resources to the public about tree selection, management, and care.
• Seek grant funding for community tree planting to improve City parks, publicly maintained rights-of-way and other areas of the city.
• Inventory the City’s street trees and develop a tree replacement program.
• Partner with volunteer and nonprofit organizations to recruit volunteers for tree planting and maintenance and to coordinate community-wide tree planting efforts.

Develop and adopt a tree preservation ordinance that achieves the following:

• Defines methods of preservation;
• Defines situations where preservation of trees is mandatory versus optional;
• Establishes incentives for tree preservation;
• Establishes mitigation options if preservation cannot be accomplished; and
• Establishes penalties for unauthorized tree removal.

Pursue methods to reduce the impact of the urban heat island effect on Oklahoma City by:

• Establishing a minimum canopy coverage requirement over paved surfaces such as parking lots.
• Instating a “continuous canopy” requirement for new streets and street reconstruction projects.
• Promoting the use of building and roofing materials that reduce heat island effects.

Coordinate with local, regional, and State agencies to pursue initiatives and regulations that help reduce automobile emissions, such as:

• Transitioning commercial and City fleets to alternative-fueled and hybrid vehicles;
• Determining the feasibility of an idling restriction ordinance for all vehicles.

Promote improved air quality and reduced ground-level ozone levels by developing a public education program that will inform residents about the air quality benefits of:

• Proper automobile maintenance
• Proper maintenance and use of gas-powered lawn and garden equipment
• Limiting car idling times
• Alternative fuels
• Alternative / active transportation modes (public transit, walking, biking, car-sharing, etc.)
• Reducing vehicle-miles traveled (VMT)
• Employer sponsored emission reduction programs (carpooling, work from home, telecommuting, etc.)
• Native landscaping (requiring less maintenance)
• Energy efficient housing / buildings

Study of the public health and environmental impacts of degraded air quality on sensitive populations living near highways.

Establish strategies, procedures and policies for City construction projects to achieve higher energy efficiency, including:

• Implementing an energy management plan for City facilities.
• Monitoring energy consumption of City facilities, tracking conservation progress, and communicating results to City administrators, employees, elected officials and the public.
• Assessing water use in City facilities to identify opportunities for conservation and implement appropriate measures.

Develop an enforcement mechanism for the City’s Building Energy Code. Develop a healthy building code to support construction of durable, health-promoting and energy efficient buildings that incorporate proven green development practices, locally-sourced and environmentally responsible materials, water conservation fixtures, innovative design and construction techniques, and low waste construction practices. Incentivize their use with shorter approval procedures, priority permits and inspections, and reduced fees.

Partner with agencies, non-profits, and private entities to:

• Implement a sustainable development online forum – an educational and networking resource that will inform the public about local opportunities and the benefits of sustainable development while increasing builder and developer participation.
• Educate citizens on energy and water conservation opportunities both at work and at home.
• Encourage appropriate re-use and reclamation of water in new development and redevelopment to reduce the reliance on potable water use.
• Provide detailed cost-benefit information about green building practices to encourage increased use of such practices in Oklahoma City.
• Reduce reliance on electricity produced by fossil fuel by encouraging the use of renewable energy sources in new development and redevelopment.
• Explore mechanisms (incentives, regulations, programs) to divert demolition debris from landfills and redirect to facilities that can reuse these materials.
• Establish a promotion/award program to showcase innovative development that utilizes low-impact development practices and energy-efficient building techniques / equipment, conserves riparian buffers, and extends greenway networks with hiking/biking trails.

Establish strategies, procedures and policies that prevent degradation or loss of critical habitat and sensitive areas, such as Cross Timbers, upland forests, wetlands, wildlife corridors, groundwater recharge zones, and riparian areas. Protection methods should ensure that placement of lots, alignment of roads, and installation of structures and infrastructure minimize disturbance of the environmentally sensitive areas using tools such as:

• Directing development to appropriate locations;
• Greenbelt preservation;
• Assurance of no development in protected open space;
• Clustering / conservation subdivisions;
• Pervious surface treatments;
• Density transfers; and/or
• Conservation easements.

Ensure that strategies, procedures, and policies incorporate principles of connectivity, minimal fragmentation, representativeness, and heterogeneity.

Encourage redevelopment and infill development on vacant, underutilized, and brownfield sites in urbanized areas.

Encourage the integration of different land uses in urban areas through the following means:

• Promote the use of performance standards in place of existing zoning methods (which address incompatibility by separating uses). Performance-based regulations should focus on achieving compatibility between uses by addressing the following:
  • Noise, odors and air quality
  • Traffic and parking (allow flexible, but sufficient parking)
  • Site layout and building design
  • Waste
  • Safety
  • Lighting (glare control, placement, and shielding)
  • Delivery hours
• Enhance transit service (bus and rail).
• Prevent large areas of concentration of any particular land use such as multi-family or commercial.

Establish development regulations that help improve air quality, including:

• Specifying construction controls that reduce airborne dust;
• Increasing landscaping and tree planting to absorb carbon dioxide and air pollutants; and
• Encouraging development patterns and densities that support alternative modes of transportation in the urban LUTAs.

Enhance the City’s Landscape Ordinance by accomplishing the following objectives:

• Add guidelines and recommendations for landscape design that minimizes the need for supplemental irrigation.
• Clarify responsibilities and standards for landscape maintenance, including within public rights-of-way.
• Incentivize the use of drought-tolerant and native plants.
• Restrict the use of turf grass to the greatest extent feasible.
• Evaluate existing landscape standards for parking lots and consider making revisions that would result in more landscape buffering on parking lot fringes and more internal landscaping.
• Evaluate existing landscape standards to determine whether new standards should be adopted to help screen or buffer parking structures.
• Evaluate existing landscape standards in comparison to best practices and peer cities to determine whether minimum site landscaping standards should be revised and/or restructured to result in increased landscaping.

Pursue grants, partnerships, and programs that accomplish the following:

• Restore tree stands and wildlife habitats in environmentally sensitive areas.
• Acquire land or establish conservation easements in environmentally sensitive areas to reserve as permanent open space and protect wildlife and habitat.
• Establish a comprehensive habitat management program.
• Provide education and resources for proper use of pesticides and fertilizers, with special focus on encouraging integrated pest management and organic practices.
• Provide education about land management practices that address fire suppression, invasive species, use of herbicides/pesticides, and overgrazing.
• Promote the economic and aesthetic value of preserving Oklahoma City’s natural resources such as riparian areas, Cross Timbers forest, grasslands/prairie, bottomland forests, and wetlands.

Support and incentivize the adaptive use of existing buildings, infill development, and brownfield development.

Using performance standards related to flow quantity, quality, and pattern, modify development regulations, codes, and policies to support the use of green infrastructure/low impact development techniques to mimic natural systems for developments within aquifer recharge zones with moderate or high vulnerability or in areas where streams and riparian areas have been channelized or developed (primarily in the Downtown, UH, and UM LUTAs). Low impact development techniques include but are not limited to:

• Onsite treating or filtering of stormwater contaminants.
• Discharging run-off as sheet-flow after passing through grassy or vegetated open space areas, rather than discharging run-off through concentrated outfalls.
• Creating attractive open space amenities that double as stormwater detention, retention, and / or filtering systems.
• Utilizing pervious pavement, pavers, or asphalt in appropriate locations (i.e. sidewalks, parking spaces, trails, patios, etc.).
• Utilizing planters (at grade or raised), vegetated landscape strips adjacent to roads and parking areas, and alternative curbing designs (allowing stormwater to easily move from impervious areas to pervious areas), to encourage stormwater infiltration and temporary detention.
• Rain Gardens
• Bioswales
• Green streets and alleys
• Green roofs
• Rooftop collection
• Underground detention
• Increased tree canopy preservation/tree planting
• Land/open space conservation
• Cluster development

Establish incentives such as a simplified permitting process, reduced application fees, and special recognition for projects that:

• Utilize best management practices or other low-impact development methods for storm water management.
• Bring buried streams to the surface and restore riparian habitat.
• Install bridge systems instead of culverts for stream crossings to help maintain the natural ecosystem associated with the stream.

Develop a comprehensive watershed management strategy that identifies programs, partnerships, actions, and incentives that the City and partners can take to protect the city’s water resources and aquatic areas. The strategy should address the following:

• Creation of a Stormwater Master Plan.
• Update to the City’s sediment control program and establishment of performance measures.
• Coordinated watershed restoration projects.
• Preparation and implementation of Small Watershed Action Plans (SWAPs) and participation in studies to identify needs and opportunities for stream restoration, wetland creation and restoration, and storm water management.
• Identification of opportunities to create wetlands to offset construction and other land development impacts.
• Identification and utilization of “receiving lands” that can absorb storm surge overflows.
• Public education on how to conserve water and minimize chemicals, pathogens, sediment, and nutrients in urban and rural watersheds.
• Acquisition and protection of greenways, river buffers and flood prone areas.

Evaluate the City’s stormwater detention/retention requirements, including the current fee-in-lieu of program, and compare to current best management practices. Based on findings, modify codes, policies and development regulations to update stormwater detention/retention requirements. These requirements should focus on:

• Reducing the risks of property damage due to flooding.
• Managing runoff rates and minimizing stream bank erosion by ensuring that post-development runoff rates do not exceed pre-development rates, even in areas where risks of flooding have historically been low.
• Maintaining surface water quality by managing the release of the first flush stormwater volume in order to encourage settling and filtering of particle and chemical pollutants before releasing water into adjacent water bodies.

Revise development regulations to require the following factors to be addressed in development and redevelopment proposals:

• Preservation of existing natural resources, such as wooded areas, habitat areas, and floodplains.
• Utilization of natural treatments and methods to stabilize or rehabilitate stream and river banks as a means to preserve downstream habitats.
• Integration of a variety of native or compatible non-native, non-invasive plant species.
• Mitigation of impacts of development on habitat, wildlife corridors, riparian and littoral areas, and water quality, through actions such as restoration or re-vegetation of disturbed natural areas and replacement of trees/habitat on-site or off-site.
• Management of invasive plant and animal species.
• Management and maintenance of natural areas, common areas and drainage areas.
• Impact on surface and groundwater supply.
• Impact on water quality caused by land uses and activities.
• Impacts on floodplains, riparian and littoral areas and wetlands and areas with significant landforms.

In areas where standard on-site wastewater systems are not feasible (such as in areas with shallow or poor soils), require very low-density development or development that utilizes conservation design and a centralized treatment facility or other environmentally sensitive systems for wastewater treatment.

Pursue methods to reduce the impact of the urban heat island effect on Oklahoma City by:

• Establishing a minimum canopy coverage requirement over paved surfaces such as parking lots.
• Instating a “continuous canopy” requirement for new streets and street reconstruction projects.
• Promoting the use of building and roofing materials that reduce heat island effects.

Modify development and subdivision regulations, and City policies to minimize alteration of natural landforms and native vegetation and maximize retention of distinctive natural features for public and private projects.

Establish development regulations that help improve air quality, including:

• Specifying construction controls that reduce airborne dust;
• Increasing landscaping and tree planting to absorb carbon dioxide and air pollutants; and
• Encouraging development patterns and densities that support alternative modes of transportation in the urban LUTAs.

Coordinate with local, regional, and State agencies to pursue initiatives and regulations that help reduce automobile emissions, such as:

• Transitioning commercial and City fleets to alternative-fueled and hybrid vehicles;
• Determining the feasibility of an idling restriction ordinance for all vehicles.

Establish strategies, procedures and policies for City construction projects to achieve higher energy efficiency, including:

• Implementing an energy management plan for City facilities.
• Monitoring energy consumption of City facilities, tracking conservation progress, and communicating results to City administrators, employees, elected officials and the public.
• Assessing water use in City facilities to identify opportunities for conservation and implement appropriate measures.

Develop an enforcement mechanism for the City’s Building Energy Code. Develop a healthy building code to support construction of durable, health-promoting and energy efficient buildings that incorporate proven green development practices, locally-sourced and environmentally responsible materials, water conservation fixtures, innovative design and construction techniques, and low waste construction practices. Incentivize their use with shorter approval procedures, priority permits and inspections, and reduced fees.

Partner with agencies, non-profits, and private entities to:

• Implement a sustainable development online forum – an educational and networking resource that will inform the public about local opportunities and the benefits of sustainable development while increasing builder and developer participation.
• Educate citizens on energy and water conservation opportunities both at work and at home.
• Encourage appropriate re-use and reclamation of water in new development and redevelopment to reduce the reliance on potable water use.
• Provide detailed cost-benefit information about green building practices to encourage increased use of such practices in Oklahoma City.
• Reduce reliance on electricity produced by fossil fuel by encouraging the use of renewable energy sources in new development and redevelopment.
• Explore mechanisms (incentives, regulations, programs) to divert demolition debris from landfills and redirect to facilities that can reuse these materials.
• Establish a promotion/award program to showcase innovative development that utilizes low-impact development practices and energy-efficient building techniques / equipment, conserves riparian buffers, and extends greenway networks with hiking/biking trails.

Protect and preserve natural resources, by:

• Identifying and mapping valuable natural resources, such as, native prairies.
• Maintaining a comprehensive inventory and assessment of natural resources and critical habitats.
• Identifying opportunities to create an interconnected green infrastructure network throughout and beyond Oklahoma City’s municipal boundaries via existing trail and greenway projects, parks, stream corridors, and natural areas.
• Seeking the voluntary sale of land or dedication of conservation easements on private land that is identified as critical habitat or is necessary to link wildlife corridors.
• Pursuing protection of strategically identified natural areas by placing them in conservation easements or land banks, and reserving them for future use as open space and passive recreational areas.
• Managing invasive plant and animal species.
• Partnering with applicable State agencies and non-profit entities.

Establish strategies, procedures and policies that prevent degradation or loss of critical habitat and sensitive areas, such as Cross Timbers, upland forests, wetlands, wildlife corridors, groundwater recharge zones, and riparian areas. Protection methods should ensure that placement of lots, alignment of roads, and installation of structures and infrastructure minimize disturbance of the environmentally sensitive areas using tools such as:

• Directing development to appropriate locations;
• Greenbelt preservation;
• Assurance of no development in protected open space;
• Clustering / conservation subdivisions;
• Pervious surface treatments;
• Density transfers; and/or
• Conservation easements.

Ensure that strategies, procedures, and policies incorporate principles of connectivity, minimal fragmentation, representativeness, and heterogeneity.

Replace existing high-maintenance, high-water plant material with attractive native plants.

Adopt design standards to enable emergency management resources to be highly effective, such as resilient buildings, interconnected transportation networks, and other design considerations that help ensure community safety and recovery.

Establish development regulations to help protect Oklahoma City’s water resources through standards that:

• Require buffers, setbacks, and vegetation conservation requirements to protect riparian and littoral zones and filter waterborne pollutants from development activities and storm water runoff. Buffer widths should be based on water quality function and wildlife habitat needs.
• Encourage natural drainage systems and methods for onsite infiltration and onsite sediment retention.
• Require new developments to maintain or decrease the site’s pre-development runoff rate.
• Allow low-impact development design features such as pervious pavement, rain gardens, landscaped parkways, and alternative curbing designs.
• Reduce the amount of impervious surfaces allowed in buffer zones around Environmentally Sensitive Areas.
• Restore watershed features such as forest, wetlands, and natural stream channels.

Raise the level of public awareness of agriculture’s value to ecology, economy, open space, culture, and local food security by the following actions:

• Organize training activities in a variety of settings (schools, colleges, health care facilities, continuing education programs) that demonstrate the history, importance and value of agricultural operations.
• Improve the knowledge of current growers and motivate potential new growers.
• Promote incentives offered by governments, banks, land-grant universities, and private businesses such as start-up capital, credit, crop insurance, horticultural and financial advice, soil testing, markets, subsidies, tools, and inputs such as seeds and soil alterations.
• Promote farms as a destination stop for tourists and visitors.

Revise city codes and ordinances to allow urban agricultural operations and sales, including the following provisions:

• Define types of urban agriculture.
• Allow urban agriculture types in appropriate zoning districts.
• Establish standards for operations within different zoning districts.
• Allow a variety of retail options for locally grown produce.

Protect the ability of agricultural operations to exist and thrive at different scales, from large farms to small urban gardens through the following actions:

• Protect land suitable for agriculture by maintaining parcels large enough to sustain agricultural production, and discourage conversion of existing agricultural lands to non-agricultural uses.
• Encourage dwellings and other non-agricultural development to be ancillary to and compatible with agricultural uses. Such uses should be limited in size and grouped together to minimize disturbance to agricultural production.
• Create incentives to protect soils designated as Prime Farmland by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).
• Facilitate the use of vacant and under-used urban lands for raising food.
• Identify public lands in urban parks, and around municipal buildings, schools, public housing, hospitals, and other civic spaces, that may be used for food production with plantings of fruit trees, edible landscaping, and vegetable gardens.

Promote local and urban agricultural operations by establishing programs and partnerships to:

• Lease publicly-owned land to farmers for sustainable urban agricultural use.
• Encourage land tenure methods such as land trusts, leases, and policy initiatives to secure long-term commitment for community gardens, entrepreneurial farms, and other urban agriculture ventures.
• Develop community-based farming infrastructure such as tool banks with equipment and supplies, community kitchens and other shared processing facilities, farmers’ markets, community supported agriculture projects, funding opportunities, and technical service providers.
• Construct and operate a demonstration urban farm for education, outreach, and local food production.
• Encourage the local agricultural economy and improve access to local foods by allowing city property (parks, city facilities, etc.) to be used for farmers markets and other public markets.

Strengthen the local food system and increase access to healthy food options using strategies such as:

• Increasing the effectiveness of community gardens, especially in underserved areas.
• Reducing access to low nutrition food (e.g. junk food, fast food).
• Preserving agricultural lands for purposes of producing food, fiber, and fuel.
• Participating in a local or regional food policy council.
• Develop an incentive program that will assist convenience stores with providing fresh fruits, vegetables, and other healthy food items.
• Develop a land bank to convert tax-reverted, vacant, and abandoned properties into community gardens or “satellite farms.”
• Prioritize underserved areas when locating new grocery stores, farmer’s markets, and mobile grocers. Use financial incentives, technical assistance, and other services to improve the quality and selection of healthy foods available to underserved areas.

Create a Healthy Food Awareness campaign that includes:

• Strategies for selection and preparation of healthy food that is cost- and time- competitive with manufactured food.
• A uniform curriculum associated with selecting and preparing nutritious food for use in schools, recreation centers, senior centers, technical/trade schools, farmers markets, and anywhere people might go to learn.
• Strategies to link training for unemployed people and welfare-to-work work programs with opportunities for living wage jobs in urban food-related businesses.
• “Edible Schoolyards”, a school-based program which integrates nutrition and gardening to raise awareness about the connection between healthy food choices and locally grown fresh produce.
• Expansion of farm-to-school programs.
• Farm-to-institution programs that offer healthy food choices to hospitals, universities, prisons, and businesses.

Incorporate preventive health care and wellness education into public schools, recreation centers, senior centers, and technical/trade schools.

Establish an Urban Forestry Program and City Urban Forester position to achieve the following:

• Measure and monitor tree canopy coverage and habitat on a regular basis so that any policies, programs, and regulations may be adjusted accordingly as situations change. Establish a process to maintain current data.
• Develop and maintain regulations, policies, processes, and programs that focus on protection and preservation of native trees.
• Provide assistance with proper tree selection, location, and maintenance to prevent power outages, reduce property damage, and coordinate emergency response during natural disaster events (excessive snow and ice, tornadoes, etc.), address the urban heat island effect, and reduce energy costs, etc.
• Establish programs such as tree give-aways, neighborhood planting programs, and education workshops.
• Provide resources to the public about tree selection, management, and care.
• Seek grant funding for community tree planting to improve City parks, publicly maintained rights-of-way and other areas of the city.
• Inventory the City’s street trees and develop a tree replacement program.
• Partner with volunteer and nonprofit organizations to recruit volunteers for tree planting and maintenance and to coordinate community-wide tree planting efforts.

Provide the public with resources, tools, and guidance to deal with environmental hazards, such as:

• Information about safe disposal options for household contaminants such as motor oils, paints, computers, televisions, batteries, etc.
• Information on environmental hazards, such as brownfield sites.
• Information about funds available to assist with environmental cleanups.

Ensure clean-up and mitigation of contaminated sites is done prior to issuing new development permits.

Coordinate with local, regional, and State agencies to pursue initiatives and regulations that help reduce automobile emissions, such as:

• Transitioning commercial and City fleets to alternative-fueled and hybrid vehicles;
• Determining the feasibility of an idling restriction ordinance for all vehicles.

Promote improved air quality and reduced ground-level ozone levels by developing a public education program that will inform residents about the air quality benefits of:

• Proper automobile maintenance
• Proper maintenance and use of gas-powered lawn and garden equipment
• Limiting car idling times
• Alternative fuels
• Alternative / active transportation modes (public transit, walking, biking, car-sharing, etc.)
• Reducing vehicle-miles traveled (VMT)
• Employer sponsored emission reduction programs (carpooling, work from home, telecommuting, etc.)
• Native landscaping (requiring less maintenance)
• Energy efficient housing / buildings

Partner with agencies, non-profits, and private entities to:

• Implement a sustainable development online forum – an educational and networking resource that will inform the public about local opportunities and the benefits of sustainable development while increasing builder and developer participation.
• Educate citizens on energy and water conservation opportunities both at work and at home.
• Encourage appropriate re-use and reclamation of water in new development and redevelopment to reduce the reliance on potable water use.
• Provide detailed cost-benefit information about green building practices to encourage increased use of such practices in Oklahoma City.
• Reduce reliance on electricity produced by fossil fuel by encouraging the use of renewable energy sources in new development and redevelopment.
• Explore mechanisms (incentives, regulations, programs) to divert demolition debris from landfills and redirect to facilities that can reuse these materials.
• Establish a promotion/award program to showcase innovative development that utilizes low-impact development practices and energy-efficient building techniques / equipment, conserves riparian buffers, and extends greenway networks with hiking/biking trails.

Raise the level of public awareness of agriculture’s value to ecology, economy, open space, culture, and local food security by the following actions:

• Organize training activities in a variety of settings (schools, colleges, health care facilities, continuing education programs) that demonstrate the history, importance and value of agricultural operations.
• Improve the knowledge of current growers and motivate potential new growers.
• Promote incentives offered by governments, banks, land-grant universities, and private businesses such as start-up capital, credit, crop insurance, horticultural and financial advice, soil testing, markets, subsidies, tools, and inputs such as seeds and soil alterations.
• Promote farms as a destination stop for tourists and visitors.

Promote local and urban agricultural operations by establishing programs and partnerships to:

• Lease publicly-owned land to farmers for sustainable urban agricultural use.
• Encourage land tenure methods such as land trusts, leases, and policy initiatives to secure long-term commitment for community gardens, entrepreneurial farms, and other urban agriculture ventures.
• Develop community-based farming infrastructure such as tool banks with equipment and supplies, community kitchens and other shared processing facilities, farmers’ markets, community supported agriculture projects, funding opportunities, and technical service providers.
• Construct and operate a demonstration urban farm for education, outreach, and local food production.
• Encourage the local agricultural economy and improve access to local foods by allowing city property (parks, city facilities, etc.) to be used for farmers markets and other public markets.

Strengthen the local food system and increase access to healthy food options using strategies such as:

• Increasing the effectiveness of community gardens, especially in underserved areas.
• Reducing access to low nutrition food (e.g. junk food, fast food).
• Preserving agricultural lands for purposes of producing food, fiber, and fuel.
• Participating in a local or regional food policy council.
• Develop an incentive program that will assist convenience stores with providing fresh fruits, vegetables, and other healthy food items.
• Develop a land bank to convert tax-reverted, vacant, and abandoned properties into community gardens or “satellite farms.”
• Prioritize underserved areas when locating new grocery stores, farmer’s markets, and mobile grocers. Use financial incentives, technical assistance, and other services to improve the quality and selection of healthy foods available to underserved areas.

Increase the amount of biodiversity-rich green space in urban and suburban areas by:

• Integrating vegetation to support biodiversity in parks, gardens, trails, and green roofs. Native vegetation that provides food and habitat for native wildlife such as “micro prairies” and urban forests will have the greatest effect.
• Encouraging optimal mowing practices on large lots that are adjacent to natural features.

Enrich natural biodiversity in agricultural areas by promoting practices that provide food, water, and habitat for wildlife and minimize negative impacts. Strategies to achieve the goal include:

• Working with farmers, rancher, conservationists, sustainable agricultural organizations, and other stakeholders to develop a plan to conserve nature in farming and ranching landscapes.
• Implementing optimal mowing strategies, which include harvesting grasses at a growing height of 10 plus inches; creating early successional habitat with burning, disking, and haying every 3-5 years; mowing from the center of a field outward to allow wildlife to escape the surrounding areas; adding flushing bars to mowing equipment to minimize bird injuries and death; leaving 4-6 inches of stubble after harvest to capture snow and water; harvesting or mowing after first frost to avoid disturbing bird nests and improve grass quality; and leaving portions of fields as standing crops.
• Increasing nesting habitat.
• Adopting best practices for fertilizer and pesticide applications.
• Developing landscape conservation cooperatives.
• Encouraging grassland ranching as an ecologically beneficial alternative to cultivation, particularly practices such as “mob grazing” that mimic natural grazing patterns.
• Promoting ranching of bison, which benefit conservation efforts by dispersing seeds, increasing plant biodiversity, and enhancing groundwater recharge.
• Restoring grassland on previously cultivated landscapes, particularly in buffer zones near natural features.
• Encouraging and supporting agricultural parks that combine recreation and food production and foster appreciation for agricultural heritage.
• Promoting sustainable intensification, which increases production and profitability while providing rich sources of habitat for biodiversity.

Establish strategies, procedures and policies that prevent degradation or loss of critical habitat and sensitive areas, such as Cross Timbers, upland forests, wetlands, wildlife corridors, groundwater recharge zones, and riparian areas. Protection methods should ensure that placement of lots, alignment of roads, and installation of structures and infrastructure minimize disturbance of the environmentally sensitive areas using tools such as:

• Directing development to appropriate locations;
• Greenbelt preservation;
• Assurance of no development in protected open space;
• Clustering / conservation subdivisions;
• Pervious surface treatments;
• Density transfers; and/or
• Conservation easements.

Ensure that strategies, procedures, and policies incorporate principles of connectivity, minimal fragmentation, representativeness, and heterogeneity.

Incorporate preventive health care and wellness education into public schools, recreation centers, senior centers, and technical/trade schools.

Pursue grants, partnerships, and programs that accomplish the following:

• Restore tree stands and wildlife habitats in environmentally sensitive areas.
• Acquire land or establish conservation easements in environmentally sensitive areas to reserve as permanent open space and protect wildlife and habitat.
• Establish a comprehensive habitat management program.
• Provide education and resources for proper use of pesticides and fertilizers, with special focus on encouraging integrated pest management and organic practices.
• Provide education about land management practices that address fire suppression, invasive species, use of herbicides/pesticides, and overgrazing.
• Promote the economic and aesthetic value of preserving Oklahoma City’s natural resources such as riparian areas, Cross Timbers forest, grasslands/prairie, bottomland forests, and wetlands.

Establish development regulations to help protect Oklahoma City’s water resources through standards that:

• Require buffers, setbacks, and vegetation conservation requirements to protect riparian and littoral zones and filter waterborne pollutants from development activities and storm water runoff. Buffer widths should be based on water quality function and wildlife habitat needs.
• Encourage natural drainage systems and methods for onsite infiltration and onsite sediment retention.
• Require new developments to maintain or decrease the site’s pre-development runoff rate.
• Allow low-impact development design features such as pervious pavement, rain gardens, landscaped parkways, and alternative curbing designs.
• Reduce the amount of impervious surfaces allowed in buffer zones around Environmentally Sensitive Areas.
• Restore watershed features such as forest, wetlands, and natural stream channels.

Revise policies, codes and development regulations to reduce the risk of damage resulting from flooding and preserve water quality and stream related habitat by avoiding alterations to the 100-year floodplain (as depicted on the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map). Allow these areas to remain in their natural state to the greatest extent possible. Revised policies should allow positive alterations, such as restoration of natural riparian areas with appropriate vegetation.

Preserve wetlands in their natural state to the greatest extent possible to increase water quality, minimize quantity of runoff, and increase groundwater recharge. Maintain wetland headwaters and avoid the alteration of surface or subsurface drainage patterns that would eliminate, reduce, or severely alter the frequency and volume of water entering wetland areas.

Revise development regulations to require the following factors to be addressed in development and redevelopment proposals:

• Preservation of existing natural resources, such as wooded areas, habitat areas, and floodplains.
• Utilization of natural treatments and methods to stabilize or rehabilitate stream and river banks as a means to preserve downstream habitats.
• Integration of a variety of native or compatible non-native, non-invasive plant species.
• Mitigation of impacts of development on habitat, wildlife corridors, riparian and littoral areas, and water quality, through actions such as restoration or re-vegetation of disturbed natural areas and replacement of trees/habitat on-site or off-site.
• Management of invasive plant and animal species.
• Management and maintenance of natural areas, common areas and drainage areas.
• Impact on surface and groundwater supply.
• Impact on water quality caused by land uses and activities.
• Impacts on floodplains, riparian and littoral areas and wetlands and areas with significant landforms.

Modify development and subdivision regulations, and City policies to minimize alteration of natural landforms and native vegetation and maximize retention of distinctive natural features for public and private projects.

Preserve overall landscape character and natural landforms (rolling hills, native vegetation, etc.) to the greatest extent possible.

Increase the amount of biodiversity-rich green space in urban and suburban areas by:

• Integrating vegetation to support biodiversity in parks, gardens, trails, and green roofs. Native vegetation that provides food and habitat for native wildlife such as “micro prairies” and urban forests will have the greatest effect.
• Encouraging optimal mowing practices on large lots that are adjacent to natural features.

Enrich natural biodiversity in agricultural areas by promoting practices that provide food, water, and habitat for wildlife and minimize negative impacts. Strategies to achieve the goal include:

• Working with farmers, rancher, conservationists, sustainable agricultural organizations, and other stakeholders to develop a plan to conserve nature in farming and ranching landscapes.
• Implementing optimal mowing strategies, which include harvesting grasses at a growing height of 10 plus inches; creating early successional habitat with burning, disking, and haying every 3-5 years; mowing from the center of a field outward to allow wildlife to escape the surrounding areas; adding flushing bars to mowing equipment to minimize bird injuries and death; leaving 4-6 inches of stubble after harvest to capture snow and water; harvesting or mowing after first frost to avoid disturbing bird nests and improve grass quality; and leaving portions of fields as standing crops.
• Increasing nesting habitat.
• Adopting best practices for fertilizer and pesticide applications.
• Developing landscape conservation cooperatives.
• Encouraging grassland ranching as an ecologically beneficial alternative to cultivation, particularly practices such as “mob grazing” that mimic natural grazing patterns.
• Promoting ranching of bison, which benefit conservation efforts by dispersing seeds, increasing plant biodiversity, and enhancing groundwater recharge.
• Restoring grassland on previously cultivated landscapes, particularly in buffer zones near natural features.
• Encouraging and supporting agricultural parks that combine recreation and food production and foster appreciation for agricultural heritage.
• Promoting sustainable intensification, which increases production and profitability while providing rich sources of habitat for biodiversity.

Protect and preserve natural resources, by:

• Identifying and mapping valuable natural resources, such as, native prairies.
• Maintaining a comprehensive inventory and assessment of natural resources and critical habitats.
• Identifying opportunities to create an interconnected green infrastructure network throughout and beyond Oklahoma City’s municipal boundaries via existing trail and greenway projects, parks, stream corridors, and natural areas.
• Seeking the voluntary sale of land or dedication of conservation easements on private land that is identified as critical habitat or is necessary to link wildlife corridors.
• Pursuing protection of strategically identified natural areas by placing them in conservation easements or land banks, and reserving them for future use as open space and passive recreational areas.
• Managing invasive plant and animal species.
• Partnering with applicable State agencies and non-profit entities.

Strive to preserve natural open spaces, including native prairies, and re-plant native vegetation to take advantage of their drought tolerance and deep root structures that slow and adsorb stormwater runoff and reduce erosion by anchoring the soil.

Identify and protect critical habitats for state and federally listed threatened or endangered species.

Establish strategies, procedures and policies that prevent degradation or loss of critical habitat and sensitive areas, such as Cross Timbers, upland forests, wetlands, wildlife corridors, groundwater recharge zones, and riparian areas. Protection methods should ensure that placement of lots, alignment of roads, and installation of structures and infrastructure minimize disturbance of the environmentally sensitive areas using tools such as:

• Directing development to appropriate locations;
• Greenbelt preservation;
• Assurance of no development in protected open space;
• Clustering / conservation subdivisions;
• Pervious surface treatments;
• Density transfers; and/or
• Conservation easements.

Ensure that strategies, procedures, and policies incorporate principles of connectivity, minimal fragmentation, representativeness, and heterogeneity.

Revise subdivision regulations to include connectivity standards and guidelines that require greater street connectivity, and provide allowances for pedestrian and bicycle connections when street connectivity cannot be made.

Establish regulations that require pedestrian connections between new commercial development and adjoining residential areas.

Change subdivision regulations to determine the number of entries into a residential development based on number of lots in order to improve connectivity of the roadway network and emergency response.

Establish a process for existing neighborhoods to request traffic calming, including how to evaluate the request, select the appropriate type of calming treatment, and fund recommendations.

Require sidewalks on both sides of all streets in urban LUTAs and in the Rural Residential LUTA for subdivisions with densities greater than 1 unit per acre.

Develop and adopt new standards/guidelines to promote new residential subdivision designs that orient residential neighborhoods toward adjacent complementary uses or features such as parks, schools, open space, and neighborhood serving commercial sites, promoting improved direct accessibility and more seamless community integration.

Define responsibilities and assurances for maintaining, repairing, or replacing community walls and fences. Consider creating programs for routine and consistent maintenance of fencing along arterial roadways that could include fencing assessment districts, long-term bonds, or assigned HOA maintenance of community fencing.

Create regulations/standards/guidelines that focus on design and/or compatibility principles which are sensitive to the surrounding urban form, especially in areas that are stable or improving and whose character is well-established. These provisions should also help ensure compatibility between lower- and higher- intensity land uses.

Create places and opportunities for neighborhood events that allow neighbors to interact.

Strengthen existing businesses and business districts within and adjacent to established residential areas. Promote the development of new businesses to provide additional jobs and higher income opportunities for nearby residents.

Use established mechanisms/tools to allow property owners to provide for the perpetual maintenance, repair and reconstruction of private roads, sidewalks, trails, utilities, and parks in new housing developments by requiring funding mechanisms such as:

• Maintenance bonds/escrows
• Special assessment districts, such as Business Improvement District or Special Improvement District
• Covenants requiring compulsory membership in an incorporated Property Owners Association whose members will be financially liable for any such maintenance, repair, or reconstruction costs.

Incorporate these financing options into the platting process (or zoning process in the case of PUDs).
Construct all private roads and utilities to comply with minimum design and paving standards as outlined in the City of Oklahoma City Subdivision Regulations, including those related to the appropriate Street Typology.

Modify codes to allow residential clustering in rural land use typology areas, provided water supply and sewage disposal requirements are met, and permanently preserve nearby open space through means such as conservation easements.

Maximize fire safety through actions such as:
Modifying regulations and guidelines to prevent subdivisions with a single point of access – except those with fewer than 10 homes.
Developing a vegetation management program targeting the wildland/urban interface, including rights-of-way in rural areas, and incorporating recommendations from the National Fire Protection Association’s Firewise Communities initiative.
Requiring residential sprinklers for developments located in Rural Land Use Typologies.
Requiring exceptional, effective, and easy access to sites augmented by a thorough system of connections within and between developments.

Adopt new citywide site design and building regulations that ensure new developments meet basic functional and aesthetic minimums related to:

• Walkability and bike-ability
• Internal and external street connectivity
• Integration of uses
• Signage
• Building location
• Building appearance
• Open space (passive and active)

Encourage the integration of different land uses in urban areas through the following means:

• Promote the use of performance standards in place of existing zoning methods (which address incompatibility by separating uses). Performance-based regulations should focus on achieving compatibility between uses by addressing the following:
  • Noise, odors and air quality
  • Traffic and parking (allow flexible, but sufficient parking)
  • Site layout and building design
  • Waste
  • Safety
  • Lighting (glare control, placement, and shielding)
  • Delivery hours
• Enhance transit service (bus and rail).
• Prevent large areas of concentration of any particular land use such as multi-family or commercial.

Amend the zoning ordinance to better accommodate the integration of various residential densities, building types, and styles.

Adopt subdivision regulations that ensure new neighborhoods meet the basic needs of residents while supporting an efficient development pattern. Regulations should cover:

• Open space (passive and active),
• Demonstration of sustainable funding levels for common area and facility maintenance costs,
• Walkability and bikeability,
• Internal and external street connectivity,
• Block length,
• Integration of uses,
• Integration of a variety of home sizes,
• Integration of a variety of unit types, and
• Preservation of Environmentally Sensitive Areas.

Regulations could be based on a point scale to allow flexibility, while still requiring basic minimum thresholds be met.
New regulations should remove the existing requirement for development in Rural LUTAs to connect to water and sewer systems and establish a minimum one-acre lot size for lots with on-site sewer treatment.

Routinely assess the City’s development standards, design guidelines, and development review procedures to ensure that they reflect current trends in best-practice and allow for innovative design techniques and evolving methods in low-impact development.

Enhance existing development standards and establish design guidelines for areas outside of the City’s existing Design Review Overlay Districts. Development standards and design guidelines could include the following provisions:

• Minimize views and prominence of parking lots in relation to structures on a site.
• Sense of proportion (street width to building height, human scale)
• Pedestrian orientation of structures and architectural detailing/fenestration
• Terminated vistas
• Reduce the predominance of residential garages in the design of the front facades of single-family residences.
• Inclusion of front porches into the design of residential structures.
• Internal orientation of parking facilities and garages in multi-family developments.
• Improved pedestrian safety and enhanced pedestrian access through parking lots.

Develop distinctive standards for different types and categories of walls and fences, emphasizing durability, aesthetics, and visual continuity in materials and design with particular consideration of zoning classification.

Initiate new efforts to reduce sign clutter and improve the aesthetics of signs, while allowing for adequate and visible business identification by the following potential measures:

• Restrict new billboards and eliminate or reduce the number of existing billboards.
• Require non-conforming signs to be removed or be brought into compliance with existing regulations within a specific timeframe.
• Consider new standards in the Sign Ordinance to improve limits on the size, height, and number of signs.
• Improve proactive enforcement of the City’s sign regulations to curtail the placement of illegal signs and ensure adequate maintenance of signs.

Incorporate natural features (such as ponds, lakes, streams, rock outcroppings, stands of mature trees, and/or sizable individual trees) into the design of all residential, commercial, and industrial projects rather than eliminating, hiding, or limiting access to those features.

Establish streetscape standards requiring attractive entry features and the provision of accessible common open space in new neighborhoods.

Develop and adopt new standards/guidelines to promote new residential subdivision designs that orient residential neighborhoods toward adjacent complementary uses or features such as parks, schools, open space, and neighborhood serving commercial sites, promoting improved direct accessibility and more seamless community integration.

Develop and adopt new standards to minimize the detrimental appearance of accessory utility equipment (i.e. transformers, cable cabinets, telephone cabinets, utility meters, valves, etc.) by integrating them into less prominent areas of the site design or by screening them with landscaping, artistic features, or architectural materials compatible with the primary structures. If not encouraged, artistic embellishment (creating urban ambiance with imaginatively designed/painted screens) should not be prohibited. Ensure that such facilities are situated so that they do not impede pedestrian access.

Enhance the City’s Landscape Ordinance by accomplishing the following objectives:

• Add guidelines and recommendations for landscape design that minimizes the need for supplemental irrigation.
• Clarify responsibilities and standards for landscape maintenance, including within public rights-of-way.
• Incentivize the use of drought-tolerant and native plants.
• Restrict the use of turf grass to the greatest extent feasible.
• Evaluate existing landscape standards for parking lots and consider making revisions that would result in more landscape buffering on parking lot fringes and more internal landscaping.
• Evaluate existing landscape standards to determine whether new standards should be adopted to help screen or buffer parking structures.
• Evaluate existing landscape standards in comparison to best practices and peer cities to determine whether minimum site landscaping standards should be revised and/or restructured to result in increased landscaping.

Consider the adoption of improved requirements to screen parked vehicles from view with enhanced landscaping, berming, low screen walls, and existing or proposed buildings, or some combination of those elements.

Establish a funded beautification program and source of funding to provide facade and landscaping enhancements along targeted industrial corridors.

Improve landscape design, installation, and landscape maintenance compliance through the following actions:

• Produce informational materials and work with local media to publicize the benefits of limiting turf areas (e.g. reduced water use, less mowing) and highlight the positive effects on property values and aesthetics that result from proper installation and maintenance of landscaping.
• Develop a program, including informational outreach, to inform property owners of their responsibilities to maintain right-of-way areas, the procedures for enforcement, and the applicable fines.
• Identify specific corridors with the worst landscape maintenance conditions and initiate coordinated clean-up programs in those locations.
• Install demonstration gardens/landscapes in select civic/public locations to provide practical examples of how to integrate drought tolerant and low maintenance plants in commercial and residential installations.
• Improve efficiency and effectiveness of the process for reporting, citing, and proactive enforcement violations for maintenance and compliance with landscape requirements.
• Explore the establishment of landscape improvement/maintenance districts where property owners are assessed a pro-rata share of the costs to properly and uniformly maintain landscaping within the district boundaries.

Develop a Master Streetscape Program to improve the appearance along major arterial streets. The program should outline methods for establishing a uniform streetscape appearance (with distinctive designs for individual streets or classifications of streets) through appropriate tree placement, species, and spacing, and coordinating the location of street trees in proximity to utilities, sidewalks, street lights and structures, and appropriate sidewalk designs. Differentiation in streetscape designs could be designated by street typology, designated areas, or other factors.

Using performance standards related to flow quantity, quality, and pattern, modify development regulations, codes, and policies to support the use of green infrastructure/low impact development techniques to mimic natural systems for developments within aquifer recharge zones with moderate or high vulnerability or in areas where streams and riparian areas have been channelized or developed (primarily in the Downtown, UH, and UM LUTAs). Low impact development techniques include but are not limited to:

• Onsite treating or filtering of stormwater contaminants.
• Discharging run-off as sheet-flow after passing through grassy or vegetated open space areas, rather than discharging run-off through concentrated outfalls.
• Creating attractive open space amenities that double as stormwater detention, retention, and / or filtering systems.
• Utilizing pervious pavement, pavers, or asphalt in appropriate locations (i.e. sidewalks, parking spaces, trails, patios, etc.).
• Utilizing planters (at grade or raised), vegetated landscape strips adjacent to roads and parking areas, and alternative curbing designs (allowing stormwater to easily move from impervious areas to pervious areas), to encourage stormwater infiltration and temporary detention.
• Rain Gardens
• Bioswales
• Green streets and alleys
• Green roofs
• Rooftop collection
• Underground detention
• Increased tree canopy preservation/tree planting
• Land/open space conservation
• Cluster development

Revise development regulations to require the following factors to be addressed in development and redevelopment proposals:

• Preservation of existing natural resources, such as wooded areas, habitat areas, and floodplains.
• Utilization of natural treatments and methods to stabilize or rehabilitate stream and river banks as a means to preserve downstream habitats.
• Integration of a variety of native or compatible non-native, non-invasive plant species.
• Mitigation of impacts of development on habitat, wildlife corridors, riparian and littoral areas, and water quality, through actions such as restoration or re-vegetation of disturbed natural areas and replacement of trees/habitat on-site or off-site.
• Management of invasive plant and animal species.
• Management and maintenance of natural areas, common areas and drainage areas.
• Impact on surface and groundwater supply.
• Impact on water quality caused by land uses and activities.
• Impacts on floodplains, riparian and littoral areas and wetlands and areas with significant landforms.

Revise the landscape ordinance to include the following:

• Define terms such as invasive species, exotic/non-native species, and native/indigenous species
• Require removal of invasive species from existing sites, and prohibit such species from being planted or maintained in new development.
• Provide a reference list of native plants and drought-tolerant plants.
• Provide incentives for using native and drought-tolerant plants and disincentives for using high-water plants and turf grass.
• Establish requirements for using design practices that minimize the need for supplemental irrigation.

Preserve natural habitat, maintain wildlife food sources, and reduce the risk of propagating invasive plant species by utilizing vegetation native to Oklahoma, preferably central Oklahoma, for all mitigation and habitat restoration efforts associated with new development and redevelopment projects, public and private, to the greatest extent possible.

Establish an Urban Forestry Program and City Urban Forester position to achieve the following:

• Measure and monitor tree canopy coverage and habitat on a regular basis so that any policies, programs, and regulations may be adjusted accordingly as situations change. Establish a process to maintain current data.
• Develop and maintain regulations, policies, processes, and programs that focus on protection and preservation of native trees.
• Provide assistance with proper tree selection, location, and maintenance to prevent power outages, reduce property damage, and coordinate emergency response during natural disaster events (excessive snow and ice, tornadoes, etc.), address the urban heat island effect, and reduce energy costs, etc.
• Establish programs such as tree give-aways, neighborhood planting programs, and education workshops.
• Provide resources to the public about tree selection, management, and care.
• Seek grant funding for community tree planting to improve City parks, publicly maintained rights-of-way and other areas of the city.
• Inventory the City’s street trees and develop a tree replacement program.
• Partner with volunteer and nonprofit organizations to recruit volunteers for tree planting and maintenance and to coordinate community-wide tree planting efforts.

Develop and adopt a tree preservation ordinance that achieves the following:

• Defines methods of preservation;
• Defines situations where preservation of trees is mandatory versus optional;
• Establishes incentives for tree preservation;
• Establishes mitigation options if preservation cannot be accomplished; and
• Establishes penalties for unauthorized tree removal.

Pursue methods to reduce the impact of the urban heat island effect on Oklahoma City by:

• Establishing a minimum canopy coverage requirement over paved surfaces such as parking lots.
• Instating a “continuous canopy” requirement for new streets and street reconstruction projects.
• Promoting the use of building and roofing materials that reduce heat island effects.

Modify development and subdivision regulations, and City policies to minimize alteration of natural landforms and native vegetation and maximize retention of distinctive natural features for public and private projects.

Establish development regulations that help improve air quality, including:

• Specifying construction controls that reduce airborne dust;
• Increasing landscaping and tree planting to absorb carbon dioxide and air pollutants; and
• Encouraging development patterns and densities that support alternative modes of transportation in the urban LUTAs.

Enhance existing development standards and establish design guidelines for areas outside of the City’s existing Design Review Overlay Districts. Development standards and design guidelines could include the following provisions:

• Minimize views and prominence of parking lots in relation to structures on a site.
• Sense of proportion (street width to building height, human scale)
• Pedestrian orientation of structures and architectural detailing/fenestration
• Terminated vistas
• Reduce the predominance of residential garages in the design of the front facades of single-family residences.
• Inclusion of front porches into the design of residential structures.
• Internal orientation of parking facilities and garages in multi-family developments.
• Improved pedestrian safety and enhanced pedestrian access through parking lots.

Enhance the City’s Landscape Ordinance by accomplishing the following objectives:

• Add guidelines and recommendations for landscape design that minimizes the need for supplemental irrigation.
• Clarify responsibilities and standards for landscape maintenance, including within public rights-of-way.
• Incentivize the use of drought-tolerant and native plants.
• Restrict the use of turf grass to the greatest extent feasible.
• Evaluate existing landscape standards for parking lots and consider making revisions that would result in more landscape buffering on parking lot fringes and more internal landscaping.
• Evaluate existing landscape standards to determine whether new standards should be adopted to help screen or buffer parking structures.
• Evaluate existing landscape standards in comparison to best practices and peer cities to determine whether minimum site landscaping standards should be revised and/or restructured to result in increased landscaping.

Develop and adopt new standards/guidelines that result in improvements to parking structure design including the following potential measures:

• Design parking structures to be architecturally integrated with adjoining primary structure(s).
• Include integrated storefronts or other active uses on the ground floors of parking structures that are adjacent to public sidewalks and other pedestrian plazas.
• Enhanced exterior façades of structures by integrating architectural features and materials that complement the character of the surrounding area, or screening with vegetation.

Consider the adoption of improved requirements to screen parked vehicles from view with enhanced landscaping, berming, low screen walls, and existing or proposed buildings, or some combination of those elements.

Develop a Master Streetscape Program to improve the appearance along major arterial streets. The program should outline methods for establishing a uniform streetscape appearance (with distinctive designs for individual streets or classifications of streets) through appropriate tree placement, species, and spacing, and coordinating the location of street trees in proximity to utilities, sidewalks, street lights and structures, and appropriate sidewalk designs. Differentiation in streetscape designs could be designated by street typology, designated areas, or other factors.

Using performance standards related to flow quantity, quality, and pattern, modify development regulations, codes, and policies to support the use of green infrastructure/low impact development techniques to mimic natural systems for developments within aquifer recharge zones with moderate or high vulnerability or in areas where streams and riparian areas have been channelized or developed (primarily in the Downtown, UH, and UM LUTAs). Low impact development techniques include but are not limited to:

• Onsite treating or filtering of stormwater contaminants.
• Discharging run-off as sheet-flow after passing through grassy or vegetated open space areas, rather than discharging run-off through concentrated outfalls.
• Creating attractive open space amenities that double as stormwater detention, retention, and / or filtering systems.
• Utilizing pervious pavement, pavers, or asphalt in appropriate locations (i.e. sidewalks, parking spaces, trails, patios, etc.).
• Utilizing planters (at grade or raised), vegetated landscape strips adjacent to roads and parking areas, and alternative curbing designs (allowing stormwater to easily move from impervious areas to pervious areas), to encourage stormwater infiltration and temporary detention.
• Rain Gardens
• Bioswales
• Green streets and alleys
• Green roofs
• Rooftop collection
• Underground detention
• Increased tree canopy preservation/tree planting
• Land/open space conservation
• Cluster development

Revise development regulations to require the following factors to be addressed in development and redevelopment proposals:

• Preservation of existing natural resources, such as wooded areas, habitat areas, and floodplains.
• Utilization of natural treatments and methods to stabilize or rehabilitate stream and river banks as a means to preserve downstream habitats.
• Integration of a variety of native or compatible non-native, non-invasive plant species.
• Mitigation of impacts of development on habitat, wildlife corridors, riparian and littoral areas, and water quality, through actions such as restoration or re-vegetation of disturbed natural areas and replacement of trees/habitat on-site or off-site.
• Management of invasive plant and animal species.
• Management and maintenance of natural areas, common areas and drainage areas.
• Impact on surface and groundwater supply.
• Impact on water quality caused by land uses and activities.
• Impacts on floodplains, riparian and littoral areas and wetlands and areas with significant landforms.

Revise the landscape ordinance to include the following:

• Define terms such as invasive species, exotic/non-native species, and native/indigenous species
• Require removal of invasive species from existing sites, and prohibit such species from being planted or maintained in new development.
• Provide a reference list of native plants and drought-tolerant plants.
• Provide incentives for using native and drought-tolerant plants and disincentives for using high-water plants and turf grass.
• Establish requirements for using design practices that minimize the need for supplemental irrigation.

Establish an Urban Forestry Program and City Urban Forester position to achieve the following:

• Measure and monitor tree canopy coverage and habitat on a regular basis so that any policies, programs, and regulations may be adjusted accordingly as situations change. Establish a process to maintain current data.
• Develop and maintain regulations, policies, processes, and programs that focus on protection and preservation of native trees.
• Provide assistance with proper tree selection, location, and maintenance to prevent power outages, reduce property damage, and coordinate emergency response during natural disaster events (excessive snow and ice, tornadoes, etc.), address the urban heat island effect, and reduce energy costs, etc.
• Establish programs such as tree give-aways, neighborhood planting programs, and education workshops.
• Provide resources to the public about tree selection, management, and care.
• Seek grant funding for community tree planting to improve City parks, publicly maintained rights-of-way and other areas of the city.
• Inventory the City’s street trees and develop a tree replacement program.
• Partner with volunteer and nonprofit organizations to recruit volunteers for tree planting and maintenance and to coordinate community-wide tree planting efforts.

Pursue methods to reduce the impact of the urban heat island effect on Oklahoma City by:

• Establishing a minimum canopy coverage requirement over paved surfaces such as parking lots.
• Instating a “continuous canopy” requirement for new streets and street reconstruction projects.
• Promoting the use of building and roofing materials that reduce heat island effects.

Modify development and subdivision regulations, and City policies to minimize alteration of natural landforms and native vegetation and maximize retention of distinctive natural features for public and private projects.

Improve parking provisions in neighborhoods that are near vibrant commercial corridors/areas by improving parking and corridor design, non-vehicular networks, transit, and signage.

Amend the landscape ordinance to increase the number of trees and landscaped islands required in parking lots.

Provide incentives for developers to build parking garages in high density areas. Include design requirements for projects receiving incentives.

Using performance standards related to flow quantity, quality, and pattern, modify development regulations, codes, and policies to support the use of green infrastructure/low impact development techniques to mimic natural systems for developments within aquifer recharge zones with moderate or high vulnerability or in areas where streams and riparian areas have been channelized or developed (primarily in the Downtown, UH, and UM LUTAs). Low impact development techniques include but are not limited to:

• Onsite treating or filtering of stormwater contaminants.
• Discharging run-off as sheet-flow after passing through grassy or vegetated open space areas, rather than discharging run-off through concentrated outfalls.
• Creating attractive open space amenities that double as stormwater detention, retention, and / or filtering systems.
• Utilizing pervious pavement, pavers, or asphalt in appropriate locations (i.e. sidewalks, parking spaces, trails, patios, etc.).
• Utilizing planters (at grade or raised), vegetated landscape strips adjacent to roads and parking areas, and alternative curbing designs (allowing stormwater to easily move from impervious areas to pervious areas), to encourage stormwater infiltration and temporary detention.
• Rain Gardens
• Bioswales
• Green streets and alleys
• Green roofs
• Rooftop collection
• Underground detention
• Increased tree canopy preservation/tree planting
• Land/open space conservation
• Cluster development

Establish development regulations to help protect Oklahoma City’s water resources through standards that:

• Require buffers, setbacks, and vegetation conservation requirements to protect riparian and littoral zones and filter waterborne pollutants from development activities and storm water runoff. Buffer widths should be based on water quality function and wildlife habitat needs.
• Encourage natural drainage systems and methods for onsite infiltration and onsite sediment retention.
• Require new developments to maintain or decrease the site’s pre-development runoff rate.
• Allow low-impact development design features such as pervious pavement, rain gardens, landscaped parkways, and alternative curbing designs.
• Reduce the amount of impervious surfaces allowed in buffer zones around Environmentally Sensitive Areas.
• Restore watershed features such as forest, wetlands, and natural stream channels.

Revise the landscape ordinance to include the following:

• Define terms such as invasive species, exotic/non-native species, and native/indigenous species
• Require removal of invasive species from existing sites, and prohibit such species from being planted or maintained in new development.
• Provide a reference list of native plants and drought-tolerant plants.
• Provide incentives for using native and drought-tolerant plants and disincentives for using high-water plants and turf grass.
• Establish requirements for using design practices that minimize the need for supplemental irrigation.

Enhance the City’s ability to improve the appearance of existing parks through the following:

• Targeted cleanup and beautification program;
• Seek sponsors to donate funds to improve park signage and lighting;
• Litter and graffiti abatement program.

Enhance public park design standards to allow for public art and innovative design solutions regarding stormwater management, use of native vegetation, open space, and play areas.

Explore the use of artificial turf, alternative materials and or other types of ground covers that do not require heavy maintenance or frequent mowing.

Replace existing high-maintenance, high-water plant material with attractive native plants.

Study the feasibility of allowing community gardens in some park areas and create a community garden pilot program.

Utilize existing natural streams as amenities in public parks, and regularly monitor and maintain stream banks for safety of park users.

Protect the health of park visitors by utilizing the most environmentally friendly least toxic means available of reducing weeds and other pests to acceptable levels.

Upon the completion and adoption of the long-range solid waste flow and disposal plan, use any applicable recommendations to update planokc.

Coordinate with the county extension offices and neighboring jurisdictions to improve the public outreach campaign about the benefits of backyard composting.

Revise the landscape ordinance to include the following:

• Define terms such as invasive species, exotic/non-native species, and native/indigenous species
• Require removal of invasive species from existing sites, and prohibit such species from being planted or maintained in new development.
• Provide a reference list of native plants and drought-tolerant plants.
• Provide incentives for using native and drought-tolerant plants and disincentives for using high-water plants and turf grass.
• Establish requirements for using design practices that minimize the need for supplemental irrigation.

Establish strategies, procedures and policies for City construction projects to achieve higher energy efficiency, including:

• Implementing an energy management plan for City facilities.
• Monitoring energy consumption of City facilities, tracking conservation progress, and communicating results to City administrators, employees, elected officials and the public.
• Assessing water use in City facilities to identify opportunities for conservation and implement appropriate measures.

Develop an enforcement mechanism for the City’s Building Energy Code. Develop a healthy building code to support construction of durable, health-promoting and energy efficient buildings that incorporate proven green development practices, locally-sourced and environmentally responsible materials, water conservation fixtures, innovative design and construction techniques, and low waste construction practices. Incentivize their use with shorter approval procedures, priority permits and inspections, and reduced fees.

Identify and remove barriers related to water conservation practices, including rainwater harvesting, graywater irrigation, treated effluent re-use practices, and others.

Develop an inventory of water uses at City facilities. Identify opportunities to reduce water use while sustaining service levels to the public. Implement the most prudent opportunities.