Landscape Architect Articles

Elgin Green 07-31-13 | News

Elgin Green

Buck Abbey, ASLA,
The Green Laws Organization
New Orleans, Louisiana

"To promote sustainable growth of Elgin, through coordinated and cooperative leadership in order to attract businesses, encourage lifelong learning and maintain the shared belief in Elgin's core values.""?u"Envision Elgin" www.elgintx.com/planningreview.asp

The existing natural landscape character, especially native oak, elm and pecan trees, shall be preserved to the extent reasonable and feasible."?uElgin, Texas Landscape Ordinance, Jan. 8, 2013

A minimum of 20 percent of the street yard shall be landscaped on all newly developed residential properties. The Elgin code references approved species of trees and shrubs. This new Elgin development is Elm Creek.

Elgin, Texas (pop. 8,135) has been a creative community that has always embraced growth and change. Elgin, about 19 miles east of Austin, was founded in 1872 as a railroad town. By the time the community incorporated in 1901, two railroads connected the community to other agriculture communities in four directions.

This community holds two titles, the Sausage Capital of Texas, and the Brick Capital of the Southwest, but it is also infected with some of the same planning fever and desire for good growth as is found in Austin.

During some recent planning activity associated with a program referred to as "Envision Elgin," the community took a turn toward sustainability. Fueled by a Sustainable Places project grant, the city has taken a big step towards developing one of the few sustainability based landscape codes in the nation.

Landscape Code Going Green
The Capital Area Texas Sustainability (CATS) Consortium, through a grant from HUD and regional partnerships of local governments, is developing a new approach to planning in Central Texas through the Sustainable Places Project. The project is examining several growth scenarios for Austin, Dripping Springs, Elgin, Hutto, and Lockhart, and developing analytical tools to identify the long-term effects of the various scenarios on municipal budgets and community health. CATS will use this analysis to develop plans that align housing, jobs, and transportation options in a way that complements existing community values.

During the latter months of last year, discussions took place in Elgin to revise the city landscape code. The city realizes it stands in the direct path of an expanding Austin, which is creeping into Bastrop County. The city fathers knew a revised landscape code would help the city grow and develop in a responsible way to protect hometown values in this historic community. Editor's note: Texas state law requires municipalities that adopt zoning regulations to do so "in accordance with a comprehensive plan" (Texas Local Government Code ???(R)???AE????211.004).

Elgin's recently adopted landscape regulations add new language to a slightly out-of-date, resource-consumptive landscape code contained within Chapter 11 of the Code of Ordinances, the Zoning Ordinance. The final ordinance was enact January 8, 2013.

Purpose of the Code
As a result of involvement with CATS, Elgin is striking out in a new code writing direction for landscape design. This is best seen in the purpose statement of their landscape code.

The most important aspect any landscape code is the "purpose statement" and the "authority clause." These two parts of a code give power and direction to write a code that results in better community planning. In addition to the preservation of local heritage and increased aesthetics, the new Elgin landscape code promotes sustainable design and environmental stewardship for newly developed nonresidential and residential facilities. This is one of the few community codes that do so. The city proposes to do this by "reducing environmental impacts, promoting resource conservation, water conservation and collection, using native Texas or Texas adaptive plants." The city also wants designers to begin to harvest available rainfall by reducing the use of potable water, improving irrigation system design, decreasing runoff and filtering water though porous paving. It is a further goal of the city to increase the tree canopy of the city to produce more shade and to offer more healthy benefits to citizens by the "development of a pedestrian and cyclist friendly environment."

As predicted in this column about four years ago, landscape codes that have always been green, are going greener by embracing sustainable practices. Elgin seems to be a leader.

SITESTM and LEEDTM standards are not specifically set forth in the ordinance, but it is clear the intent is for designers to begin to use these sustainable systems to produce landscape design. Landscapes will indeed get greener in Elgin, Texas as this landscape code takes effect.

Other communities in Texas and across the nation ought to consider revising their 1980-2000 era landscape codes to embrace sustainable design.

Elgin is one community code that might be visited to understand the direction. For a copy of this newly adopted landscape ordinance contact the author by email at lsugreenlaws@aol.com.