The Lightfoot Planning Group

Carlsbad, Calif.

Mission Cove
Oceanside, Calif.
A project that exemplifies successful collaboration between public and private development, created a smarter, larger development that in the end, had an even greater impact on the community and surrounding neighborhood. The 14.5-acre, 288 apartment home development features multiple high-quality midrise building facilities for family apartments, seniors restricted housing, and commercial/residential mixed-use. Buildings are linked and integrated around prominent landscaped walks, courtyards, plazas and open space areas, promoting social connections, interactions and a sense of community to its residents. The Lightfoot Planning Group provided leadership and expertise to coordinate and process a challenging land planning project entitlement package and provide comprehensive landscape design for the entire development. The design incorporates10,500 square-feet of retail space and 8700 square feet. of community space, universal design standards and furnishings promoted throughout, landscaped walking paths and courtyards, tot-lot play, entertainment and gathering areas, ornamental landscape buffers and stormwater rain gardens.

Mission Cove
Oceanside, Calif.
A project that exemplifies successful collaboration between public and private development, created a smarter, larger development that in the end, had an even greater impact on the community and surrounding neighborhood. The 14.5-acre, 288 apartment home development features multiple high-quality midrise building facilities for family apartments, seniors restricted housing, and commercial/residential mixed-use. Buildings are linked and integrated around prominent landscaped walks, courtyards, plazas and open space areas, promoting social connections, interactions and a sense of community to its residents. The Lightfoot Planning Group provided leadership and expertise to coordinate and process a challenging land planning project entitlement package and provide comprehensive landscape design for the entire development. The design incorporates10,500 square-feet of retail space and 8700 square feet. of community space, universal design standards and furnishings promoted throughout, landscaped walking paths and courtyards, tot-lot play, entertainment and gathering areas, ornamental landscape buffers and stormwater rain gardens.

Robertson Ranch Rain Gardens

 
Carlsbad, Calif.
The Lightfoot Planning Group facilitated a comprehensive landscape site design for the master planned community of Robertson Ranch. Portions of the project required stormwater quality and protection controls. While "bio-basins" and vegetated swales are traditional techniques, Lightfoot put forth a higher design aesthetic to support the residential community character. The chain of landscaped rain gardens around the community incorporates some of the newest technology to support low impact development and substantially reduces the normal ground plane impacts in treating and storing stormwater runoff. The result is a better utilization of land and a higher curb appeal to the community. Areas once allocated solely for 'gray' stormwater utility now offer 'green' infrastructure. Other highlights include consolidated stormwater treatment units integrated into landscape, buried sub-surface storage cisterns for storage and future water reuse, increased ability to leverage grading spoils and reduce soil export, park-like landscape amenities for passive and recreational use.

Mission Avenue Streetscape
Oceanside, Calif.
This is the gateway to the city's downtown commercial zone from Interstate 5. The street was heavily dominated by vehicular and bus traffic in both directions and was characterized as a street with a freeway-like linearity with no traffic calming or enticement to slow down. The project program was to provide alternatives without a central median, that promoted a safe and walkable downtown, updated its streetscape and stimulated economic revitalization. The collaborative process between the design team, merchants, public, and decision makers, included conceptual designs for five alternatives, including the final concept that most embodied walkable Green Street principles. The Landscape Architect also proposed low impact development (LID) strategies to manage stormwater and provide trees and landscape buffers. Highlights of the design incorporate one way traffic circulation couplet with adjoining streets, reduction to two lanes of one-way traffic, incorporation of reverse angle parking, widened sidewalks with canopy trees, and sidewalk bulb-outs with new crosswalks.

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1 / 4

Mission Cove
Oceanside, Calif.
A project that exemplifies successful collaboration between public and private development, created a smarter, larger development that in the end, had an even greater impact on the community and surrounding neighborhood. The 14.5-acre, 288 apartment home development features multiple high-quality midrise building facilities for family apartments, seniors restricted housing, and commercial/residential mixed-use. Buildings are linked and integrated around prominent landscaped walks, courtyards, plazas and open space areas, promoting social connections, interactions and a sense of community to its residents. The Lightfoot Planning Group provided leadership and expertise to coordinate and process a challenging land planning project entitlement package and provide comprehensive landscape design for the entire development. The design incorporates10,500 square-feet of retail space and 8700 square feet. of community space, universal design standards and furnishings promoted throughout, landscaped walking paths and courtyards, tot-lot play, entertainment and gathering areas, ornamental landscape buffers and stormwater rain gardens.

2 / 4

Mission Cove
Oceanside, Calif.
A project that exemplifies successful collaboration between public and private development, created a smarter, larger development that in the end, had an even greater impact on the community and surrounding neighborhood. The 14.5-acre, 288 apartment home development features multiple high-quality midrise building facilities for family apartments, seniors restricted housing, and commercial/residential mixed-use. Buildings are linked and integrated around prominent landscaped walks, courtyards, plazas and open space areas, promoting social connections, interactions and a sense of community to its residents. The Lightfoot Planning Group provided leadership and expertise to coordinate and process a challenging land planning project entitlement package and provide comprehensive landscape design for the entire development. The design incorporates10,500 square-feet of retail space and 8700 square feet. of community space, universal design standards and furnishings promoted throughout, landscaped walking paths and courtyards, tot-lot play, entertainment and gathering areas, ornamental landscape buffers and stormwater rain gardens.

3 / 4

Robertson Ranch Rain Gardens
Carlsbad, Calif.
The Lightfoot Planning Group facilitated a comprehensive landscape site design for the master planned community of Robertson Ranch. Portions of the project required stormwater quality and protection controls. While "bio-basins" and vegetated swales are traditional techniques, Lightfoot put forth a higher design aesthetic to support the residential community character. The chain of landscaped rain gardens around the community incorporates some of the newest technology to support low impact development and substantially reduces the normal ground plane impacts in treating and storing stormwater runoff. The result is a better utilization of land and a higher curb appeal to the community. Areas once allocated solely for 'gray' stormwater utility now offer 'green' infrastructure. Other highlights include consolidated stormwater treatment units integrated into landscape, buried sub-surface storage cisterns for storage and future water reuse, increased ability to leverage grading spoils and reduce soil export, park-like landscape amenities for passive and recreational use.

4 / 4

Mission Avenue Streetscape
Oceanside, Calif.
This is the gateway to the city's downtown commercial zone from Interstate 5. The street was heavily dominated by vehicular and bus traffic in both directions and was characterized as a street with a freeway-like linearity with no traffic calming or enticement to slow down. The project program was to provide alternatives without a central median, that promoted a safe and walkable downtown, updated its streetscape and stimulated economic revitalization. The collaborative process between the design team, merchants, public, and decision makers, included conceptual designs for five alternatives, including the final concept that most embodied walkable Green Street principles. The Landscape Architect also proposed low impact development (LID) strategies to manage stormwater and provide trees and landscape buffers. Highlights of the design incorporate one way traffic circulation couplet with adjoining streets, reduction to two lanes of one-way traffic, incorporation of reverse angle parking, widened sidewalks with canopy trees, and sidewalk bulb-outs with new crosswalks.

We have been a recognized leader in community development since 1978. Our diverse multidisciplinary team of landscape architects and land planners specialize in all aspects of comprehensive planning, site evaluation landscape project design and approvals. We have provided award winning expertise and leadership for projects from initial inception through construction.
We rely on a proven collaborative team approach to foster the best design solutions. This process allows us to effectively prioritize thoughtful and proper strategies to meet the project goals and needs of our clients. Our mission is to assure client service and ensure final project solutions meet a triple bottom line of aesthetic, economic and environmental expectations in many diverse markets including residential communities, commercial and retail centers, academic campus and athletics design, homeowner association community support, open space and habitat enhancement, and mixed use and transit development. The Lightfoot Planning Group has a current staff level of 12 employees balanced between landscape architects, land planners, and support staff. We have three licensed landscape architects, each with over 30 years' experience as practitioners, three senior professional land planners, and three managing principals with two emeritus principals.

As seen in LASN magazine, November 2019.

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