A plan to breathe new life into one of the City of Langleys more troublesome corners was greeted with a mix of enthusiasm and caution by members of council on Monday night.

At its Monday (Feb. 16) meeting, council issued a development permit for the construction of an eight-unit townhouse complex on a strip of land at the corner of 56 Avenue and 201A Street an area that is somewhat notorious for illicit drug use and prostitution.

At a public hearing earlier in the meeting, architect Fred Adab and landscape architect Mary Chan presented a plan for the development on behalf of the property owner, Jasbir Singh, who operates the Stop and Shop convenience store on the opposite side of 56 Avenue.

The lot, which is long and very narrow, presented a unique challenge for designers, said Adab.

The solution came in a plan for two buildings of four units each, to be constructed in a single line fronting 201A Street, with driveway and parking access at the rear of the property.

The eight three-storey units will be 1,500 square feet, including three bedrooms and a den. Each unit will boast a private rooftop garden with lattices and a two-car garage.

The development is geared toward affluent people who are downsizing from a detached house, but dont want to live in a tiny apartment or townhouse, said Adab.

The proposal includes skirting the property with 40 trees and 750 shrubs all drought-tolerant, said Chan, during a brief presentation.

Only one person spoke at the public hearing. A resident of the condominium complex at 20145 55A Ave., located across the street from the proposed development, complimented the architect on the design, but told council she is concerned about the impact that eight new units might have on already limited parking in the area. She asked whether any measures could be taken to designate street parking as resident-only.

Its a lovely building, she said. I like the urban design and the gardens.

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Townhouse complex planned for problematic area of City

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Dodge County Master Gardeners meet Feb. 26

A landscape architect, a small-business owner and a schoolteacher are competing in Tuesday's primary election to fill a vacant seat on the Milwaukee County Board.

Wauwatosa Ald. Jason Wilke, Nicholas Hunt and Edward Cullen the son of the former supervisor who held the seat want to represent the board's 15th District in the final year before major changes are coming, including a pay cut, reduced authority and a part-time job status for supervisors.

Wilke, 42, is the only candidate with experience in public elective office. He has served on the Wauwatosa Common Council since 2009. He works as a landscape architect with the Waukesha County Parks Department.

Hunt, 34, is the owner of Nova Energy & Automation in Milwaukee, maker of power distribution panels for medical imaging equipment, and a few other businesses. He described himself as an entrepreneur with a work history as an accountant and financial analyst for General Electric and Johnson Controls.

Cullen, 23, who goes by Eddie, is a first-grade teacher at the Lloyd St. campus of Milwaukee College Prep, a public charter school.

A special nonpartisan election is needed to fill the seat vacated by the resignation of David Cullen. Cullen was elected Milwaukee County treasurer in November.

The top two finishers in the primary will compete in the April 7 general election. The winner will represent the district for the final year of the term.

The district on the west side of the county extends from the north edge of West Milwaukee and the Zablocki Veterans Affairs Medical Center through Milwaukee neighborhoods to the east side of Wauwatosa before turning west toward the intersection of U.S. Highway 45 and Capitol Drive.

After the April 2016 election, supervisor terms will change from four years to two, under a 2013 state law known as Act 14. The law also took away the Milwaukee board's power to negotiate contracts and land sales.

At the same time, supervisor pay will be cut in half, to about $24,051 a year, to comply with a 2014 referendum required by the law. The board chairman's salary also will drop 50%, to about $36,000.

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Three vie for chance to fill vacant County Board seat

A proposal for further residential development around the western shoreline of Lake Wanaka in an outstanding natural landscape should be turned down, a council planner says.

Sharpridge Trust has applied to the Queenstown Lakes District Council for a third building platform on a 137ha property next to Lake Wanaka, 5km from Wanaka township towards Glendhu Bay.

The trust already had approval for two residential building platforms which would extend the boundaries of the subdivision.

A hearing to consider the proposal will be held at Edgewater, in Wanaka, tomorrow.

Council senior planner Hanna Afifi has recommended the application be refused, as adverse effects of the development had not been appropriately addressed.

The proposal would lead to a reduction of 19.6ha of land designated for passive revegetation and would have ''moderately significant'' adverse effects on the outstanding natural landscape because of the cumulative effects of further extending a ''ribbon of residential development'' along the western shore of the lake.

Nor had potential effects on archaeological sites been addressed in the application.

Based on an assessment by the council's consultant landscape architect Marion Read, lake users would be the most adversely affected by views of the development, Ms Afifi's report said.

Dr Read considered one proposed building platform would extend the built form along the western side of Lake Wanaka by more than 2km, reducing the openness and natural character of the lake margins.

Five submissions objected to Sharpridge Trust's application, 77 supported it and one was neutral.

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Planner opposes project

NOT all edible landscapes are environment-friendly. I am a witness to this reality as a field agriculturist for almost five years and even if when I was already in the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA).

In 2006, the provincial government took the lead. With the cooperation of the private sector, NGOs, and LGUs, organic agriculture made its way forward. Thus the start of edible landscape that is environment-friendly, sustainable and replicable.

Actually, even before this, I have been bringing people to some organic farms who were ahead already, like that of Campo Verde of BIND at Moises Padilla, Buro-buro Farm, and that of Ariel de la Cruzs at the mountains of Talisay City, Fresh Start Organics and of course, Pealosa Farm in Manapla and Victorias City, which is my focus for today.

When I went to his farm to interview MS Ramon Pealosa, I wanted to hear and see more of his dynamism in the farm.

Besides the transformation in the landscape, I have seen the 8-bedroom new building for the in-house visitors. The construction is ongoing and maybe the next time I bring some visitors there it will be finished already.

The motto of MS Mon is that No Filipino should go hungry in his native land. This is the very essence why he has managed to create an agricultural landscape using indigenous technology that is doable, sustainable and replicable. This is the reason why many wanted to go to his farm and learn because he does not withhold anything as far as what makes the farm dynamic is concerned.

For a farmer to create such kind of edible landscape, he must have a revolution of mindset. From being a farmer-producer to being an entrepreneursuch is the advocacy of MS Mon. This is what the farmer-scientist who calls himself an agri-preneur wanted to impart to the learners who visit his farm.

So what do you see now when you visit his farm in Victorias is an integrated micro-model edible landscape that became an agro-tourism destination where you can learn the opportunities for sustainable agriculture, integrated farming system, zero-waste management and many more.

You will taste what they produce in the farm if you book for lunch. The welcome tea from lemon grass with mint has always been my favorite. Among the different types of sauce for the green salad that is always present in the lunch is the honey mustard.

Not only is the Pealosa Farm pro-organic, it is also market- driven. That is what he wanted to convey to the farmers who come to learn from him and even in his lectures across the country when he is invited to speak.

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Environment-friendly edible landscape

Traffic zips past the revitalized medians on Granada Boulevard this week. Ormond Beach commissioners signed off last month on the second phase of the project that will cover a stretch from Orchard Street to State Road A1A.

A nearly $1 million effort to revitalize medians and sidewalks along another portion of Granada Boulevard marks the second phase of a project to refurbish Ormond Beachs main thoroughfare.

City commissioners approved a $939,400 project last month to landscape medians and sidewalks along Granada from Orchard Street to State Road A1A. The majority of funding comes from the Florida Department of Transportation. The Granada bridge slopes are also included in the project.

The new designs will mirror the landscaping on Granadas medians that was completed last year from Washington to Beach streets. The city also installed an irrigation system, LED lights and buried power lines along Granada, Lincoln and New Britain avenues.

In addition to landscaping medians, the city will also remove east Palatka holly and crepe myrtles along Granada and replace them with palm trees. City landscape architect Paul MacDonald said the trees are blocking the windows and signs of businesses, and the palm trees will alleviate that problem because they will be higher. Grates surrounding the trees along the sidewalks will also be removed to make the sidewalks more pedestrian-friendly, MacDonald said.

The project is expected to begin in March and end in October. The tree-planting will require the city to close one lane on Granada after 7 p.m. on a few occasions.

The city also plans to spend $39,000 for a new irrigation system from its downtown trust fund. The total cost of all the work is $4 million to $5 million, MacDonald said.

The goal of this project is to make downtown more walkable and business-friendly, he said.

Doug Rand, owner of Billys Tap Room on Granada, said he was in favor of any project that would bring more visitors downtown. Adequate parking, however, may be a future issue that the city will need to address.

I think its going to be good for everyone down the road, he said about the upcoming construction. The quicker they can get it done, the better it will be for everyone.

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Granada makeover: Part 2 Sidewalks, medians next stage in $1 million renovation

Carol R. Johnson Biography: Childhood [1 of 11]
Anecdotes and images from Johnson #39;s childhood give insight into her later career as a landscape architect. Interviewed by Charles A. Birnbaum, July 2006. For...

By: The Cultural Landscape Foundation

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Carol R. Johnson Biography: Childhood [1 of 11] - Video

By Jim Bloch Voice Reporter

By the time the city of Detroit entered bankruptcy in July 2013, the beauty signified by the name Belle had become drab and tattered. In February 2014, as part of the bankruptcy restructuring, the Michigan Emergency Loan Board entered into a 30-year agreement with the state of Michigan to operate Belle Isle as the states 102nd state park. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources, which operates the state park system, does not pay rent to the city; instead, the city saves the $6 million or so per year it had been spending on the island.

This is our ninth month at Belle Isle, said Karris Floyd, manager of Belle Isle and the Milliken Nature Center, the wetland state park west of the Renaissance Center, speaking to 14 environmental and outdoor journalists on Oct. 24. He spoke in the Casino on Belle Isle, built in 1904 and used as an event hall ever since.

The Casino was not in good condition when we got here, said Floyd. Weve basically turned this into a very energy efficient building. We replaced all the lighting in here. Weve gone through and done a total cleaning. A lot of the windows were not energy efficient, so we changed those. This building is rented daily for weddings, meetings, you name it, year round. So we really put a lot of time and effort and money into this building.

The poor condition of the casino was the tip of the iceberg.

Because of the bankruptcy, the state wanted to come in and get Belle Isle back to what it was, said Floyd. We have a lot of specific items under the lease that were responsible for. That includes getting all the buildings back up and running. When we came in, we encountered a lot of homeless people living here. We encountered a lot of buildings in disarray, no roofs, no toilets, no sinks. All of that was a real challenge. Were also responsible for bringing the community back to Belle Isle. We are working to make the island safe again. We have a partnership with the Michigan State Police and also the Michigan Conservation Officers. They patrol the island for us. They do it 6 a.m.-10 p.m. every day.

The DNR plans to invest $20 million in the island through 2017.

The turnaround to date has been remarkable.

Belle Isle is emblematic of whats going on in Detroit, said Dan Wyant, director of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. It fell into disrepair. It has come back. The DNR and the state deserve a lot of credit for that.

If were not fulfilling our end of the lease, the city of Detroit at any time can take the island back, said Floyd. Continued...

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Michigans 102nd state park thrives under DNR

WEST DES MOINES Truro native and former site planner Randy Downs has been promoted to assistant director, site planner at Hy-Vee, Inc.

Downs graduated from I-35 High School and attended Iowa State University receiving a bachelors degree in landscape and architecture in 1989. He then worked in Hy-Vees engineering department as director of landscape architecture from 1999 to 2005. After spending several years working as a landscape architect/project manager for Snyder and Associates in Ankeny, Downs rejoined Hy-Vee as a site planner and a member of the executive staff.

Randy has tirelessly worked to get our new sites approved by municipal, county and state governmental agencies. He always has our customers convenience and safety at the top of his mind when designing sites, and he works extremely hard to control site costs on new construction and remodels, said Jeff Markey, senior vice president of store development at Hy-Vee.

The promotion was announced last month at the companys annual stockholders meeting. Thirty-four employees were promoted, including nine at group vice president, four at assistant vice president and three at senior vice president.

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Truro native Downs promoted at Hy-Vee

By Domenic Poli

dpoli@reformer.com @dpoli_reformer on Twitter

Scott Wunderle

SAXTONS RIVER >> The owner of the landscape architecture firm tasked with designing the park slated for the center of Saxtons River now represents Vermont on the national stage.

Scott Wunderle, who owns TERRIGENOUS in Chester, began his term as president of the Vermont chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects. He recently attended the Chapter Presidents Council biannual meeting in Denver, Colo., and will do so again this spring in Washington, D.C., and next fall in Chicago.

Wunderle, who earned two bachelor's degrees from the Rhode Island School of Design and sports a background in fine art and construction, said he advocates for the profession of landscape architecture and for the design process in general.

"The most successful projects I've worked on combine design, construction management, and hand craft," he said. "I control the macro and the micro throughout the process, and rely on others to do everything in between."

Wunderle told the Reformer the membership of the Vermont chapter which boasts about 60 people voted in the fall to make him president. He said he has since helped organize a holiday party and the 2014 Doug Crowell Lecture Series that featured Seattle-based architect James Cutler who designed the house of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates as part of Burlington City Arts. Wunderle also organizes monthly meetings of the Vermont chapter of the ASLA.

He said he also is in the middle of organizing the 2014-15 Public Places Awards, which will be held at the Vermont Statehouse. Wunderle told the Reformer the awards are a biannual event to honor landscape architects and members of allied professions who have worked on any outdoor space project.

Wunderle said his tenure has been a great experience so far and he appreciates who he gets to work with.

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TERRIGENOUS owner representing Vermont on national stage