Tag Archives: Featured

News

Street Trees

2014 updates to Tree Planting in the City of Lancaster…Everything you ever wanted to know about trees and a whole lot more…

Trees Ordinance, Chapter 273 of the Code of the City of Lancaster

The City of Lancaster tree ordinance acknowledges the urban forest as a necessary part of the City’s infrastructure. This green infrastructure provides numerous crucial ecosystem services to the city including environmental (stormwater management, carbon sequestration and urban wildlife habitat), social (human health, healing, and quality of life), and economic (increased property values, increased business activity and decreased energy use). However, the increased creation of urban land over time, coupled with the challenges in adequately maintaining the urban forest and tree canopy has created the need to further protect and conserve this valuable City resource.

A copy of the Trees Ordinance can be found here.
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Tree Manual: Regulations and Standards for Arborculture Work

The regulations of this Tree Manual are intended to reduce tree canopy loss and implement urban forest management improvements through requirements for the planting and transplanting of trees, the care and maintenance of existing trees, tree protection, and the preservation of trees within the City of Lancaster.

This Tree Manual is supplemental to Chapter 273, Trees, of the Code of the City of Lancaster and establishes minimum standards for the design of landscapes so as to improve the community aesthetically, economically and environmentally.

A copy of the Tree Manual can be found here.

To learn more about the City tree program click here

News

Brewery Alley

Most City homes boarder an alley way and a majority of those are Common Alleys where each property owner shares ownership and responsibility for the upkeep and maintenance.  It’s with this in mind that the City has piloted a project to work with property owners to help with upgrades to their alleys while also increasing capacity to capture stormwater.  The Brewery Alley is located along E Walnut Street.  Construction was completed in the fall of 2014 and it is estimated that the alley will capture nearly 150,000 gallons annually.

To learn more about similar projects click here.
For more information on green streets and alleys click here (PDF).

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Events

Snavely and Dosch Makeover

The Snavely and Dosch property runs along Water Street and Linear Park.  With a particular focus on addressing rain water run-off from commercial properties along Linear Park work was recently completed that includes several bio-retention (rain gardens), bio-swales, and an infiltration trench (stone basin underneath the parking lot) that will help capture approximately 675,000 gallons annually.

For more information on other commercial projects click here.

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Events

Adopt-A-Rain Garden

The City of Lancaster hosted our first Adopt-A-Rain Garden event Saturday morning, October 25 at Brandon Park with volunteers from the Junior League of Lancaster.  For more information about how you can get involved contact us here.

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Events

Demonstration Stormwater Planters

A Stormwater Planter is typically a wooden planter that captures, filters, and temporarily stores runoff diverted from a downspout.  Some of the captured runoff is removed by plants and the remaining water is filtered through soil media and stored at the planter’s base.

Many residences in the city have downspouts tied directly into the City’s combined storm / sewer system and therefore contribute to combined sewer overflows that pollute our local waterways.  Retrofitting residences with Stormwater Planters can reduce local flooding and protect water quality by capturing, treating and storing runoff before it leaves the property.  They also provide low maintenance aesthetically-pleasing “green space” in urbanized areas.

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Events

Green Infrastructure Garden Tour

Green Infrastructure Garden Tour at the Wolf Museum

Wednesday September 17; 5:00-7:00pm

Join us in the garden for light refreshments and live music


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The Lancaster County Conservancy in partnership with the Wolf Museum are hosting a green infrastructure garden tour of the recently completed residential demonstration project located in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood of Lancaster City.

-In the spring Conservancy staff and volunteers from the Wolf Museum and neighborhood spent two days transforming a portion of the native plant garden to include a rain garden and dry creek.

-These two landscape features, along with rain barrels will help capture over 40,000 gallons annually keeping the stormwater flow from the City’s combined sewer system.

-The open house will feature a garden tour by local plant and green infrastructure experts. Learn about the green infrastructure planning process and how you can duplicate this on your own property.

-Light refreshments (food, beer, and wine). Plus live music in the garden

Green Infrastructure Garden Tour at the Wolf Museum
423 W Chestnut Street (corner of Lancaster Ave and W Chestnut St.)
Wednesday September 17; 5-7pm
Suggested donation of $10; everyone is welcome
To register click here
(Rain date is September 18th)

News

A parking lot that manages stormwater !

Several local property owners, including the property that houses The Fridge (pictured below) and Mulberry Art Studios are improving their parking lots with enhancements that include stormwater capture off of the paved surface and surrounding buildings into large infiltration beds (underneath the parking areas) that are engineered to capture and slowly infiltrate water.  Additional enhancements at The Fridge include trees to beautify the area and reduce heat island effect.
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The diverter in the image below will capture rain water from the Arts Hotel further reducing run-off from neighboring properties.  To learn about other commercial installations click here.
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News

Education


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Through the Upstream/Downstream program led by the Lancaster County Conservancy two middle school classes (Martic Middle School in Manor Township and Wheatland Middle School in the School District of Lancaster) spent a half day touring green infrastructure projects in Lancaster City during the spring of 2014.  Pictured above are Wheatland students journaling on the green roof at Tellus 360.  Below are students from Martic Middle School at the Wolf Museum Residential Demonstration project.

The green infrastructure tour was one component of the program that involved in school education along with a full day stream study at Climbers Run Nature Preserve and a full day on the bay with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

By seeing the downstream impact of stormwater and other pollution firsthand, the students gained a more tangible understanding of their own actions upstream as well as the purpose of Lancaster’s green infrastructure plan.

For more information on how your school can tour green infrastructure in the City of Lancaster please contact Fritz Schroeder with the Lancaster County Conservancy.

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Events

Public Art Takes Center Stage

Public art takes center stage at Rodney and Crystal Park’s.  In addition to numerous stormwater enhancements at both parks public art has been incorporated helping to make each park experience unique.  Crystal Park includes a cistern pump which indicates how much water was recently collected during a rain event.  To learn more about City wide park projects click here.
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Rodney Park includes arches which are meant to be interactive for all local visitors.  The image was taken as they were being installed in May 2014.
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