MAGNOLIA BOULEVARD VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PLAN Adopted May, 1998 100 Dexter Avenue North Seattle, Washington 98109 206-684-4122 by: Atelier ps 217 Pine Street, Suite 720 Seattle, Washington 98101-1520 Janis Snoey, Project Manager TABLE OF CONTENTS SUMMARY..................................................................................................................................................................1 1. INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................................................2 PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT ...................................................................................................................................................2 Figure 1 Project Location ........................................................................................................................................3 Figure 2: Aerial View of Magnolia Bluff (1965) .....................................................................................................4 PROCESS.........................................................................................................................................................................5 A GENERAL NOTE ABOUT SLOPE STABILITY .................................................................................................................5 MADRONE OR MADRONA? .............................................................................................................................................5 2. BACKGROUND OF MAGNOLIA BOULEVARD .......................................................................................6 Figure 3: Seattle Bicycle Paths in 1900 ..................................................................................................................7 3. SLOPE STABILITY ISSUES .........................................................................................................................10 4. FUNDAMENTAL LANDSCAPE ELEMENTS............................................................................................12 VIEWS: .........................................................................................................................................................................12 BENCH LOCATIONS: .....................................................................................................................................................13 HISTORIC LANDSCAPE CHARACTER: ............................................................................................................................13 Figure 4: Conceptual Proportion of Trees and Views...........................................................................................14 SPECIMEN MADRONAS: ................................................................................................................................................18 TURF: ...........................................................................................................................................................................18 FORESTED HILLSIDE:....................................................................................................................................................18 WILDLIFE HABITAT:.....................................................................................................................................................18 5. VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PLAN......................................................................................................19 A. MANAGEMENT ZONES....................................................................................................................................19 Figure 5: Typical Slope Cross-section ..................................................................................................................20 Table 1. Management Zones in Area 1: Developed Park Landscape....................................................................21 Table 2. Management Zones in Area 2: Transition...............................................................................................22 Table 3. Management Zones in Area 3: Forested Hillslope..................................................................................24 Table 4. Special Overlay Areas ..............................................................................................................................24 Table 5. Madrona ...................................................................................................................................................25 B. VIEW MANAGEMENT........................................................................................................................................25 C. MADRONA BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES....................................................................................27 D. GENERAL GUIDELINES............................................................................................................................31 Table 6. Exotic Weed Species Targeted for Control...............................................................................................31 E. RECOMMENDED PLANTS........................................................................................................................32 Table 7. Recommended Plants................................................................................................................................33 6. PHASE I IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.........................................................................................................36 A. PRIORITY PROJECTS ................................................................................................................................................36 Table 8 Implementation Projects List.....................................................................................................................36 B. GENERAL MANAGEMENT TASKS.............................................................................................................................40 7. ESTIMATED COSTS......................................................................................................................................41 A. MAINTENANCE .........................................................................................................................................41 Table 9. Estimated View Clearing Labor Costs......................................................................................................41 B. NEW PLANTINGS.......................................................................................................................................41 8. TOPICS FOR FURTHER ATTENTION......................................................................................................42 BIBLIOGRAPHY......................................................................................................................................................44 APPENDIX A: MEETING NOTES .......................................................................................................................46 APPENDIX B: REVIEW OF MAGNOLIA BOULEVARD VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PLAN BY SHANNON AND WILSON.......................................................................................................................................... APPENDIX C: SLOPE STABILITY AND ARBUTUS MENZIESII: A SUMMARY OF RESEARCH IN MAGNOLIA PARK, SEATTLE, WASHINGTON BY KATHY PARKER AND CLEMENT W. HAMILTON .................................................................................................................................................................. APPENDIX D: MEASUREMENT OF 1997 VIEW WINDOWS AND OBSTRUCTIONS.................................. APPENDIX E: VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PLAN (SEPARATE PLAN SHEETS) .................................. APPENDIX F: PHASE I IMPLEMENTATION PLAN (SEPARATE PLAN SHEETS)...................................... Summary This Vegetation Management Plan is intended to guide public stewardship of the landscape along Magnolia Boulevard. The Plan was developed by the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation through the involvement of community residents representing various opinions of how the Boulevard’s landscape should be managed. It considers the elements of the landscape that are fundamental to the character of the west side of the Boulevard, including views, madrona trees, lawn and forest habitat. Three of the key aspects of this Plan are as follows: The Plan determines how the vegetation along the Boulevard will be managed to create or maintain expansive views of Puget Sound. The Plan outlines two strategies for achieving this goal. In many areas, brush and trees would be trimmed in rotation to keep the vegetation within specified height limits for different zones on the hillside. Secondly, the long-range goal is to convert vegetation in certain areas to lower-growing species of plants that would essentially eliminate the long-term need for routine brush clearing. The plan determines the number of existing and proposed madrona trees that represent a population that will maintain historical levels of madronas on the Boulevard over the long term. The Plan locates these trees along the Boulevard to segment and frame views of Puget Sound. The nature of these trees requires some specialized approaches to their management. One critical strategy is the flexibility over the long-term to move madrona locations as old trees die and new ones are started or volunteer.