In June, McWhinney and Community Life cohosted a landscape walk through Baseline’s West Village neighborhood. Residents had the opportunity to walk the community with members of McWhinney’s development team, Baseline’s Metro District team, and Community Life’s operations team to help identify areas in need of some extra love.
The McWhinney, Community Life and Metro District teams took careful notes and have made an action list of items to correct, clean up, replant and repair.
If you were unable to attend, no problem. We summarized the notes and next steps below.
Dry landscape
United Power erroneously removed an electrical meter, which turned off irrigation for a few weeks and caused some areas to dry up. These locations will need to be replanted/reseeded.
The meter issue was resolved that afternoon (July 27) and an irrigation test has been performed to ensure that all irrigation is functioning properly.
There timeline for replanting/reseeding has not been determined, yet.
Wrong native seed mix
The wrong seed mix was used in several native areas around Baseline. It contained a perennial rye species, which does not meet specifications. The contractor responsible has been asked to “start from scratch” and reseed. They have 4 to 6 weeks to complete the task.
Native grass & wildlife
Homeowners were concerned about the types of bugs and small animals that native turf might attract. But, there have been no reports of wildlife currently.
It was noted that damp bluegrass sod attracts more mosquitoes than pooled/ponded water, and that native plants attract more biodiversity, which helps control pests.
The Basin
Concerns about the weeds and a swing in Basin Park were brought up by a few residents. The weeds along Shoshone St will be addressed and cleared. The area around the swing has been taped off, as the erosion around the swing has become a hazard.
Replacing the flaking retaining wall rocks tore up some of the landscaping. New sod was laid in parts of the damaged area. But due to poor communication from the vendor, it was not properly irrigated. This sod is being monitored to determine if it will recover or need to be replaced.
It should be noted that the majority of the park is designed to be a retention pond. It is normal to periodically have some water in the lower, north end of the park.
The drainage is regularly monitored for drainage issue (i.e. clogged drains).
The "Triangle"
The group walked over to the “triangle” in phase 1 of West Village. Several residents said they had not seen the sprinklers come on in this grassy area.
A few residents mentioned that last summer when the water was on the northeast area of the triangle was a “muddy swamp”.
This issue has been brought to the attention of the Metro District's landscape vendor, EDI, and is being carefully monitored to determine is native grasses can be revived or must be reseeded in the fall.
Alleyways & rock beds
There is some confusion regarding who is responsibile for maintaining areas outside of garages.
All the rock areas, outside homeowners’ garages are the homeowners’ responsibility to keep free of weeds. This applies to tree lawns in the front of homes, too, with the exception of those tree lawns along Alcott Way. For homes with side yard tree lawns, the district maintains those tracts.
"No Man's Land"
Along the paved trail on the southern end of the neighborhood, there is a large patch of native grass,which has been nicknamed “no man’s land.” It's been a challenge for native seed to grow here.
Several suggestions were made to change the use of this area. But, it will remain open space with native grasses and the area will be reseeded. Irrigation has since been turned on and it will be watered four days a week. The area is being closely monitored.
Checker Square
As the group walked around Checker Square park, areas with builder damage were pointed out. Most of these areas (concrete/plantings) are currently being replaced. But, there are a few items still unresolved. Sand near the new concrete will be leveled. Revive is being applied to dry grass and watering has increased.
Umatilla St & Alcott Way
As the group walked along Umatilla St and Alcott Way, a few trees and grasses areas were pointed out as dying or dead. Plantings in this area are still under the landscapers 1-year warranty. They will be replaced. The replacement will happen towards the end of the current warranty period. New plantings will be monitored again for one year.
Storm drains
A few residents asked about cleaning up the green bags of rocks and cinder blocks in front of storm inlets and the straw wattles placed around the neighborhood. These materials are in place during construction and landscaping to prevent sediment erosion from getting into the water system. When construction and landscaping is established these items will be cleaned up.
Shoshone St.
Along Shoshone St, native plantings had perished. Irrigation didn’t seemed to be turned on in this area. Mr. Andrews and Community Life are working with EDI to have the issue resolved.
It was noted that a sidewalk is needed in the tree lawn in front of the mailboxes (on Shoshone St). The crusher fine (sandy mix) is often wet, causing the residents and USPS staff to walk through mud to get to the mailboxes.
Alcott Way & Sheridan Pkwy
Along Alcott Way & Sheridan Pkwy, several residents pointed out exposed irrigation lines, conduit, weeds, broken/cracked sidewalks/stairs and non-functioning lights on the neighborhood sign. These areas are being addressed and currently worked on.