• CSU Football Practice Facility and Heritage Garden

    Logan Simpson led the design of a football practice facility and a heritage garden adjacent to Colorado State University’s football stadium. The 2.6-acre facility contains a full-size field, a partial-length field, and specialty training equipment. The 0.7-acre Heritage Garden incorporates a decorative arbor and plantings from CSU’s six agricultural research stations to represent the university’s agricultural heritage. Logan Simpson’s landscape architects worked closely with CSU to understand the narrative the university wanted to convey. We added an interpretive plaza and improved an existing arboretum by adding outdoor classroom space and a collection of native and naturalized plant species. The Heritage Garden was completed prior to the opening of the new stadium, and now welcomes visitors to campus as they make their way to games and stadium events.

  • Standin’ on the Corner Park, Performance Plaza, and Downtown Streetscape

    Thirty years after Interstate 40 bypassed historic Route 66 through Winslow, Arizona, the town took on a project to restore the historic character of its downtown core, which is largely defined by its relationship to the roadway. Improvements included Standin’ on the Corner Park, named for the Eagles song “Take it Easy,” which includes the lyrics “I’m standin’ on the corner in Winslow, Arizona/And such a fine sight to see/It’s a girl, my lord, in a flatbed Ford/Slowin’ down to take a look at me.” Under a Transportation Enhancement grant, Logan Simpson designed the park, an ADA accessible performance stage using historic car front ends as for lighting, a stage cover, and provided theming and streetscape design for the sidewalk trellis, perimeter sidewalk areas, including landscape, accent paving, and street furnishings.

  • Community Wildfire Protection Plans

     The wildland urban interface (WUI) is the area where homes are built near or among lands prone to wildland fire. These areas have become more popular for homeowners for their privacy, natural beauty, recreational opportunities and affordable living. As a result, rural fire districts are more often having to fight fire and protect homes and property within these WUI areas. Logan Simpson developed the first two CWPPs in Arizona for the at-risk communities of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest that complied with Title I of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (HFRA). We facilitated the collaboration among Federal, state, and local partners as well as Native American tribes to developed these two CWPPs and established priorities to reduce the risks to communities and surrounding lands. Subsequent to these first two CWPPs, Logan Simpson developed 20 CWPPs, analyzed over 31 million acres, and gathered input from over 300 communities across multiple states.

  • Larimer County Comprehensive Plan and Mountain Resilience Plan

    No community is immune from the impacts of significant disruptions, and it is impossible to anticipate and prepare for all possible natural or economic hazard events. Larimer County’s new Comprehensive Plan helps build individual and community self-sufficiency in the event of a disaster, as well as strengthening the capacity of the county to continue supplying critical goods and services during emergency situations and throughout recovery.

    Larimer County is diverse—demographically, economically and geographically. More than half of the County’s 2,634 square miles is sparsely populated mountainous terrain, while the Front Range area encompasses one of the fastest growing urban areas in Colorado. Larimer County recognized the areas’ different challenges, and elected to develop the new comprehensive plan into two phases, each of which address the needs of the mountain and Front Range communities separately.

    The Comprehensive Plan holistically structured the format, process, and content around six resiliency frameworks: community, economy, health & social, housing, infrastructure, and watersheds & natural resources. Public involvement was key to the Plan’s success, and the plan was refined through in-person conversations at 13 community events, 830 online survey responses, 46 one-on-one interviews, and over 25 regular workshops with the three project committees and county leaders.

    The Plan in Action

    An unexpected and favorable result of the two-phase approach was early implementation and actions even ahead of adoption of the full Comprehensive Plan. The Framework Map geographically illustrates the policies reflected in the plan, including subarea planning and targeted rural development. Other notable achievements since plan adoption include the current update of the County Land Use Code to reflect the community’s vision and moving forward on establishing a process and prioritization criteria for subarea planning for unincorporated communities.

    The Comprehensive Plan called for expansion of broadband service into digitally isolated rural areas, as well as the expansion of the Larimer Connects program—a county program created with the understanding that communities that do not have good social connectivity and access to resources are not able to fulfill their potential in becoming resilient. These programs are already proving to be essential to managing the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on rural residents.

    The Larimer County Comprehensive Plan and Mountain Resilience Plan won the 2020 Community Resiliency Honor Award from the Colorado Chapter of the American Planning Association. Read the plan here. 

  • Green Mountain Falls Comprehensive Plan & Hazard Resiliency

     

    Logan Simpson worked with the Town of Green Mountain Falls to update their Comprehensive Plan. GMF is a small mountainous community challenged by the recession, wildfires, small landslides, and flooding. Still the community maintains successful businesses and public amenities, due in large part to a supportive community of committed residents and volunteers and a unique town character and extensive trails system that draws visitors from near and far. This plan recommended tailored and actionable direction based on key issues and opportunities. It established a basis for future Town policies and priorities for development and will provide a balanced, predictable, and flexible land use plan and implementable strategies for housing affordability, hazard mitigation and resilience, infrastructure upgrades, and general improvements for community services and character. In regards to resiliency, the plan analyzed wildfire and its effect on this wildland-urban interface community. Land use policies to protect critical human infrastructure, municipal water and power supplies, evacuation routes, and major recreation areas and transportation corridors were then developed. The plan was unanimously adopted in July 2019. Read it here.

  • Our Big Sky Community Vision & Strategy

    Logan Simpson is working with the community of Big Sky, Montana to develop a cohesive vision and implementation strategy for future development, capital improvement projects, and strategic investments. Big Sky finds itself at an intersection–it is transitioning from a resort to a community. Logan Simpson is tasked to answer the following question: “What will Big Sky look like in 10 years?”

    The plan’s foundation identified and articulated the vision and goals that emerged from a robust public outreach process that represented Big Sky as a whole. Stakeholders demonstrated their support and a commitment early in the planning process; therefore, Logan Simpson focused on encouraging engagement from those not already involved–the locals. It was clear a hands-on approach was needed since many were hesitant to participate because they have worked in the community for only a short time, were too busy to participate, or did not want to disrupt their employment status. By offering one-on-one interviews (which broke our records for participation), our goal was to show the local workforce and permanent residents that they represent and reinforce the culture of Big Sky, and that their input truly does matter.

    We learned everyone comes from somewhere else in Big Sky—and have pride in choosing this great place. Likewise, everyone cares deeply about its future. Key issues identified during the initial outreach include infrastructure, road improvements, attainable housing, community gathering areas, and protection of the rivers. It was rewarding to learn that the values of all–the locals, landowners, developers, community leaders, and elected officials–are aligned by the desire to grow environmentally, socially, and economically. The plan will impact interagency collaboration and refocus efforts to address current issues and future opportunities. View the plan here.

  • Greater Phoenix Metro Green Infrastructure/LID Handbook

    Low impact development (LID), or sustainable stormwater management, is a green infrastructure (GI) technique practiced widely in the US outside the Southwest. This landscape-based technique can help reduce runoff and stormwater flows in existing conveyance systems, reducing nonpoint source pollutant loads and improving conformance with first-flush requirements. LID reduces stormwater peak flows and volumes, helping mitigating flood hazards. LID can also conserve stormwater, allowing it to be used as a supplemental landscape irrigation source that can help mitigate the heat-island effect and improve quality of life by providing vegetated spaces and shade.

    In Arizona, LID is routinely practiced in Pima County. In recent years, Arizona State University’s Sustainable Cities Network (SCN) has fostered dialogue between Phoenix-area communities and agencies about sustainability, including how GI techniques like LID can be more widely implemented. The result was the Greater Phoenix Metro Green Infrastructure Handbook, which provides 10 LID-based technical standardized details and specifications (TSDSs) in Maricopa Association of Governments format. The 10 details were chosen by the SCN core team (cities of Scottsdale and Phoenix and the Flood Control District of Maricopa County), with input from other local communities.

    Data from more than 4,700 Pima County rainfall events and 319 Maricopa County rain gauges was analyzed to establish storm events where LID techniques can optimally mitigate pollution and flooding. The landscape architect conducted research into the geology and soils of the Phoenix area and developed plant palettes and planting concepts that support the LID approach. The landscape architect also worked closely with the engineer to develop TSDS for each LID feature and provided graphic design.

    The Handbook helps agencies meet water-quality regulations and sustainable design policies. It is the only document available that contains guidance and specific techniques for implementing LID treatments in the Greater Phoenix Metropolitan Area’s unique environment.

  • Bozeman Community Plan

    Logan Simpson is working with the City of Bozeman, Montana and its residents, visitors, students, and second homeowners to update the city’s comprehensive plan. The plan will guide the growth and development of one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the country over the next twenty years. Bozeman’s population has doubled in size since 1990 and expected to grow by nearly 30,000 people during the planning horizon. A high rate of development, changing economic conditions with growth of technology and other non-typical employment, and economic maturation of nearby satellite communities, make it necessary to update the plan.

    Logan Simpson was selected to narrow the focus of the current plan to be more tightly focused on issues of land use, community resilience, community expansion, and related policies. Logan Simpson is leading the community outreach, goal and objective development, future land use map modeling and alternative scenarios.

    Key issues identified by the community during initial outreach include growth management, neighborhood identity, mixed-use nodes, a multimodal transportation system, and the preservation and expansion of the parks, trails, and open space system. These issues will help shape the goals, objectives, and ultimately, the comprehensive plan that guides Bozeman’s future. View the final document.

  • ASU Greek Village

    Through a public-private partnership (P3), Arizona State University and American Campus Communities developed the $72 million ASU Greek Village student housing development on approximately 4.5 acres near the ASU campus. Logan Simpson designed the landscape for the 4-story, 240,000 s.f. residential housing/community center, which includes first-floor commercial development. Design elements include an entry plaza, patios, courtyards, monument and wayfinding signage, site furnishings, and landscaping and irrigation. Design aesthetics integrate a curvilinear paving pattern that connects indoor and outdoor spaces and harmonizes the community center with the residential housing. The site/landscape design responds to ASU’s Sustainable Design Guidelines and meets USGBC LEED – Building Design and Construction Development (LEED-BD+C)’s “Silver” rating guidelines.

  • Wasatch Canyons General Plan

    After leading the economic portion of Mountain Accord (an effort to create alternative modes to connect Salt Lake Valley to the mountains), Logan Simpson began working with Salt Lake County on the Wasatch Canyons General Plan update, last updated in 1989. This process defines a vision of how the Wasatch Canyons (Big Cottonwood, Little Cottonwood, Mill Creek, and Parley’s and their associated mountain communities) should look into the future in regard to how the greater community will access them, how millions of people each year will play in them, how to balance the need for private property uses and environmental preservation, and how management of the landscape will evolve to preserve the canyons for future generation to love and experience it for years to come. Protecting the intangible qualities that collectively encompass the canyons and celebrating the area’s natural significance have been essential to this effort. Resiliency is a major part of the planning process, as the Wasatch Canyons have a high fire risk due to an unhealthy forest and the effects of climate change. Tools, such as expanded snowmaking capacity to extend snowpack, reducing fuel load, and utilizing community fire plans, are being incorporated to meet resiliency goals. The process includes a robust public participation and stakeholder engagement process, a map commenting tool, and consideration, confirmation, and inclusion of information from relevant agency documents and prior planning efforts. Logan Simpson is also completing planning efforts in the surrounding area, such as the creation of the first general plan for the City of Millcreek, the Salt Lake City Watershed Management Plan update, and the Sandy City Watershed Management Plan update.

    The Wasatch Canyons General Plan won the 2020 Comprehensive Plan High Achievement Award from the Utah Chapter of the American Planning Association. Read the plan here.