smart growth tools for coastal growth centers -...
TRANSCRIPT
Smart Growth for Coastal &
Waterfront Communities
Working Waterways & Waterfronts
September 29, 2010
Kenneth Walker, NOAA
What is smart growth?
Smart growth is development that revitalizes neighborhoods, protects farmland and open space, keeps housing affordable,
and provides more transportation choices.
It is development that is good for the economy, community, and the environment.
Why Coastal & Waterfront
Smart Growth?
Population pressures
Sensitive coastal resources
Protect waterfront & coastal access
Impacts of hazards & climate change
Question of BalanceHow can coastal
communities enjoy
the benefits and
opportunities of
growth while
protecting the very
amenities that attract
development?
Context for Coastal Elements
Smart Growth Principles (1996) Ten Principles of Smart Growth adopted by:
• 38 Smart Growth Network Partners
• 50 Units of Government
• 40 Non-Governmental Organizations
• 13 Private Sector Groups
Principles, however, do not
directly address the challenges
and opportunities faced by
waterfront & coastal communities.
How is a smart growth community on the coast different from a
landlocked smart growth community?
Element 1: Mix Land Uses
including water-dependent uses
Element 1:
Waterfront & Harbor
Management Plans
Zoning for water-dependent
uses
Current use taxation
Promote a mix of compatible uses that
creates vibrant working waterfront
Element 2: Take advantage of
compact community design that
enhances, preserves,
and provides access to
waterfront resources
Element 2:
Offer incentives to increase density
Create walkable communities
Connect waterfronts to Main Streets,
walkways, trails, greenways
Element 3: Provide a range of
housing opportunities & choices
to meet the needs of both
seasonal & permanent
residents
Element 3:
Provide a range of housing types
Promote affordable housing for permanent
& seasonal residents
Maintain affordable housing for working
waterfront employees
Element 4:
Create
walkable
communities
with physical
& visual
access to the
waterfront
Element 4:
Mix compatible land uses
Design buildings to foster pedestrian activity
& visual access to the water
Incorporate infrastructure for walking &
biking
Expand & manage waterfront access
Connection destinations along waterfront
Element 5: Foster distinctive,
attractive communities with a
strong sense of place that
capitalizes on the waterfront’s
heritage
Element 5:
Create an understanding of community
assets
Create a community vision for the future
Incorporate community vision into policies &
codes for new development/redevelopment
Incorporate historic and cultural structures
that capitalize on waterfront heritage
Element 6: Preserve open space,
farmland, natural beauty, & critical
environmental areas
Element 6: Preserve open space for recreational &
scenic values
Preserve open space as buffers from
storms
Regional green infrastructure network
Link open space to waterfronts
Element 7: Strengthen and
direct development toward
existing communities and
encourage waterfront
revitalization
Element 7:
Promote waterfront master plans, Special
Area Management Plans (SAMPS)
Promote infill development by preserving,
upgrading, & reusing existing properties
Retrofit historic waterfronts for new uses
Clean up and reuse brownfields
Element 8: Provide a variety of
land- and water-based
transportation options
Element 8: Enhance water-based public transportation
and link to pedestrian and land-based
transit systems
Ensure that transportation options consider
the movement of goods, as well as people
Plan for seasonal transportation needs
Element 9: Make development
decisions predictable, fair & cost
effective through consistent
policies and coordinated
permitting processes
Element 9:
Develop processes that make development
decisions predictable & fast while protecting
coastal resources
Make development processes transparent,
fair, and inclusive
Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning
Element 10: Encourage community
& stakeholder collaboration in
development decisions, ensuring
that public right of access
to coastal waters is upheld
Element 10:Develop shared community vision for
waterfront
Implement an inclusionary process to
maximize stakeholder participation
Collaborate with federal, state & local
agencies with jurisdiction over coastal
resources
Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning
http://coastalsmartgrowth.noaa.gov
Kenneth Walker, NOAA
Lynn Desautels, US EPA
Pam Rubinoff. RI Sea Grant