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

Kenneth.walker@noaa.gov

Lynn Desautels, US EPA

Desautels.lynn@epa.gov

Pam Rubinoff. RI Sea Grant

Pam.rubinoff@crc.uri.edu