Small waterfront development in rural town

by David
(Cambridge MD USA)

Published: August 9, 2024

Visitor Question: My town has 32 acres now owned by the town that it wants to develop. The town council only seems to be able to think in terms of economic income from the development--property taxes if they build condominiums. They have already done that in the harbor area, which effectively privatized the whole area.

I think that is what will happen on the waterfront, and they will be satisfied with the revenue. The rest of the town will lose out since that will block the public enjoyment of things to do along the riverfront. What is the long-term benefit of having a viable waterfront that the public can use in many ways--open space, public pool, small theater, some shops and restaurants set back from the waterfront?

Editors Reply: You have posted your question in the rural development section, so I suppose it is safe to say that your small town still has some rural character. Looking at where your city lies, it seems to me that your location between a waterfront and a national wildlife refuge means there is a significant opportunity for preserving open space for public enjoyment.

Having said that, many towns do need the property tax revenue, and condos certainly would provide more of that than open space, and of course publicly owned open space provides no municipal revenue. So let's imagine for a moment that we are trying to preserve access to the water and views of the water, while still allowing some revenue-generating use of the remainder undeveloped property.

You didn't say anything about the shape of this 32 acre parcel, but assuming it is not a long, linear shape following the water, the town should be able to incentivize and insist on multiple uses for this tract. Clever land planning should be able to accommodate a small condominium development if there is market demand for that type of housing unit, and then maybe something like a boardwalk that could be lined with small shops and restaurants could be developed on the landward side, which would give residents needed goods, services, and amenities, as well as supplying sales tax and enhanced property tax for the town.
Land toward the bay from the street or boardwalk would be left natural, or maybe depending on the ecological communities found there, a contiguous nature preserve less linear in shape could be set aside and protected from development.

The preserve idea could mean that more condominiums could enjoy the waterfront view, no doubt generating more property tax than similar units without much of a view.

There could be multiple variations on this vague outline, of course, but I do think that multiple uses should be able to be accommodated in a town such as yours.

The challenge will be to convince your town to spend a little more time and money to enlist the services of a good land planner or a developer who is interested in mixed-use developments and who has an above-average interest in environmental preservation. The city can try just issuing and disseminating a Request for Proposals (RFP) from developers, but without guidance from the RFP, developers are likely to submit a proposal for a single-use development, namely the single use that the particular developer views as their specialty or the most lucrative.

I think that some investigation by a reputable firm, university, or nonprofit organization would help the town create an RFP that would be much more sophisticated in balancing the needs for private gain, municipal revenue, and public enjoyment of the waterfront. An environmental organization no doubt would take an interest in this, but then their enthusiasm for environmental preservation might need the counterweight of a partnering with a builder or a developer who would partner with merchant's association or other business interest. If there is a genuine need for housing in your community, a housing advocacy organization may be interested in responding.

This project is prime for the use of the charrette technique, which would allow residents to participate on an equal footing with businesses, environmentalists, and city officials. I hope you will be able to generate a genuine civic conversation about this topic because it seems this would be a great opportunity for the town to make progress toward multiple goals.

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