Dale Martin
City Manager
Fernandina Beach
June 21, 2019 12:00 p.m.
While most of the obvious attention on the City’s Amelia River waterfront is focused on the restoration of the Marina, other significant activities continue elsewhere.
What originally began as an effort to determine interest in the City-owned (and now vacant following demolition) property at 101 N. Front Street (where Alachua Street would meet N. Front Street) has evolved into a much broader review of waterfront resiliency. Resiliency, in this instance, is the ability to prepare and protect the waterfront and surrounding areas from tidal flooding, storm surges, and sea-level rise. Typically, resiliency efforts involve the “hardening” of infrastructure (building bulkheads and walls) or elevating infrastructure. Other techniques are more “soft,” such as the use of natural shoreline features to minimize the power of water.
At the direction of the City Commission, I have been discussing shoreline resiliency planning with two teams of consultants. I anticipate bringing the results of my discussions to the City Commission at the July 2 City Commission meeting, looking to the City Commission to select which team to begin the earnest effort of shoreline and waterfront planning. Funding for this effort has been provided through a state grant.
The City Commission has defined the waterfront area to extend to the west side of 2nd Street. The resiliency effort also includes a component of economic redevelopment (which is what originally started this effort). Several properties on N. Front Street and N. 2nd Street have sat dilapidated for decades. Is the lack of activity on those properties an indicator of “economic resiliency”? What can be done to promote the redevelopment and success of those properties?
While the interested consultants may provide a technical and planning framework for action, the redevelopment of the waterfront area has vexed this community for decades. Plans for park development are stacked and boxed throughout City Hall, but nothing has been done due to political turmoil, personal egos, unclear visions, and insufficient funding. We might be able to overcome those issues sufficiently enough to actually do something over the course of the next several months.
Since everyone has their own image of what the waterfront (and, to a greater degree, downtown) should be like, building the consensus of what to really build has become problematic. Something will be proposed, generate interest and momentum, then the effort gets undermined and stalled, and things begin all over again. Rinse and repeat for thirty years and welcome to today. Perhaps we can start the next decade in a new fashion.
So what do people want on the waterfront and downtown? Let’s have a group exercise (which I have seen utilized in other communities, so this is not a new idea). Over the course of the next few weeks, I ask that you send photos to me. Actually, no more than two photos each. Your first photo should reflect the type of structure and/or use that you’d like to see on the Amelia River waterfront- the properties between the Marina and the Port. Show me what you envision on the waterfront: residential units, restaurants, shops, boatyards, etc. Look to other coastal communities that you have visited for examples of the things that you like.
The second photo should reflect a broader perspective: provide to me a photo of something that illustrates, in your mind, an interesting component of a successful downtown. Do you like pedestrian amenities, parking garages, signage, parks, and so on. What would you like see incorporated into our downtown?
When received, I’ll organize the photos into several groups based upon the sender. The first group will be those photos provided by the City Commissioners. Another group will include the waterfront property owners (I will send a request directly to those people). The next group will be the Main Street Executive Board. The final two groups will be residents and visitors (for the visitors I may have to enlist the support of Mr. Gil Langley and his Tourist Development Council staff [um, Gil, I’ll call you shortly]). It will be interesting to see how common or uncommon our visions are.
I have been tasked with providing a concept of the waterfront to the City Commission in early August. It has been said a picture is worth a thousand words, so please send me your photos of what you see for the future of the waterfront and downtown. Photos can be snet to me via email at [email protected], mailed to City Hall at 204 Ash Street, Fernandina Beach, 32034, or hand-delivered to the same address. Please recognize that if photos are mailed or delivered, you will not receive those photos back.
Thank you for participating.
Thank you, Dale, for asking us what we think.
Excellent. A very wise and thoughtful approach.
Groundhog Day all over again, but let’s play the game one more time. There is no question that the overall development issues for the entire riverfront is a complex one, but complex problems can be solved if they are broken down into smaller pieces and dealt with understanding that decisions on one piece can affect other piece. The City has a Commission approved riverfront park plan for the properties it controls with the exception of the 101 N. Front Street property that was acquired after the riverfront plan was approved. Most of the privately held property north of the marina continues continues to deteriorate as the various property owners have differing perspectives on the future use of their property and await a payoff to their years (decades even) of paying taxes. Their major obstacle is the lack of sufficient uplands on most of the properties to construct any structures of sufficient size to profitably operate a business on the ground floor. Commissioner Ross’s idea of a barge based business makes perfect sense. A similar use I have long advocated is for floating homes like those that can be found along the rivers in Oregon and Washington and the large floating home community of Sausalito in San Francisco Bay.
If you have ever been to the riverfront area of downtown Beaufort SC, that is the closest design to what I envision for Fernandina Beach.
Maybe for the nth time, there will be progress.
So, have you sent a picture of the of the Beaufort riverfront?
I can’t send a photo of what I want to see because it’s open space. Clean it up. Make it open space. At most a band shell like the one at Freedom Park in Charlotte, NC. Make the rest grass for seating. DON’T BLOCK THE VIEW. Put “Sounds on Centre” there along with other events. Easy-peasy, open to all and attractive. Easy access to the businesses (read: bars and restaurants) downtown.
Teri, this may sound overly harsh and I don’t mean for it to be, but your perspective is what has caused the park to go nowhere for decades. You want virtually nothing but open space, another person wants a playground or splash fountain for their children, another wants plaques or monuments that tell the history of the city and the area, another wants monuments to the heritage of ship building and shrimping, and on and on and on. The approved waterfront plan came about after a number of public charrettes facilitated by an outside team that had no dog in the hunt. All the stakeholders mentioned in Dales’ comments were represented and their input was factored in the plan. What resulted was an plan that made an effort to accommodate the perspective of as many different desires as possible in a cohesive fashion. Is anyone going to be 100% satisfied with every aspect of the plan, highly unlikely; but if the plan gives you a portion of the space for open space or a stage are you not going to come if there is also a children’s playground?
Love what Teri Springer is suggesting. Often I think that perhaps less really is more. Especially on a barrier island. I would be very concerned about putting too much at the waterfront that ether cannot withstand a storm or cannot be moved quickly in the event of storms. Imagine trying to get a barge, floating residences or other out to safe haven if needed amid other things that need to move at the port etc.. That should be part of the resiliency chat too I think.
Here, a link to the “Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park”, on the riverfront in Beaufort, SC. It’s a great model. https://www.beaufort-sc.com/waterfront-park.html