Message from the Mayor: Waterfront Rezoning Committee RFP, WRAD
Posted on: January 29, 2019 - 11:22pm
Fellow residents;
Another step forward on the waterfront rezoning process merits a note, as well as a new locally-initiated tradition worth describing.
Waterfront Rezoning Planning Consultant – an overview
===================================
The Village issued this week a request for proposals (“RFP”) in search of a planning consultancy to help the Waterfront Rezoning Committee (“WRC”), a group of residents appointed by the Board of Trustees to carry out the tremendously important task of rezoning the 42 acres of our former industrial waterfront. You can find it HERE (https://www.hastingsgov.org/waterfrontrezoningRFP) The WRC has done exemplary work over the last year in setting the context for the effort ahead, including establishing the strategy for how the rezoning process will proceed. (These 42 acres, owned by three different firms, are zoned for an outdated heavy industrial use.)
The process ahead is always a challenge for a community and the owners of these properties: squaring the circle of finding an intersection between the interests of the property owners and the community at large. The owners obviously have their own set of interests – not much more needs to be said. Divining the desire and sentiment of the community – far less straightforward than it may appear. The WRC will be assisted along in that process by the planning consultancy we are seeking to hire through the RFP. This is a road well-traveled by many communities facing rezoning of important tracts – and no 42 acres could be more important to the Village than these. A proper process unfolds in a way that engages residents while taking into account the property owners’ interests, fiscal impacts on the Village, traffic concerns, sustainability, affordability and more.
The RFP that the WRC has crafted specifies that the consultant will produce the following:
A review of regulations and existing literature to understand the history and set the context for the process;
Site analysis and site map, identifying all the physical characteristics and limitations of the site;
Market Demand Analysis, which will identify projected demand for a variety of uses;
Transportation, Access and Parking Study, to identify the limitations around these issues for the waterfront; and an
Infrastructure Study, building on a citizen-led effort done earlier, laying out the existing and projected infrastructure requirements for the waterfront.
With those studies in hand, the WRC will work with the planning consultancy to then come up with several scenarios for a master plan for the waterfront, and then they will iterate to a final scenario that will describe a vision for the waterfront in sufficient detail so that we can then rezone the waterfront accordingly in support of that vision. This entire process will take 12-18 months to complete the rezoning, with substantial opportunities for engagement with the community throughout the effort so we can all weigh in on what we want there. The WRC has been very methodical and careful in stepping through this effort so far – kudos to this excellent and patient group of local residents for their diligence and openness.
World Read Aloud Day
====================
World Read Aloud Day is Friday, February 1. Created by LitWorld (founded by former Hastings resident, Pam Allyn), World Reading Aloud Day is an advocacy day for literacy as a basic human right for all and the value of sharing stories and reading aloud together. There are great ideas for celebrating at home, school, or office on the WRAD page on LitWorld's website HERE, and wonderful books for read alouds at our local bookstore, Galápagos Books, by celebrated local authors like Veera Hiranandani, Alyssa Capucilli, and Roni Schotter. Happy World Read Aloud Day!
Careful in the cold, cold day ahead – there will be black ice, there will be frostbite if you are out too long in the wind, and there will be burst pipes if they are not adequately insulated or kept warm – it will be cold enough so even salt won’t work particularly well on melting ice. So easy does it.
Sincerely,
Peter Swiderski