650 R.I. Code R. 650-RICR-20-00-5.3

Current through December 3, 2024

Section 650-RICR-20-00-5.3 - Metro Bay Region Policies

A. Regional approach: The CRMC seeks to promote the revitalization of the Metro Bay region in a manner which increases public access and recreational opportunities as well as economic uses. The consideration of Providence Harbor as part of the broader Metro Bay region, a single geographic, economic and ecological unit, greatly increases the number of individuals whose interest, concern and commitment can be brought to the task of overcoming redevelopment obstacles and providing political and financial support for waterfront revitalization projects.

B. Enlisting the involvement of municipalities: The CRMC shall actively work with the municipalities to develop and implement local waterfront renewal plans.

C. Reviewing municipal waterfront plans: The CRMC shall provide early review and comment on municipal plans and proposals for waterfront development projects to assure their compatibility with its goals and policies for the Metro Bay region.

D. Enlisting the involvement of the public: The CRMC shall actively work to foster public awareness, concern and support for harbor and waterfront redevelopment and renewal at the state and local level.

E. Provisions for shoreline public access: CRMC's Urban Coastal Greenway policy applies to the Providence Harbor and broader Metro Bay region. It strongly encourages shoreline public access, integrating the need for urban shoreline access within the spatial constraints of urban lots, through both alongshore and arterial access pathways.

F. Improving the management of the Metro Bay region and Narragansett Bay for maritime commerce: The CRMC will support and assist efforts by municipal or state government, or the industry itself, to improve the quality of port planning, operation and management decisions.

G. Adoption of a water quality-based approach to pollution control: The CRMC shall utilize an approach to water quality planning and regulation which links conditions and problems in estuarine waters to sources of pollution.

H. Shoreline use: The CRMC considers the urbanized waterfront of the Metro Bay region as one of Rhode Island's valuable coastal resources. The CRMC seeks to increase the overall contribution the Metro Bay region makes to the well-being of nearby residents and the region in terms of marine recreation, environmental quality, and economic activity. The goals for the shoreline use of the Metro Bay region are to:

1. Transform deteriorated, abandoned, and vacant waterfront property to high value public and private uses;

2. More effectively utilize open space for outdoor recreation;

3. Protect the economic viability of the port industry and marine commercial uses;

4. Improve the condition of the estuary in order to support greater recreational use, remove aesthetic impediments to waterfront redevelopment projects, and reduce the impact of Harbor pollution on Narragansett Bay; and

5. Foster and protect the existence of a diversity of uses in the Harbor in recognition of the capacity of area to serve a variety of purposes and the persistence of unfulfilled human needs in the surrounding communities for employment, outdoor recreation, housing and environmental quality.

I. Improved water quality: The CRMC seeks to assure that the quality of estuarine waters will be adequate for shoreline and in-water uses and the living resources of the Metro Bay region and upper Narragansett Bay. Continuing estuarine research is necessary to inform management decisions, improve our understanding of how pollutants behave in the estuary, and document the relative importance of human and natural sources of pollution. In addition to establishing use goals, the CRMC will cooperate with the ongoing efforts of the state pollution control agencies including but not limited to the RI Department of Environmental Management (DEM), the RI Department of Health (DOH) and the Narragansett Bay Commission (NBC), publicly owned treatment works, private dischargers, and the research community to grapple with the many-faceted challenge of improving the quality of water in the Metro Bay region and upper Narragansett Bay.

J. Shoreline public access: The CRMC recognizes that the Metro Bay region and upper Narragansett Bay comprise the largest expanse of open space in proximity to residents of the Providence metropolitan area. Opportunities exist for increasing the passive and active recreational value of the harbor's shore and waters. CRMC's Urban Coastal Greenway policy applies to the Metro Bay region. It strongly encourages shoreline public access, integrating the need for urban shoreline access within the spatial constraints of urban lots, through both alongshore and arterial access pathways.

K. Coordination and consultation: An essential ingredient in achieving a successful balance among new and old uses of the Metro Bay region is the maintenance of a rich, multilayered process of communication and personal interaction among those involved in developing, using, enjoying, regulating, and managing the urban waterfront. In order to assure that public and private decisions and actions affecting the Metro Bay region meet coastal management goals and policies as stated in this special area plan, the CRMC will provide a variety of forums for the review and discussion of important issues and problems facing the Metro Bay region, in addition to its decision-making role on individual permit applications, through the ongoing work of a permanent subcommittee on urban ports and harbors.

L. Protection of historic resources: The CRMC will provide for the protection of historic resources within the Metro Bay region, including but not limited to the historic shipwrecks on Green Jacket Shoal off Bold Point Park in East Providence.

M. Redevelopment and improvement: The CRMC recognizes that the need for redevelopment and improvement programs in the Metro Bay region is far greater than the amount of government and private sector resources available to carry them out. However, the CRMC views the problems and opportunities in the Metro Bay region as matters of statewide importance. Successful revitalization efforts in the urban waterfront will not only benefit adjacent neighborhoods but the metropolitan area and Rhode Island as a whole. Metro Bay region policies are designed to encourage the establishment of new public and private uses which take advantage of proximity to the harbor, and to promote a carefully balanced mixture of uses. These changes will enable the public to enjoy the shore as well as attract sufficient financial investment to reverse the process of deterioration and keep the waterfront districts of each municipality economically and socially viable for the future.

N. Debris subject to removal: Every pier, wharf, bulkhead, dock, shore protection structure, and foundation shall be maintained in good working condition in service of its intended purpose. Waterfront structures which have deteriorated so that portions of the construction are broken, detached or likely to fall away, possibly entering the water or littering the shore, shall be repaired and the site cleaned. Structures which are so deteriorated that they cannot serve an economic or public function shall be removed and the site returned to a cleared condition. Solid waste of every type shall also be removed. Unauthorized fill is also subject to CRMC action.

O. Fitness of purpose: CRMC's fitness of purpose standards apply to new and existing commercial marine facilities within the Metro Bay region and other areas within CRMC's jurisdiction. Further, a fitness of purpose certification is required for structures in Type 4, 5 or 6 waters, bridges, commercial moorings, ship building or repair facilities, public ferry facilities or other commercial type structures within CRMC jurisdiction that in the opinion of the Council warrant such certification for protection of public trust resources. For further information, see CRMC document "Guidelines for Fitness of Purpose Investigations and Certifications" and R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-23-6.

P. Uses of regional benefit: The federal Coastal Zone Management Act requires that CRMC's management program "contains a method of assuring that local land use and water use regulations within the coastal zone do not unreasonably restrict or exclude land uses and water uses of regional benefit" and that "priority consideration" be given to "coastal-dependent uses and orderly processes for siting major facilities related to national defense, energy, fisheries development, recreation, ports and transportation, and the location, to the maximum extent practicable, of new commercial and industrial developments in or adjacent to areas where such development already exists" (16 U.S.C. § 1451). Accordingly, the following criteria shall be used for applications in the Providence Harbor area:

1. The CRMC shall encourage the development of facilities and operations which require or make direct use of the Harbor channel for maritime commerce or recreation. CRMC will prohibit new or expanded uses that conflict with uses of regional benefit.

2. The CRMC is committed to assuring that existing terminals will be able to maintain berths at required depths through maintenance dredging. Further, it is the CRMC's policy that full economic use is made of the 40-foot navigation channel serving Providence harbor.

5.3.1Metro Bay Region Prohibitions

A. Removing marine debris: The CRMC shall prohibit the abandonment of vessels, piers, wharves, or other such structures in the navigable waters of Rhode Island. Additionally, every shore structure shall be maintained in good condition. Deteriorated structures shall be repaired or removed, and every shorefront property owner shall remove all marine debris. Pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-6-8, authority to remove obstructions to navigation is under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.

B. Maintenance of shorefront structures and property: The abandonment of vessels, piers, wharves or other such structures in the navigable waters of the State of Rhode Island is specifically prohibited by the Coastal Resources Management Council. The dumping of any solid waste along the shore is also prohibited. Modification to the shore or manmade shoreline features are subject to the requirements established in Part 1 of this Subchapter and all structures are required to be kept in good condition. Upon verification of legal title to abandoned structures the CRMC shall order their repair or removal and site cleanup at owner expense within a time period specified in said order. In 1979, the General Assembly provided the Department of Environmental Management with specific authority to enforce these state policies by requiring the removal of abandoned vessels and marine debris (R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 46-6-8 through 16).

5.3.2Providence Harbor Policies

A. Balanced and compatible shoreline use: The CRMC believes that greater use can be made of the land and water in Providence Harbor for both public and private benefit. In order to achieve these benefits, redevelopment must take place. The CRMC seeks to encourage good site development proposals by providing assurances that harbor-wide redevelopment will proceed in a coordinated fashion and that conflicts are resolved in favor of maintaining a balance among port, recreation, commercial, and residential uses. The juxtaposition of different human activities and natural features along the shore is one of the unique attributes of the urbanized coast which must be protected.

B. Port development: CRMC's goal is that the physical development of Providence Harbor contributes to a vigorous, healthy port industry. Port industry activity is an important and necessary economic use of the state's coastal waters and shore. The construction and maintenance of port facilities as a result of growth and development in the port industry presents the CRMC with a source of change to the shore and marine environment. Underutilized or abandoned facilities contribute to the marine debris problem and preclude other productive, marine dependent uses from access to tidal waters and dredged channels. Maintenance and development dredging of berths and channels is necessary for sustaining the economic viability of port facilities. Careful selection and utilization of a dredged material disposal option is essential to reduce the risk of causing adverse effects on the marine ecosystem. New proposals to fill tidal waters or alter the shore for port development must truly provide a flow of economic benefits to the public as compensation for unavoidable environmental damage and lost waterfront use opportunities. These are all issues that require the CRMC to balance protection of coastal land and water resources with compatible economic development, which is part of CRMC's responsibility as laid out in the federal Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) (16 U.S.C. § 1452 et seq.).

C. Urban ports and harbors subcommittee: The CRMC has established a permanent subcommittee on urban ports and harbors to implement the policies and regulations in this section. The subcommittee on urban ports and harbors will review and submit recommendations to the full Council on contested Category B applications originating in the area covered by this SAMP.

650 R.I. Code R. 650-RICR-20-00-5.3