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RI Coastal Resources Management Council

...to preserve, protect, develop, and restore coastal resources for all Rhode Islanders

CRMC approves Urban Coastal Greenways policy

October 16, 2006, WAKEFIELD—The Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council unanimously approved its Urban Coastal Greenway policy at last week’s Council meeting. The regulations have been submitted to the Secretary of State for formal adoption.

The Urban Coastal Greenway policy (UCG) is a major component of the Metro Bay Special Area Management Plan, which the CRMC is currently updating. This policy focuses on the Metro Bay region, which comprises the shorelines of the cities of Cranston, East Providence, Pawtucket and Providence. The UCG is a new regulatory approach for coastal vegetative buffers in the urbanized environment of northern Narragansett Bay, and is intended for projects bordering the Providence, Seekonk, Moshassuck and Woonasquatucket Rivers. The purpose of the UCG is to provide a mechanism to redevelop the urban waterfront of the Metro Bay region in a way that integrates economic development with expanded public access along and to the shoreline, as well as the management, protection and restoration of valuable coastal habitats.

“The Urban Coastal Greenway policy is a vital part of the ongoing update of the Metro Bay SAMP, and will serve as the impetus for billions of dollars of redevelopment in the four cities,” said CRMC Chairman Michael M. Tikoian. “This policy will allow for a more predictable, flexible process by which developers will be able to redevelop Brownfields sites and a formerly industrial waterfront in major urban areas. This tool is vital to the economic success and environmentally-sensitive re-use of the urban waterfront.”

The UCG is designed to provide developers with a permitting option (using either the buffer and setback regulations in the CRMP or the UCG option) that clarifies and streamlines the regulatory process for this area, and to create greater flexibility in meeting the state and federal requirements of the Coastal Resources Management Program (CRMP). The UCG establishes specific standards for overall vegetation of the development site, management of stormwater runoff, low-impact development techniques and public access along and to the shore within the Metro Bay region. The increased regulatory flexibility is reflected in the four UCG Zones: Residential Zone, Area of Particular Concern, Inner Harbor and River Zone, and Development Zone.

Another component of the UCG is the inclusion of an option to reduce the UCG width through compensation. This option allows an applicant to reduce the UCG standard width in return for site or coastal resource enhancements, including improved public access or habitat conservation and preservation.

Copies of the UCG program are available from the Coastal Resources Management Council offices and its website – www.crmc.ri.gov. The UCG has an effective date of Nov. 2, 2006.

Stedman Government Center
Suite 116, 4808 Tower Hill Road, Wakefield, RI 02879-1900
Voice 401-783-3370 • Fax 401-783-2069 • E-Mail cstaff1@crmc.ri.gov

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