SALEM HARBOR PLAN The City of Salem, Massachusetts Mayor Kimberley Driscoll January 2008 Fort Point Associates, Inc TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii 2008 UPDATE OVERVIEW iv I. SUMMARY Introduction 1 The Vision 1 II. INTRODUCTION Overview 4 The Harbor Planning Area 4 The Planning Process 6 A Guide to the Planning Recommendations 9 III. FRAMEWORK FOR PLANNING Summary of Existing Conditions 13 Goals and Objectives 20 IV. PLANNING RECOMMENDATIONS Area-Wide Recommendations 24 South Commercial Waterfront 38 Tourist Historic Harbor 49 North Commercial Waterfront 56 Industrial Port 60 Community Waterfront 63 V. IMPLEMENTATION Oversight and Responsibilities 71 Economic Development 76 Phasing Strategy 78 Resources 80 Implementation - Summary of Proposed Actions 88 VI. REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT Overview: Chapter 91 100 Activities Subject to Chapter 91 102 Designated Port Area 103 Authority of the Salem Harbor Plan and DPA Master Plan 104 Guidance to DEP: Substitute Provisions 105 Guidance To DEP: Non-substitute Provisions 111 Other Local and Federal Regulations and Permits 117 Substitution and Amplification Tables 122 VII. FUTURE PLANNING 124 i APPENDICES A. PUBLIC INPUT - STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWS B. RECENTLY OR SOON TO BE COMPETED REPORTS Salem Open Space and Recreation Plan (2007) Winter Island Barracks Building Feasibility Reuse Study (Jul 2007) Downtown Salem Retail Market Study: Strategy and Action Plan (May 2007) Salem Wharf Expansion Plan (expected early 2008) C. ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCE ENHANCEMENT D. BATHYMETRIC SURVEYS E. COMPLIANCE, FORWARDING AND APPROVAL DOCUMENTS LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Planning Areas 5 Figure 2: Waterside Uses 15 Figure 3: Dredging Areas 25 Figure 4: Trolley Routes 35 Figure 5: South Commercial Waterfront 40 Figure 6: South River Dredging and Harbor Walk Sections 42 Figure 7: Long-Term Recommendations 47 Figure 8: Tourist Historic Harbor 51 Figure 9: Primary Access to New Salem Wharf 61 Figure 10: Community Waterfront 65 Figure 11: Designated Port Area and Chapter 91 Designation 101 Figure 12: Waterfront Complex at Pickering Wharf 109 Figure 13: South Commercial Waterfront Guidelines 113 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Summary and Status of Actions Proposed in 2000 Salem Harbor Plan 88 Table 2 2008 Salem Harbor Plan Substitution Summary 122 Table 3: 2008 Salem Harbor Plan Amplification Summary 123 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This document is not a new, completely rewritten Salem Harbor Plan but an update of the original Plan approved in 2000. Much of the text and graphics prepared by The Cecil Group, Inc for the 2000 Plan remains as part of this document. The contributions in the form of time, energy, research and thoughtful dialog made by those who participated in creating the original Plan have proven to be an invaluable foundation for this Update. Their vision for the future of Salem Harbor remains largely on target, reaffirmed by those involved in reviewing their work more than seven years after the original document was approved. For the 2008 Salem Harbor Plan Update, the support and efforts of the following are noteworthy: Mayor, City of Salem Kimberley Driscoll Salem Harbor Plan Implementation Committee (HPIC) Chair - Fred Atkins (Salem Partnership/Dions Yacht Yard) Vice Chair - Barbara Warren (Salem Sound Coast Watch) Craig Burnham, (Marine Professional/Ward 6 Resident) Malia Griffin (Dominion Energy) Walter Power (Planning Board) Patricia Trap (U.S. National Park Service) Annie Harris (Essex National Heritage/Salem Zoning Board of Appeals) Kevin Cornacchio (Conservation Commission) Lt. Conrad Prosniewski (Assistant Harbormaster/Police Dept) Claudia Chuber (Salem Harbor Community Development Corp) Lucy Corchado (City Councilor/Point Neighborhood Association) Douglas Haley (Ward 1 Resident) Peg Harrington (Ward 1 Resident) Dolores Jordan (Ward 1 Resident) Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM) Kathryn Glenn (Project Manager) Dennis Duscik City of Salem – Department of Planning & Community Development (DPCD) Lynn Duncan, AICP (Director) Kathleen Winn (Deputy Director) Frank Taormina (Planner/Harbor Coordinator) Consultant Team Fort Point Associates, Inc (urban planning, environmental consulting) Apex Companies, LLC (environmental and marine engineering) The participation and contributions of City Council members, key harbor stakeholders and community residents during public meetings, in one-on-one interviews and with submitted comments proved to be very helpful. Research, facilitation of the public process and preparation of this Harbor Plan Update were funded by a grant from the Governor’s Seaport Advisory Council (Seaport Bond Bill). iii HARBOR PLAN UPDATE OVERVIEW Attached is an Update of the 2000 Salem Municipal Harbor Plan. At the beginning of this process of updating the Plan, the City of Salem expressed a strong interest in refocusing on the waterfront’s potential and presenting a strategy for improvements that would provide both near- term and long-term benefits for the City and the Commonwealth. There was general consensus from the Harbor Plan Implementation Committee, from the City, and during major stakeholder interviews completed for this Update that the 2000 Plan was a good planning document and that it still provided valuable guidance and vision for future development around Salem Harbor. There was also agreement that the Plan needed some adjustments and amplifications based on economic, port security and community/region changes that have occurred over the past seven years and in consideration of new waterfront development recently completed or proposed. The main text and graphics used for the 2000 Plan (produced by The Cecil Group, Inc) have been updated and adjusted as necessary and remain as Chapters I through VII of this Plan. To avoid a need for a complete rewrite, recommendations in the main body of the Plan have continued to be grouped by planning area as they were in 2000. In developing this Update, the preferred approach for listing recommendations was to group the recommendations into seven general themes. This allowed for some consolidation, permitted easy comparison of similar recommendations, and demonstrated how individual initiatives supported common themes. Following is a summary of the Updated Plan’s recommendations grouped into themes: Infrastructure Public Access Activation of the Harbor’s Edge and Watersheet Governance Transportation and Marine Commerce New Revenues Environmental Resources iv 1. INFRASTRUCTURE DREDGING • Develop a Salem Harbor Dredge Material Management Plan (DMMP). Continue efforts to locate appropriate disposal and/or reuse sites for contaminated dredged material as part of a locally sponsored DMMP. • Seek U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Support. Continue efforts to obtain federal support for maintaining federal channels leading to and through Salem Harbor. • Pending Dredging Priorities: Salem Wharf / Hawthorne Cove. To create a fully functional commercial wharf facility supporting commercial vessel operations. South River. To allow access by small boat and other water-based uses to activate the South River Basin. Derby Street Flats. To create access to new docks at the end of Kosciusko, Turner and Hardy Streets for use by dinghies and water taxi/shuttle. Expand dredged area around the conceptual idea of the Ingersoll/Tucker Wharf (see next page) for access by local residents and transient recreational boaters. Winter Island. To improve recreational boat access to this city park allowing expanded use as a fully functional hub service center. Palmer Cove and Forest Park. To improve access through the Palmer Cove Channel and the South Palmer Point Channel for Shetland Park wharf/ docks, Pioneer Village and other waterfront activities in the Area. UTILITIES • Comprehensive Survey. Complete a survey of all Salem Harbor seawalls & storm drains to determine current condition and set priorities for repairs and/or upgrades. • Utility Infrastructure. Promote measures that will ensure adequate utility infrastructure exist alone the City’s waterfront to support existing and proposed activities. Among the top priorities are sewer connections on Winter Island and utilities for the Salem Wharf. • Stormwater Drainage. Support the City’s efforts in improve drainage during and after severe storms that impact the waterfront area. (Areas of specific concern - Winter Island, South River Basin) v DOCKING FACILITIES Salem Wharf. Create a facility to support commercial vessel operations. See separate report on the Salem Port Expansion Plan Add New Boat Docking/Landing Facilities including: Floating docks in South River Basin for use by dinghies and small boats. Expanded multipurpose mooring and berthing facility on NPS’s Central Wharf to accommodate visiting historic and marine education/research vessels, harbor tours, and possibly some larger transient private vessels. Additional wharves/docks on Winter Island for recreational boat services including pump out and refueling, dinghy dock for boats using WI moorings, water shuttle, and, if it can serve as a revenue source for the City, a public marina. Landing and floats at end of Hardy and Turner Streets for water shuttle/taxi and dinghies. Water shuttle landing at Forest River Park (Pioneer Village). • Construct Ingersoll/Tucker Wharf. Explore the feasibility of constructing a new publicly owned wharf or dock off National Park Service (NPS) property near the water end of Kosciusko Street extending out to the north end of the Derby Wharf anchorage. • Construct Shetland Park Wharf. Explore