War of 1812 Bicentennial Community Plan Among Buffalo neighborhoods, in Historic Black Rock you’ll find: • The Best Waterfront Access, • The Best Highway Access, • Historic and Architectural Character, with a War of 1812 Legacy and the Most Pre-Civil War Historic Homes in the city, • Affordable, Quality Housing, and • An Enjoyable, Walkable Waterfront Community The second oldest view of Buffalo (top), according to the Picture Book of Earlier Buffalo, shows the capture of the British brigs Detroit and HISTORIC BLACK ROCK HISTORIC Caledonia on the night of October 8, 1812 during the War of 1812. The Detroit ran aground on Squaw Island (far right), and how the area looks today (bottom). DRAFT DOCUMENT For updates on this planning initiative, visit: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/plan_black_rock/ Draft 12/29/2008 HISTORIC BLACK ROCK: WAR OF 1812 BICENTENNIAL COMMUNITY PLAN DEDICATION This plan is dedicated to all who work tirelessly toward the improvement of Historic Black Rock. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ~ With appreciation to ~ The Honorable Byron Brown, Mayor City of Buffalo Joseph Golombek, Jr., Councilman, North Council District Brian Reilly, Executive Director, Office of Strategic Planning Andrew M. Eszak, City Planner, Office of Strategic Planning Steve Woroniak, CAD Specialist, Office of Strategic Planning Bill Parke, Community Planner, Office of Strategic Planning Co-Chairs Richard Mack and Evelyn Vossler, the Membership, and the Steering Committee of the Black Rock-Riverside Good Neighbors Planning Alliance (BRRGNPA): Sharon Adler Mary Ann Kedron Caleb Basiliko Liza McKee Bill Buzak Bill Parke Beverly Eagen Larry Pernick Jackie Erckert Marge Price Warren Glover Margaret Szcezepaniec Joe Golombek Dearborn Street Community Association Chris Brown, ErieCountyNY1812 Working Group Karl Frizlen, Design Committee, Elmwood Village Association George Grasser, Partners for a Livable Western New York Phil Haberstro, Buffalo Wellness Institute Wende Mix, PhD, Associate Professor of Geography, Buffalo State College Riverside Review St. John’s United Church of Christ Stevan Stipanovich Wendel Duchscherer Architects & Engineers, PC Cassie Wilson YOUR COMMENTS Your opinions regarding the ideas and proposals in this plan are important. So is your involvement in improving Historic Black Rock. To share your opinion or get involved in helping the community, contact Richard Mack, co-chair of the Black Rock-Riverside Good Neighbor Planning Alliance, at 716.877.8400. Prepared by the Black Rock-Riverside Good Neighbors Planning Alliance in partnership with the Buffalo Office of Strategic Planning as a component (proposed) of the Buffalo Comprehensive Plan. December 29, 2008—DRAFT DOCUMENT Front Cover Images: 1812 woodcut titled “The Second Oldest View of Buffalo” (source: Picture Book of Earlier Buffalo, http://www.archive.org/ stream/publications16buffuoft) 1894 City of Buffalo Atlas (source: http://www.erie.gov/atlases/buff_94/city_atl_90.html) 2006 Photo by Bill Parke i HISTORIC BLACK ROCK: WAR OF 1812 BICENTENNIAL COMMUNITY PLAN TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Number Dedication, Acknowledgements, Your Comments............................................................................ i Table of Contents..............................................................................................................................ii Chapter 1: Overview ........................................................................................................................ 1 Chapter 2: Why Black Rock Now?................................................................................................... 6 Chapter 3: Recommendations 1. Preserve and Strengthen Community Identity ........................................................................ 10 2. Improve Housing ..................................................................................................................... 14 3. Improve Public Safety ............................................................................................................. 18 4. Revitalize Niagara Street Commercial Area, and Develop and Market the Area’s Positive Attributes ................................................................................................................... 21 5. Enhance Community Walkability while Leveraging Existing Transportation Advantages...... 25 6. Realize the Potential of Existing Recreational Assets and Seize Opportunities for New Ones within the Neighborhood (Parks, Recreation, Waterfront) .................................... 28 7. Make Distinctive Gateways and Street Themes, Leverage Land Development, and Improve Urban Design ............................................................................................................ 30 Chapter 4: Plan Implementation Section 1: Glimpse Into The Future ........................................................................................... 32 Section 2: Next Steps................................................................................................................. 33 Section 3: Superpriorities: A List for City of Buffalo Action........................................................ 47 Chapter 5: Funding ........................................................................................................................ 48 Appendices ......................................................................................................................................A Appendix 1 Publicity Leading Up To and Following the November, 12, 2008 Community Meeting Appendix 2 November 12, 2008 Community Meeting and Comments Appendix 3 Comments Received from November 12 to December 1, 2008 Appendix 4 Land Use Map Appendix 5 Zoning Map Appendix 6 Selected Demographics Appendix 7 Relevant Plans and Projects ii HISTORIC BLACK ROCK: WAR OF 1812 BICENTENNIAL COMMUNITY PLAN CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW values, a prosperous nearby Niagara Street busi- ness district and easy access to waterfront parks and the Riverwalk provide amenities and real his- tory unique to their community. Active citizen par- ticipation in neighborhood life sustains the commu- nity’s harmonious quality of life. This vision is adapted from the document, “Draft Shared Vision for Historical Black Rock’s Dearborn Street Community Association”, created with the block club in Summer, 2008, with assistance from Phil Haberstro, director of the Buffalo Wellness Institute. Planning Context In February, 2006, the City of Buffalo adopted the Queen City in the 21st Century: Buffalo’s Compre- hensive Plan, which set forth the planning princi- ples and guidance for future prosperity and devel- opment in the City of Buffalo. (See Figure 1.) One of the key principles in the plan is to “Plan with Neighborhoods: The Comprehensive Plan provides a broad framework for neighborhood redevelop- Figure 1: Cover page for Queen City in the 21st Century: Buffalo’s Comprehensive Plan.. Introduction In 2000, the Mayor of Buffalo created a neighbor- hood planning process utilizing participatory neighborhood planning practices called the Good Neighbors Planning Alliance, as part of the initia- tive to create and implement the Buffalo Compre- hensive Plan. As a result, the Black Rock- Riverside Good Neighbors Planning Alliance (Black Rock-Riverside GNPA) was created, as one of 10 planning alliance areas in the City of Buffalo. With strong Council Member support, in 2007 the Black Rock-Riverside GNPA began a process of creating neighborhood plans in partnership with local block groups, leading to the current docu- ment, Historic Black Rock: War of 1812 Bicenten- nial Community Plan. This plan is guided by the following community vision for Historic Black Rock, arrived at by the Dearborn Street Community Asso- ciation, a prominent block club in the area: Vision for Historic Black Rock Enjoy a safe, clean, diverse, and walkable neighborhood with a sense of community that is Figure 2: Aerial view of Historic Black Rock created during widely admired. Vibrant churches, stable home construction of Squaw Island Park. 1 HISTORIC BLACK ROCK: WAR OF 1812 BICENTENNIAL COMMUNITY PLAN CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW ment across the city, ning Alliance (GNPA) to support this process of but depends on neighborhood planning. Residents have been in- neighborhood resi- vited to participate in planning for eleven Planning dents themselves to Communities or districts around the city. Staff from create and help im- the Office of Strategic Planning (OSP) provides plement more de- guidance and technical assistance to create usable tailed local plans. In plans consistent with city-wide policies. All this way, residents neighborhood plans produced through the GNPA can work with City will be submitted to the Planning Board for review staff to tailor overall and then forwarded to Common Council for adop- policies to local tion.” (Queen City in the 21st Century: Buffalo’s needs, values and Comprehensive Plan, page 86.) visions. Participatory neighborhood plan- The Black Rock-Riverside GNPA recognized the ning can also take need to plan locally, first by drafting a broader, advantage of local GNPA-wide draft plan in January, 2007, and then Figure 3: The Black Rock- knowledge in apply- deciding to augment that effort with more localized Riverside Good Neighbors ing city-wide policies “mini-plans” that could address the special circum- Planning Alliance is in northwest and help mobilize stances present at a more localized level in five Buffalo local resources for areas that comprise the BRR GNPA (See Figure implementation.” 4): •