Public Notice Notice of Submission of a Request for a Notice to Proceed for the Amendment to the City of Salem Municipal Harbor Plan and Designated Port Area Master Plan pursuant to 301 CMR 23.00 In accordance with the applicable regulations at 301 CMR 23.00, the City of Salem has submitted a Request for a Notice to Proceed (RNTP) to the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs to initiate the state approval for an amendment to the 2008 Salem Municipal Harbor Plan and Designated Port Area Master Plan. Copies of the RNTP may be obtained by contacting Seth Lattrell at [email protected]. Written comments on the RNTP will be considered. Comments must be received by 4:30 p.m. on Friday, July 10, 2020. Comments should be addressed to: Office of Coastal Zone Management 251 Causeway Street, Suite 800 Boston, MA 02114-2136 Attn: Kathryn Glenn Note: Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the preference is for electronic submission of comments. Comments can also be submitted electronically to [email protected] and copied to [email protected]. Notification Date: June 10, 2020 Salem Municipal Harbor Plan Update Request for Notice to Proceed Kimberley Driscoll Mayor Tom Daniel, Aicp Director City Of Salem, Massachusetts Department Of Planning And Community Development 98 Washington Street Salem, Massachusetts 01970 Tele: 978-619-5685 Dear Ms. Engler, On behalf of the City of Salem, Massachusetts, I’m writing to respectfully request the issuance of a Notice to Proceed with the preparation of an amend- ment to a Municipal Harbor Plan and Designated Port Area (“DPA”) Master Plan (collectively the “Harbor Plan”) by the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (“CZM”) in accordance with the provisions of 301 CMR 23.03. Salem’s Harbor Plan was last updated in 2008, and since that time we have successfully initiated or completed many of the port development rec- ommendations set forth in the Harbor Plan, including the construction of portions of the harborwalk and public park along the South River Basin, the construction of a new wharf and marina at Blaney Street, operation of a fer- ry service between Salem and Boston, upgrades to Winter Island including restoration of Fort Pickering and construction of a perimeter public pathway, and the preliminary design of the South River dredging. There have also been substantial changes to the waterfront not contemplated in the 2008 Harbor Plan. In May 2018, Footprint Power’s natural gas-powered energy facility (the “Salem Harbor Station”) came online, replacing the coal-fired power plant that ceased operations in 2014. The new facility is substantially more compact than the coal plant, freeing up approximately 42.3 acres of land to the southwest and northeast of the Salem Harbor Station for potential redevelopment (the “Footprint Property”). No longer needed for coal deliveries, the City, through an agreement with Footprint, has upgraded the site’s marine terminal and hosted several medium-sized cruise vessels. The substantial reduction of the area of the waterfront required for electricity generation provides a tremendous opportunity for new uses that may support the City’s long term planning objec- tives; however, future development on this waterfront property is limited by the presence of previously filled tidelands subject to Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 91 and its classification as a DPA. The goal of this Harbor Plan update is to build off our past success and establish a shared vision for the future of Salem Harbor that is consistent with the guiding principles of Imagine Salem, our community visioning process for what Salem will look and feel like in 2026, the City’s 400th anniversary. Through a robust community driven visioning process, the Harbor Plan will work to protect and enhance the economic, environmental, historic and cul- tural resources related to Salem Harbor and the North River, and will strive to achieve a balance between the residential and business needs of the adjacent neighborhoods, opportunities for the entire city, and the value of Port of Salem as a regional economic resource. As described further below, the Harbor Plan is intended to guide the future use of key development areas in Salem, specifi- cally along the North River and at the Footprint Property. 3 Provided below is a summary of the proposed program for the Harbor Planning process pursuant to the submission requirements in 301 CMR 23.03: 1. Description of the Harbor Planning Group, Consultant Team staff, and consultants. ∙ Utile (Planning and Urban Design) The Harbor Plan is anticipated to be supported ∙ Durand and Anastas (Regulatory Strategy) by a diverse body of local representatives and ∙ RKG Associates (Market Analysis) led by an experienced consultant team in close ∙ Kleinfelder (Resilience Advisory) collaboration with City staff. Anticipated rep- ∙ GEI Consultants (Marine Engineering and resentative members of the Harbor Plan Group, Infrastructure) staff, and consultant team are as follows: ∙ Brown, Richardson + Rowe (Landscape Architecture) Harbor Planning Group: ∙ Mayor – Kimberley Driscoll City of Salem – Department of Planning and ∙ Salem Harbor Port Authority Community Development (DPCD) ∙ Salem Marine Society/Harbormaster ∙ Tom Daniel (Director) – Capt William McHugh ∙ Kathleen Winn (Deputy Director) ∙ National Park Service Superintendent ∙ Seth Lattrell (Port Authority Deputy/Planner) ∙ Derby Street Neighborhood Association ∙ Salem Partnership Additionally, it is anticipated that the Harbor ∙ At-Large Councilor Planning effort will be managed in close con- ∙ Ward 1 Councilor – Robert McCarthy sultation with other state agencies with legal ∙ Salem Sound Coast Watch jurisdiction and expertise relative to the matters ∙ Salem Alliance For the Environment (SAFE) under consideration. ∙ Salem State ∙ Destination Salem ∙ Public Safety ∙ Ward 1 Neighborhood 4 2. Scaled map identifying Harbor The overall Harbor Planning Area is divided into Planning Area six districts as shown on Figure 1 and defined The Harbor Planning Area encompasses the below: Salem shoreline and adjacent landside areas between Winter Island and Palmer Cove as well 1. South Commercial Waterfront as landside areas along the North River from This portion of the waterfront is adjacent to and Furlong Park to North Street and across the river on the waterside of the Point Neighborhood. to the “Crescent Lot”. The upland boundary from It includes Pickering Wharf, the South River Winter Island to Palmer Cove is defined by the Basin (defined by Congress, Peabody, Lafayette public roadway closest to the water’s edge, which and Derby Streets), Shetland Park, Palmer Cove for most of the planning area is Derby Street and Yacht Club and the Palmer Cove Playground out Fort Avenue. The upland boundary along the to the public streets immediately surrounding North River is defined by Franklin Street, North the playground. Street, and Bridge Street. Community Industrial Waterfront Port North River/ Crescent Lot North Tourist Commercial Historic Waterfront Harbor Chapter 91 jurisdiction South Commercial Designated Port Area (DPA) Waterfront boundary MHP area Figure 1: The Harbor Planning Area is divided into six districts: South Commercial Waterfront, Tourist Historic Harbor, North Commercial Waterfront, Industrial Port, Community Waterfront, North River/ Crescent Lot. 5 2. Tourist Historic Harbor 4. Industrial Port The Tourist Historic Harbor centers around Located at the end of the deep-water channel Derby Wharf and includes waterfront histor- that leads into Salem Harbor, the Industrial ic sites, such as the Salem Maritime National Port encompasses the 42.3-acre Footprint Historic Site to the House of the Seven Gables. Property, the new Salem Harbor Station, the Landward, this sub-area extends to Derby Street Deepwater Berth, the South Essex Sewage and the adjacent waterfront neighborhood. District Treatment Plant (“SESD”), and the Federal Channel. The DPA comprises most of 3. North Commercial Waterfront this district with the exception of the SESD. The This part of the planning area extends from Industrial Port is located between the North Hawthorne Cove Marina to the edge of the Commercial Waterfront and the Community Power Plant property and includes the ferry Waterfront. facilities and commercial marina of the Salem Wharf. The DPA extends into this planning 5. Community Waterfront district. This area occupies the northernmost portion of Salem Harbor and includes Cat Cove, Winter Island and Smith’s Pool. Winter Island is the largest recreational space on the inner har- bor and is used for such activities as camping, picnicking and walking by residents and visi- tors alike. With its pier and boat ramp, it is also the site of numerous marine related activities mostly supporting recreational boats. Sharing the island with the public park and within this planning district is the Plummer Home for Boys. Bordering the Community Waterfront are the South Essex Sewage District treatment plant, the west end of the Salem Willows Park, the Winter Island neighborhood and Juniper Cove. 6. North River/Crescent Lot This area is comprised of parcels northwest and southwest of the North River, including the Crescent Lot, a 36,600 square foot 97 space parking lot adjacent to the MBTA Commuter Rail Station, and the lands across the river bounded by North Street and Franklin Street, up to and including Furlong Park. While the Harbor Plan will provide recommen- dations and guidance for the entire Harbor Planning area, the major changes contemplat- ed