Stone Harbor Master Plan Emphasizes Importance of Year-Round Activity

STONE HARBOR — The Master Plan serves as a recommendation for the town’s growth and progress that is submitted to the state in order to receive funding.
The Planning Board, with help from professional planner Linda Weber of Mosaic Planning and Design, has churned out a 40-page document providing suggestions and a course of action to achieve borough goals.
Councilwoman Joanne Vaul, previously a Planning Board member and the board’s representative to council, said the 2009 Master Plan emphasizes the family-friendly character of the town, a need to protect all natural resources and the quaint charming nature of downtown and residential areas for the benefit of year-round residents, second homeowners and visitors.
“It also focuses on our desire to bring more people to the borough by holding events, creating special places and encouraging visitors and second homeowners to spend more time in the borough, not just in the summer, but also in the fall and spring,” Vaul said.
The plan calls for increased use of the marina area and addresses the importance tourism and sustainability to the future of the borough.
“Perhaps the most important feature of the Master Plan is the discussion on the changing demographics in the borough. In a nutshell, the trend is that there are less permanent residents, less rentals and more second homeowners,” Weber said.
Second homeowners have short visits that are typically limited to the mid-summer season. Therefore the borough has fewer visitors in the early and late summer season, which causes merchants to feel the effects of the decline in customers, Weber said.
If this trend continues, Weber said, the effects on downtown businesses could be serious.
Therefore, the plan recommends a comprehensive marketing strategy to strengthen the shoulder seasons and promote longer and repeated visits.
The Stone Harbor Bird Sanctuary is discussed in the plan as a source for ecotourism to pull visitors into town during the shoulder seasons.
Town center events and featured activities are hoped to achieve an in-town population of 6,000 during the spring and fall.
The plan mentions building the year-round population to 1,100 with support for Stone Harbor Elementary School and the importance of the family to the year-round and seasonal community.
Preservation of historic buildings is recommended to protect community character.
Establishing incentives for renovation rather than demolition is suggested regarding residential structures.
As for land use, the plan recommends a permanent “pocket park” in the Waterfront Business District to open up views of the bay to serve as a “catalyst to spur private redevelopment.”
Also, a landscaping ordinance is suggested to ensure trees are planted where they can thrive. A Shade Tree Commission or Committee is recommended.
The Planning Board established a Parking Committee to evaluate needs, particularly in the downtown business district where availability is needed as it is redeveloped.
The committee suggests a temporary parking lot on borough property between 93rd and 94th streets to monitor and evaluate use and needs for parking downtown.
Weber said it was the first time she had ever included an action plan at the end of a Master Plan. She said Master Plan Committee Chairman Bob Ashman suggested it.
The board will hold a public hearing June 22 at 7 p.m. at Borough Hall.
A draft of the plan is available on the borough’s Web site.
Contact Truluck at (609) 886-8600 ext. 24 or at: ltruluck@cmcherald.com