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Let’s go to Buckroe™
Brief given to the Hampton Planning Department
Send a letter to the editor of the Daily Press.

Contact City Council to voice your opposition to the bayfront initiative portion of the plan.
Buckroe Master Plan

Bayfront Inititative


Reasons for
Preserving the Green Space


September 2, 2005


Buckroe Citizens Organization (BCO)
Citizens for the Promotion of Recreational Opportunities (CPRO)



What makes a place great?

Values to Hampton for preserving and cultivating Buckroe Beach’s waterfront and near waterfront lots into a permanent world-class green space park





What makes a place great?

  • Fiscal Responsibility
  • Social Advantages/Benefits
  • Accessibility/Linkages
  • Visitor Services/Travel Industry
  • Summary


Fiscal Responsibility

The land, owned by all Hampton taxpayers, will:

  • Increase the worth of the surrounding property

  • Make the city more attractive to companies and individuals who might be thinking about relocating to Hampton

  • Make the city extremely valuable to realtors and investors who will be attempting to market the hundreds of condominiums and new homes planned in other areas of Hampton

  • Continue to appreciate at an exponential and unlimited rate. Once disposed of, reclaiming this land at any future time will be economically prohibitive for Hampton citizens

  • Allow the city to offer an alternative vacation destination during times of high fuel costs and shortages

  • Naturally attract hundreds of thousands of people to our city and increase our economy with tourism dollars for generations to come

Social Advantages/Benefits

The land, owned by all Hampton taxpayers, will:

  • Serve all citizens equally -- Hampton has enough private beaches, gated communities, and limited beachfront parking

  • Provide a safe, clean, public gathering place for all area citizens from a wide range of economic levels and age groups to meet and mingle 

  • Accommodate large gatherings for special events such as triathlons, boat races, car shows, art shows, family reunions, church picnics, etc.

  • Provide a perfect place for relaxation, enjoyment, and essential recreational exercise

  • Enhance the lives of all who use or even get a glimpse of it

  • Be remembered and talked about by all who visit

  • Benefit the greater good and quality of life for all Hampton citizens and the city’s future generations

Accessibility/Linkages

The land, owned by all Hampton taxpayers, is:

  • Holistically connected in a positive manner to the waterfront areas of Fox Hill, Grandview, Fort Monroe, Phoebus, Downtown Hampton, Chesapeake Avenue, and other areas

  • A great public space easy to get to by foot, bike, or public transportation, easy to enter, and easy to navigate

  • Arranged in such a way that the public can view what is going on there from both a distance and up close

  • Large enough to be developed as a world-class city park with revenue producing amenities that appeal to both locals and visitors 

  • Treasured by surrounding communities lacking the grand Chesapeake Bay beachfront, such as Newport News, York County, Williamsburg, etc.

Visitor Services/Travel Industry

The land, owned by all Hampton taxpayers, has potential to:

  • Become a major revenue generating tourist attraction by offering, recreational equipment sales and rentals, special events, food, lodging, convenience items, etc.

  • Offer recreational expenditures for things like biking, sailing, fishing, photography, physical fitness/health, environmental education, special events, etc.

  • Bring visitors and locals together to preserve, share, and discover ways to:
-  Appreciate history and make others aware of its value
-  Improve family cohesion
-  Take pride in local heritage and culture
-  Establish a preservation legacy
-  Improve public health
-  Encourage volunteerism
-  Explore stewardship and environmental ethics

  • Stand alone as a regional jewel and attraction -- a paradigm that will be lost if development is allowed on this precious land

Summary

  • The monetary benefit to the citizens of Hampton resulting from the sale of this property to developers will be slight and of the least benefit to those who will most need this land for recreation – the less affluent.

  • Public revenue generated by residential development does not cover the actual costs imposed on the community

  • Any waterfront and near waterfront land to which the city has ownership is a sacred trust which should be held for the use and enjoyment of all current and future generations.

  • To sell the Buckroe property without considering the wishes of all Hamptonians, particularly those who will never be affluent enough to own waterfront property, is unconscionable.

  • Upscale developments may have value, but they are not unique.  Each well designed park is.  And, in the end, uniqueness is what makes the city thrive.

  • Hampton’s public access to waterfront areas is disappearing.  Once it is gone, it is gone forever. 

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This is the brief
on the
Reasons to Preserve the Green Space
at the
Buckroe Bayfront
that was
presented to the
Planning Department for incorporation into the presentation for
ALL CITIZENS
of Hampton to be
held on
October 11, 2005
at the new
Hampton Roads Convention Center, conference room
A-B-C
from
7:00pm to 9:00pm.

Please mark your calendars and plan to attend.

Bring your Hampton friends and neighbors!