Seeing Green?
Hampton invites comment on amending Buckroe Bayfront plan
By Sara Piccini
Port Folio Weekly
November 21, 2006
Everyone Agrees that Hampton’s Buckroe Beach community is a diamond in the rough. And everyone hopes to shape and polish Buckroe into “a successful and healthy neighborhood,” in the words of Hampton City Planner James Freas.
But how to get there?
For nearly two years, citizens and City Hall have wrangled over the fate of “Lots B” – approximately 10 acres of open space adjoining the Buckroe Beach waterfront. The property, site of the former Buckroe Amusement Park, was purchased in Hampton in 1986 and “banked” for future use.
Early 2005, Hampton issued a Buckroe Master Plan, created in conjunction with Urban Design Associates, with the goal of revitalizing the community. The Bayfront Initiative of the plan called for Lots Be to be sold to developers to build condominiums.
Enter the “Green Space Ladies” –as they are affectionately (and sometimes not so affectionately) called.
“I realized only a few people were aware of the public meetings being held on the master plan,” says Trish Ferraro, a Buckroe resident who was one of a few lonely voices to speak out early against private development of the publicly owned land.
Ferraro joined forces with other citizen activist, including Sandra Canepa, Phyllis Flanders and Cecile Trevathan, who now operate under the umbrella organization Citizens to Promote Recreational Opportunities (CPRO).
They distributed a petition calling for Lots Be to be developed as a city park, sported green ribbons, spoke out at public meetings, and even penned a Buckroe Anthem set to the tune of “This Land is Your Land” with which to serenade City Council.
City Council apparently listened. In September 2005, Council voted to reopen the bayfront planning process. Although Council members cited Fort Monroe’s impending closure as the reason for their vote, the Green Space Ladies are convinced that public opinion played a role.
“I firmly believe that council revisited the plan because of 3,000, then 5,000, then 8, 10 and now over 12,000 signatures of Hampton residents –plus the fact that over 60 business owners throughout Hampton carried the petition for 12 months,” say Canepa. “That’s proof in the pudding of the support behind our efforts.”
Hampton literally went back to the drawing board. This past summer, the City hired landscape architects LaQuatra Bonci Associates of Pittsburgh to help develop new options for the Buckroe waterfront. On Oct. 3-5, the City sponsored a series of public meetings with both city planners and outside consultants in attendance.
The meetings culminated in the presentation of four new conceptual designs developed according to agreed upon guidelines:
• Increase the amount of public open space in the Bayfront Initiative.
• Enhance public access to the public beach.
• Provide a wider range of activities (both active and passive) and enhance the appeal of the park.
• Add additional public parking as close to the park/beach as possible.
• Create a critical mass of new housing that will establish momentum for the revitalization of the neighborhood.
Hampton has invited public comment on the four options from residents and non-residents alike. The designs can be viewed at all Hampton public library branches and on-line at www.hampton.gov/planning or the CPRO website, www.buckroebeach.org.
“What we’re looking for is less ‘I like this particular option’ than what it is about the option that people like,” says James Freas.
“Good urban design and the five objectives –those are our goalposts,” Freas adds. “There’s a certain amount of leeway within that.”
Those wishing to comment can e-mail Freas directly at jfreas@hampton.bov or call (757) 727-6140. The CPRO web site also has a link and is distributing fliers to facilitate citizen feedback.
The Planning Department will present the results of its analysis at a Planning Commission meeting on Dec. 11: Although there is no formal deadline for the comment period, Canepa urges the public to send in comments by Thanksgiving.
The Planning Commission will than make a recommendation on Jan 8, 2007 to city Council, which will hold two public meetings on Jan. 10 and Jan. 24, with a final vote scheduled for the 24.
“Normally a plan amendment only requires on public hearing, but we’re doubling that,” Freas notes. “This is a big issue.”
The Green Space Ladies endorse a variation of Option D, calling for multi-use public park, ample parking and housing adjacent to rather than on Lots B. As Cecile Trevathan argues: “Upscale housing will be even more valuable if it’s near a wonderful park area.”
Looking to future, perhaps Trish Ferraro said it best in a speech to City Council: “My heart is in saving the land at Buckroe, and I am committed to helping this process work it way out. I hope we can come to a resolution soon.”
