Built Environment 3.4: Redevelop Opportunity Areas

There are a few areas of the Island where there could be substantial change over the next generation, which could substantially and positively modify their character. These areas include landfills, disturbed areas, and areas developed in the past thirty years as single-use, car-oriented commercial areas dominated by large parking lots and outdoor storage, such as the Upper State Road / Park-and-Ride area in Tisbury, the Upper Main Street / Triangle in Edgartown, and the West Tisbury Business District. In the longer term, the Goodale Pit might be redeveloped.

These areas give us the opportunity to concentrate mixed use, compact development as an alternative to sprawling, car-oriented growth in more environmentally sensitive areas. Increased density could be tied into reduction in density in rural areas, and/or be reserved for affordable or elderly housing.

The redevelopment of these areas could provide an opportunity to pursue two principles. There could be infill development based on the principles of Traditional Neighborhood Development, namely neighborhood design that accommodates a mix of residential and commercial uses within in a compact walkable area using traditional town-planning principles. These include: a range of housing types; a network of well-connected streets and blocks; humane public spaces; and amenities such as stores, schools, and places of worship within walking distance of residences. At the same time, these areas could be transformed into 21^st-century neighborhoods incorporating leading edge techniques for renewable energy, green building, communications (fiber optics, broadband internet), new modes of transportation, and waste management.

These areas could be good locations for affordable housing, in that they could have more compact development, are generally close to transit, and the land might be less expensive.

Objective B6: Redevelop “opportunity areas” – presently problematic areas – to improve the quality of the physical environment, to make them work more efficiently, and to incorporate compact mixed-use, development.

·  Strategy B6-1: Outline redevelopment programs urban design plans for each Opportunity Area. The first step for each area is to determine the basic uses and concept. Then, an urban design plan should be prepared, delineating the public-private realm, proposing the main public improvements and the main parameters for future private development (massing, relation to street, materials, etc.) A challenge will be accommodating parking for existing and new uses.

·  Strategy B6-2: Revise zoning regulations in Opportunity Areas: It will likely be necessary to revise zoning regulations to conform to the area plan. This could involve the use the Commonwealth’s 40R provision allowing communities to create overlay zoning districts to promote housing production and smart growth development. It might be desirable to adopt a system of pre-permitting or streamlined permitting to speed up the issuance of building permits for conforming projects.

·  Strategy B6-3: Make public improvements in Opportunity Areas: It might be necessary to make public improvements to the areas, such as putting in or improving roads, bike paths, sidewalks/trails, open spaces, street trees, etc.

·  Strategy B6-4: Encourage development in Opportunity Areas: The towns could actively encourage private development within these areas. In some cases, towns might want to facilitate development by helping with land assembly or by entering into public-private agreements.