The planners working to enumerate our community’s goals for the future have issued a report on findings to date. And, they’re seeking public input in a second Visioning Workshop that takes place Thursday, April 22 at 6 PM via Zoom. All Islanders are encouraged to participate.
Don’t worry that it will be one giant Zoom meeting; participants will be broken out into smaller groups to work with community facilitators on a very manageable scale. Here’s the link to login details.
If you’re uncertain how to use Zoom, the Shelter Island Public Library can provide coaching. Call the Circulation Desk at 631-749-0042 to inquire.
If you do plan to attend Visioning Workshop #2, it would be helpful to first read the latest report, called a SWOTCI analysis. The acronym stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, challenges and imperatives. You can follow this link to find the full report on the Town website.
SWOTCI analysis
A SWOTCI analysis “is a planning tool that makes complex information easier to understand so that we can see what needs to be done,” project coordinator Edward Hindin says in a news release.
Hindin, a member of the Town Planning Board, has volunteered to serve on the Comprehensive Plan Task Force along with Town Councilmen Mike Bebon and Albert Dickson. They’ve been charged by the Town Board to oversee the year-long planning process conducted by the Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee, which is made up of 12 community volunteers and supported by consultants from Dodson & Flinker and Larissa Brown Associates, two Massachusetts-based planning firms.
The team’s latest report looks back at earlier Comprehensive Plans — the last formal plan was adopted in 1994; a review in 2008 was never formally adopted by the Town Board. The team also reports on:
- Results from a recent community survey
- Feedback from Visioning Workshop #1
- Stakeholder interviews conducted thus far
- Feedback on the Shelter Island 2020 (current conditions) report
- Input from the Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee and Task Force
What past planners found
The current planning team says the 1994 Comprehensive Plan and 2008 review teams didn’t employ a formal SWOTCI analysis, but “both evaluated existing resources and listed issues and challenges facing the town.”
1994
Key themes in 1994 were water, growth and land use, at a time when more than 40 houses were being built per year.
“The 1994 plan also identified the importance of historic and cultural resources to the Island’s character and economy, and listed threats from neglect and redevelopment,” the report says. “Goals included protection of the Island’s ‘small-town community and way of life, its rural character, and the natural resources which support those qualities.'”
The 1994 team recommended “setting and implementing clear priorities for conservation and working to limit the rate of growth and the size of houses.” As today, “1994 house prices were rising much faster than incomes” and one goal was to develop and maintain affordable housing for the Island’s year-round population.
The 1994 planners also wanted to assure that new housing or conversions of existing housing were “in harmony with the environment, with the supply and quality of natural resources, and with the particular style and character of Shelter Island’s existing housing and traditional development patterns.”
Other 1994 goals:
- Protection of existing resources
- Targeted improvements to Town facilities
- Balancing the summer economy with year-round needs
- Removing unnecessary regulation
- Encouraging business sectors rooted in the local landscape – fishing, farming, marine services
- Protecting the town’s water supply
2008 review
According to the new report, the 2008 review found “many of these issues remained,
and some were getting worse” and highlighted these challenges:
- Increased cost of living and changing demographics resulting in a decline of the “balanced community” – with the population of working, full time residents and families with children in Island schools declining relative to second homeowners and retirees
- Increasing house size through development of large new homes and replacement of existing smaller homes
- Increasing population and housing density in sensitive areas above the aquifer, particular through development of existing nonconforming lots
- Ambiguity in Town Codes, resulting in confusion, lost time and inconsistent enforcement
- Trend toward landowners challenging Town Codes rather than respecting and following their intent for the good of the community
- Lack of a master plan for areas near tidal waters and freshwater ponds, leading to development in sensitive areas
- A single overlarge and undifferentiated business zone, leading to inefficient commercial sprawl and mixing of unsuitable businesses
- Confusing rules and lack of policy for regulating home businesses
- Decline of local businesses due to seasonal swings, high land costs and reliance on the construction industry
- Risks to the aquifer from pesticides, fertilizers, pool maintenance, large lawns and oversize houses
- Limited mechanisms to protect scenic views, fields, woodlands and trees
- No effective policy for controlling invasive plant species
What’s happened since?
The 2008 review set forth a list of 42 “new or renewed initiatives” designed to help deal with these challenges.
“Of those intiatives, only two have been completed (updating storm water code and dock policies) and 17 were not addressed (most dealing with changing zoning and other regulations),” the report says. “Good progress was made on 17 items,” including:
- Establishing a GIS mapping database
- Building and renovating public toilets
- Advancing conservation and stewardship of open space
- Bringing the town into compliance with federal storm water mandates
Some progress was made on 15 items, including:
- Updating policies and codes regulating wetland protection and beach access
- Tweaking requirements for special permit review
- Requiring a special permit for houses over 6,000 square feet
- Pursuing plans for community housing
While the 2008 review recommendations were not officially adopted, “they do seem to have been reflected in town actions over the years,” the current planning team says.
Common themes emerging
Common themes are emerging the planning process underway since November, the planning team says. In the first Visioning Workshop, held in March, Islanders highlighted the following:
- Strengths — Natural Beauty and Access to Nature; Sense of Place; Sense of Community; and Quality of Life
- Weaknesses — Housing and Jobs; Economic Constraints, Public Services and Facilities; Governance; and Quality of Life
- Opportunities — Environmental Protection; Housing; Economy; Governance; Public Services and Facilities; and Building Community
- Threats — Changing Environment; Changing Economic Conditions; Loss of Housing & Jobs for Ordinary People; Quality of Life; and Community Life
- Challenges — Economics; Decision-making and Governance; and Land Use
“Themes, issues and problems not highlighted will not be forgotten,” the report says. “All of the input materials will be reviewed again in the next stages of the planning process to make sure that important ideas are not lost.”
Imperatives
Key to the discussion at Visioning Workshop #2 on Thursday are imperatives, defined by planners as “the most critical cross-cutting issues that must be addressed in order to keep Shelter Island a desirable place to live now and in the future.”
“There are some imperatives that have broad support (protecting water supply), while others will likely engender a healthy debate (such as the desired extent of future growth and development, balancing tax revenues with the cost of services, and determining the ideal size and role of town government),” the report says.
The imperatives identified to date are:
- Environmental Sustainability
- Protect the aquifer and its watershed, and ensure long-term availability of safe drinking water to every resident
- Protect surface water quality
- Work proactively to plan for and adapt to climate change and sea level rise
- Restore and maintain a balanced ecosystem on the island and in the surrounding waters, including managing the deer herd and rebuilding local fisheries
- Effective Governance
- Build on energy of this Comprehensive Planning process and ensure that the plan becomes a living document
- Build capacity to implement the plan and change policies and practices to provide for more consistent follow through
- Improve and modernize the functions and services of government, determining the appropriate level of staff and ideal balance of town investments and taxes
- Attainable Year-Round Housing
- Ensure a sustainable supply of affordable and attainable housing, which is fundamental to maintaining the social and economic diversity of the community
- Develop housing programs that assist with private ownership and affordable year-round rentals
- Managing Growth and Change to Maintain Sense of Place
- Establish a clear plan for conservation and development that can guide growth and change as remaining vacant land is either preserved or developed
- Manage large houses and other development impacts and promote revitalization of Rt. 114 and existing centers of commercial activity and community life
- Make the island walkable and bike able
- Building Community
- Build and sustain long-term social and economic diversity among the town’s population
- Support people, programs and institutions working to build bridges between young and old, full- and part-time residents, and maintain mutual respect and neighborliness
Opportunities for public input
“We encourage Islanders to continue to help create the vision and plan for the future of Shelter Island,” Hindin said in a news release. “More than 1,000 Islanders responded to Survey # 1 and 70 Islanders joined Public Workshop # 1 for discussions with friends and neighbors about important challenges we face.”
“We encourage comments on the SWOTCI Report and participation in Workshop #2,” he said. “We plan a number of additional opportunities for public involvement over the next six months.”
Questions or comments? Forward them to cpu@shelterislandtown.us.
