Urban Coastal Greenways:

1
Urban Coastal Greenways A New Approach
to Coastal Buffers in Rhode Island
Menezes, S., J. McCann, and G. Fugate


University of Rhode Island
Coastal Resources Center/Rhode Island Sea Grant
Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council
(CRMC)
ABSTRACT Coastal vegetative buffers are
multi-functional coastal management tools used to
provide wildlife habitat, treat stormwater
runoff, and control coastal erosion and floods.
Current Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management
Council (CRMC) regulations require undisturbed
coastal buffers composed strictly of native
vegetation, and base buffer width on lot size,
regardless of site constraints (i.e.,
contamination, utility corridors). As a result,
it is often cost-prohibitive to incorporate these
strict buffer requirements in urban development
projects within the northern Narragansett Bay
area. This difficulty prompted the CRMC to create
a new coastal buffer policy for the urban region,
dubbed the Metro Bay, as part of a Special Area
Management Plan (SAMP). This Urban Coastal
Greenway Policy includes requirements for
vegetation of the development site, stormwater
management, and sustainable landscaping. Creating
public access along and to the shoreline is a
policy priority, with a goal of developing a
green corridor along the urban shoreline of the
region that integrates economic development with
water quality protection, as well as habitat
protection and restoration.

• THE METRO BAY SPECIAL AREA MANAGEMENT PLAN
• Metro Bay cities (Cranston, East Providence,
  Pawtucket, and Providence) are planning major
  redevelopment.
• CRMC is working with federal, state, and local
  governments, businesses, and community and
  environmental organizations to develop innovative
  coastal management policies
• The SAMP will focus on
• Addressing extensive redevelopment within coastal
  floodplains.
• Providing for stormwater management.
• Increasing public access to and along the
  shoreline.
• Resolving impacts and conflicts from increased
  recreational development on the water.
• Maintaining traditional water-dependent uses.
• Redeveloping brownfields.
• Preserving and restoring habitat.

• THE URBAN COASTAL GREENWAY POLICY
• The Urban Coastal Greenway (UCG) Policy
  integrates economic development,
  environmental
  protection, and public access through innovative
  site design.
• The UCG Policy differs from the current CRMC
  coastal buffer requirements by
• Allowing the implementation of a sustainable
  landscape using plantings that are
  suited and managed
  for an urban environment. The policy requires
  vegetative
  coverage of at least 15 of the entire
  development site.
• Encouraging a public access component that
  integrates the need for urban shoreline
  shoreline access
  with the spatial constraints of urban lots. The
  policy strongly
  encourages the inclusion of public
  access both alongshore and to the shore.
• Encouraging Low Impact Development stormwater
  management techniques that
  allow for maximal
  utilization of urban lots while protecting water
  quality. 100 of the stormwater water quality
  volume must be managed onsite, through
  vegetative means where possible.
• Allowing reductions in required UCG width in
  exchange for compensation.
• The Metro Bay region has been categorized into
  four zones, with the UCG requirements varying
  by zone
• Residential Zone
  
  
  (UCG policy does not apply to ?2 family
  units)
• Area of Particular Concern Zone
  
  
  (areas with high quality habitat)
• Inner Harbor and River Zone
  
  
  (highly urbanized area inland from Providence
  Hurricane Barrier)
• Redevelopment Zone
  
  
  (formerly industrial uses slated for
  high-density development)

For more information, contact CRMC at (401)
783-3370 or visit http//seagrant.gso.uri.edu/metr
osamp.