Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan

Consultant Selected to Work with City of Kingston The city has selected Labella Associates to assist in updating the LWRP. They are joined by the firms of Indigo River and MIG as sub-consultants.

Located between two major tributaries of the Hudson River, Kingston is Ulster County’s only city and a major economic engine for the region. Its extensive waterfront boundary contributed to its rich history and today allows for an abundance of cultural institutions, restaurants, and recreational opportunities—all of which create jobs and attract tourists. Now, with a 5-year grant from the NYS Department of State, the City is embarking on a project to update our Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan (LWRP). The LWRP, adopted in 1992, established a means of both protecting and enhancing local coastal resources.

More recently, the city has experienced the effects of climate change on its shorelines and beyond, impacting on critical infrastructure and vulnerable assets including the Wastewater Treatment Plant, freshwater wetlands, public amenities such as the swimming beach, businesses and residents. The Esopus Creek, which borders the city to the north, was not in the original LWRP and will now be considered, as will a Harbor Management Plan for the Rondout.

The project will be led by the LaBella team working directly with state and city staff and joined by a Waterfront Advisory Committee (WAC) that consists of business leaders, local stakeholders, group representatives, and other interested parties. The first step is to look at the waterfront boundary area. This will be done using GIS mapping, community input and a sub-committee of the WAC.

A Public Outreach Plan will be established by the project team and is critical to the planning process. The Plan will engage a broad spectrum of community members, including special-interest groups, in order to build consensus around how to advance and update planning for a resilient waterfront into the future.

An updated LWRP will advance revitalization by:

• Engaging stakeholders who currently and into the future will play a role in how our waterfront changes, to ensure voices and needs are heard, so that all stakeholders are informed and can act as stewards for future development,
• Developing strategies that enhance economic vitality while balancing natural resource protection, ensuring that private interests and public health are considered and weighed,
• Planning for a resilient future for all of our waterfrontages to protect the natural and built assets while preparing for more extreme weather events, especially with our most vulnerable assets, and
• Creating a solid and clear plan that will give guidance to future investors, leverage future funding, and provide a framework for how to proceed in making the most efficient use of public and private dollars.

The following review and approvals are anticipated as part of this project undertaking:

• Review under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR);
• NYS Executive Law, Article 42 review, governed by DOS implementing regulation;
• Federal review of changes to approved coastal management programs governed by Title 15 Part 923, Subpart H of the Code of Federal Regulations through NOAA’s Office of Coastal Management (OCM);
• Common Council Review, Adoption.