the ROAD BECKONS BEST PRACTICES FOR BYWAYS CASE STUDY RECOGNIZING AND ACTING ON THE POSSIBILITIES PROTECTION OF A SCENIC BYWAY BY AN INTERIM DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE Florida PROTECTION OF A SCENIC BYWAY BY AN INTERIM DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE Paralleling a coastal barrier island and the Atlantic coast, A1A Scenic and Historic Coastal Highway offers breathtaking views of the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway. Increasing growth pressures being exerted on an eastern, unincorporated barrier island in Flagler County accelerated the need to protect environmentally sensitive lands and vistas along the A1A corridor. To protect both the character and the abundant natural resources of the region, residents, local businesses, developers and the county joined forces to draft an Interim Development Ordinance (IDO) to expand on and refine protections already in place. Completed in just 7 months, the IDO establishes additional setbacks from the road to protect scenic vistas, rewards innovation in site design, limits the size of commercial projects to preserve open space, limits signage and enhances landscape requirements to include native landscaping and tree protection. WINNING ELEMENTS: VALUING THE RESOURCE. What started as a project to develop a master plan to protect and preserve an endangered maritime tree canopy found adjacent to the roadway in 1998, eventually led to the funding and development of a corridor manage- ment plan (CMP) and state designation as a scenic highway in 2001. Included in the CMP was the need for an Overlay Zoning District (OZD) to implement supplementary development standards for both Flagler County and the town of Marineland. KNOWING WHEN TO ACT. To fund the activities outlined in the CMP, the corridor management entity,A1A PRIDE (Promoting Rational Integration of Development and Environment), partnered with Flagler County to apply for a National Scenic Byways grant. A portion of the grant would be used to develop the OZD. Recognizing that time was of the essence,A1A PRIDE spearheaded the development of an Interim Development Ordinance (IDO) as an emergency protection until a full Overlay Zoning District could be enacted. Start to finish, the IDO took just 7 months to draft and be approved. MARSHALLING AND LEVERAGING RESOURCES. Funded locally, the IDO represents the hard work of a committed group of individuals who took the initiative to protect the character and resources of the corridor. Residents, business owners, developers and county staff all participated in drafting the ordinance. Completed by professional staff and volunteers (all in-kind labor), it will inform the development of the Overlay Zoning District and guide future development in the region. Six months after the IDO was adopted, national designation and funding was secured. Flagler County residents also have overwhelmingly approved expanding a property tax program for the purchase of environmentally sensitive land along the corridor. Estimated to generate $6.7 million, the new bond issue will set aside 10 percent of the revenues collected for the maintenance and development of the land purchased. CREATING AND SUSTAINING AWARENESS. Originating with the community’s desire to obtain both state and federal scenic highway designation, protection of the corridor became a high profile initiative. In June 2001, after designation as a Florida Scenic Highway, A1A PRIDE and county planning staff met and coordinated meetings with citizens, local attorneys, planners, landscape architects, engineers and developers to prepare the IDO. During development of the IDO, over a dozen workshops were held.Throughout the process,the community had the opportunity to participate in drafting the ordinance as well as to learn more about future actions they might take to protect the corridor.The ordinance can be accessed online at www.flaglercounty.org/A1Acounty.htm. 1Acounty.htm. INROADS TO SUCCESS PARLAYING ONE SUCCESS INTO ANOTHER. Early on, the community became educated on the need to protect the corridor’s resources. Initially, Flagler County applied for a Florida Department of Agriculture grant to develop a process for identifying significant trees along A1A and the development of a master plan to preserve the tree canopy (the corridor is significant for its maritime hammock ecosystem including canopied live oaks, magnolias, sabal palms and hickory trees).At the first meeting county staff explained the goals of the tree project and defined its significance within the context of soliciting state and federal designation to protect the corridor’s resources.As a result of this meeting, A1A PRIDE was formed. Over 60 members of the community, county staff and consultants worked together and completed the project in 1998. Subsequently, Flagler County and the Florida Department of Transportation provided funding for the development of a corridor management plan (CMP). Completed in 2000, the CMP incorporates much of the 1998 Tree Master Plan.Application for national designation and funding followed in 2002. In the interim,A1A PRIDE and county planning staff met regularly to draft the Interim Development Ordinance to refine the area’s land development codes.The product of considerable public involvement, the IDO was enacted into law in 2001. National designation of the route as a national scenic byway followed in 2002. In 2003, a National Scenic Byways grant was awarded that includes funding for the development of the OZD. KEEPING PARTNERS INFORMED. During development of the IDO, information on the meetings of the Corridor Management Entity (local byway organization) and county staff was published in the local newspapers and letters were mailed to all property owners along the corridor including developers and business owners.Workshops further updated interested parties and provided a forum for discussion.A great deal of direction was provided by the community including the support of developers and businesses that believed that the protections would add value to their projects. Over a dozen public meetings were held to draft the ordinance. By creating awareness for the project and actively soliciting input, the IDO was enacted into law in record time. LESSONS FROM THE ROAD: “IN THEIR OWN WORDS” During this project we learned: • That citizen participation provides a better understanding of how the county’s Land Development Code is used to regulate development • That citizen participation is an important part of the policy-making process and maintaining the corridor vision If we were to do it again, we would: • Increase accountability for ordinance violators TIMELINE • 1998 Completed Tree Master Plan • 2000 Completed Corridor Management Plan (includes protection techniques for preserving and enhancing the intrinsic resources of the corridor--an 11-mile segment of A1A--and calls for an Overlay Zoning District to provide protection against the effects of uncontrolled growth) • 2001 Designated a Florida Scenic Highway Initiated Development of an Interim Development Ordinance Enacted IDO into law • 2002 Designated a National Scenic Byway • 2003 Received National Scenic Byways program grant (a portion of which will be used to develop the Overlay Zoning District) PHOTO: A bike path offers alternative transportation for residents and visitors. PHOTO: A beachside boardwalk beckons visitors. PHOTO: Near Beverly Beach and Flagler Beach visitors enjoy six miles of beach overlook. PHOTO: They byway passes through St. Augustine, the oldest continually occupied city in the United States. PHOTO: Marineland Oceanarium, one of Florid's earliest tourist attractions, is an important byway partner. PHOTO: One of Florida's last remaining stands of maritime hammock forms a scenic tree line along the byway. PHOTO: Visitors of all ages enjoy hunting for ocean treasures. ASSESSING YOUR EFFORTS ASSESSING YOUR EFFORTS This project was successful because of a number of factors. Is your byway implementing similar best practices? ASSESSMENT 1:Never 2:Sometimes 3:Frequently 4:Always 1. We are familiar with land use ordinances, local planning documents, and zoning regulations that affect our byway corridor. 2. We actively solicit public input—before,during,and after—byway projects. 3. We are implementing strategies to protect the character and resources of our corridor. 4. We proactively seek advice and input from stakeholders that impact the character of our byway including developers, real estate agents, property owners and local businesses. 5. Our byway organization includes people with a wide range of skills and expertise who possess the ability to make decisions and get the job done (e.g., legal, planning, fundraising, design, marketing, etc). 6. We have considered a wide range of creative funding strategies (e.g.,A1A’s self-taxation). PHOTO: Time for reflection along the A1A. CONTACT Name Albert J. Hadeed General Counsel for Scenic A1A PRIDE e-mail hadeedlaw@aol.com Address P.O. Box 190, Flagler Beach, FL 32136 Phone 386-439-7828 RESOURCES Corridor Management Plan (includes protection techniques and action plan), Flagler County Interim Development Ordinance (Ordinance No. 2001-26) available online at www.flaglercounty.org/A1Acounty.htm. ROAD WORK AHEAD 1. What can we learn from this case study? 2. Are there aspects of this case study that we would like to incorporate into our byway plans and initiatives? 3. What are our scenic conservation success stories? In what ways are we working to protect the visual integrity of our corridor? 4. What steps would we like to take to improve and enhance our scenic conservation efforts? 5. What would we like to know more about related to this case study? SIDEBAR: Access to water recreation draws sports enthusiasts. Written by: Kate Valentine,TransManagement, Inc www.transmanagement.com | Design: FUSZION Collaborative www.fuszion.com LOGO: America’s Byways Resource Center SIDEBAR: America’s Byways Resource Center 227 West First Street, Suite 610 Duluth, MN 55802 P 800.429.9297, ext. 5 F 218.625.3333 www.byways.org SIDEBAR: MAY 2003 Case studies are drawn from the 2001 and 2003 Best Practices for Byways competitions.