Coastal Services Center

Coastal resource managers have developed Special Area Management Plans, or SAMPs, for a wide variety of issues, such as watershed and resource management, water quality, coastal habitats, endangered species, economic development, hazards, and preserving cultural resources.

Delaware may be the first coastal state creating a SAMP to help redevelop an inner-city neighborhood.

"What we are trying to do for this waterfront community is help bring about physical, environmental, social, and economic revitalization," says David Carter, environmental program manager for the Delaware Coastal Programs, part of the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.

"We got a wake-up call from Hurricane Katrina," Carter says. "Katrina clearly blew back the curtain for some concerning public policies in our coastal zone related to social and environmental justice. We have a responsibility to these communities that we should have been serving better."

The South Wilmington Special Area Management Plan is a cooperative effort to create a master plan for the region that coordinates the efforts of all government entities, residents, and other stakeholders.

The first piece of the SAMP—a comprehensive plan for the Southbridge neighborhood—was recently completed. The other five pieces of the SAMP are expected to be completed by 2007.

Special Area

The 1.6-square-mile SAMP area is within the City of Wilmington, Delaware. The Christina River wraps around South Wilmington on three sides, separating the mostly industrial area from the rest of the city. The fourth boundary is Interstate 495.

At the center of South Wilmington is the historic neighborhood of Southbridge, an underserved community of just under 1,900 residents.

Arthur Boswell, executive director of the Neighborhood House, a Southbridge nonprofit community center, says the neighborhood suffers from "classic inner-city woes," such as a disproportionate number of residents who are "income challenged," a high percentage of single parent families, a 45 percent rental rate, and a deteriorating housing stock.

The mostly minority community is surrounded by numerous areas with suspected or known soil contamination, and is afflicted with poor drainage and chronic flooding. In fact, most of the SAMP area is within a 100-year floodplain.

Residents lack access to retail businesses, have limited safe pedestrian access to the other side of the river, and have no access to the waterfront.

What Southbridge does have, Boswell says, is a "particularly strong sense of community and tradition." He notes that many of the residents have lived in the area for three and four generations.

Development Pressures

Another thing the community has is a "huge opportunity for economic development," Carter says. 

Just a mile from Southbridge is the new, upscale Christina Landing development with homes in the $400,000s. The path of development is clearly headed for the small Southbridge neighborhood.

While Southbridge residents welcome the growth, many are worried the neighborhood will be overwhelmed by new development, changing the community's character and displacing its residents, particularly senior citizens on a fixed income who could be forced to move because of higher property taxes.

"It's an exciting kind of time," Boswell says, "but the dangers of gentrification hover in a situation like this."

Beginning with Brownfields

In 2003, the Delaware Coastal Programs received a fellow from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Coastal Services Center to complete a brownfield inventory.

Listening to stakeholders providing input into the inventory "led us to the realization that we needed some very focused and comprehensive planning that considered the full realm of social, economic, and environmental considerations of South Wilmington," Carter recalls.

He says when you consider "the full scope of the congressional declaration of policy for the CZMA [Coastal Zone Management Act], the project makes sense. It's a balanced approach that includes many of the CZMA goals rather than the typical strong bias towards coastal conservation."

Coming Together

The coastal program received a three-year NOAA grant to complete the SAMP and pulled together residents and community groups, county and city service agencies, relevant state agencies, and other stakeholders to serve on a core management team.

"All the right parties are at the table," notes Hanifa Shabazz, a Wilmington City Council member representing Southbridge.

The team oversees the efforts of several work groups that focus on six different SAMP components. These components are the now-completed Southbridge neighborhood plan, a review of legal authorities, an environmental and ecological characterization and enhancement plan, an economic development plan, a stormwater and flood relief plan, and a public outreach and engagement plan. The final master plan will be a combination of these six components.

In addition to being on tap to address many of the drainage and environmental issues, the coastal program's biggest roles in the SAMP process, says Carter, "are to serve as a catalyst, to facilitate, and make sure we're all hearing each other."

Wilmington Mayor James M. Baker praises the coastal program's approach.

"Here you have an environmental agency of the state coming in and working with the city and neighborhood, looking at potential problems, and going beyond just their issues," Baker says. "They are recognizing that housing and open space come into play."

He adds, "Everybody has gotten out of the role you traditionally see and is working as true partners for the betterment of the common good."

The Neighborhood Plan

The first piece of the SAMP—the recently completed neighborhood plan—provides a series of recommendations and strategies addressing the area's economic development, land use, housing, education, community facilities, streets, traffic, public safety, environment, open space, and recreation.

"The neighborhood plan is the first part, but it actually is the overarching piece that is really helping set a larger vision for the area," Carter says. "It's capturing the direction and hope and aspirations of the community."

One of the aspirations of the community is to ensure the plan comes to fruition.

"We've already begun to see some things," says Marvin Thomas, president of the Southbridge Civic Association. Officials have cleared blocked drainage systems, trees have been trimmed and planted, and developers are negotiating with the community to get zoning variances.

But Thomas also recognizes that implementing the far-ranging plan will take time. "We've emphasized throughout this process that this is a 20- to 26-year plan," he says. "This is not something that we're going to see completed within the next two to three, or even five, years."

Councilwoman Shabazz believes the redevelopment of Southbridge is "so vital for the continued development of the entire city that there will be continuous momentum for this to happen."

She notes that the community plans to be persistent with government officials, if necessary, when the SAMP process ends. "When everybody else goes home, we still need housing stock, a grocery store, library, and recreational outlets for our children."

Spreading the Plan

"If carried through," says Carter, "this planning effort can serve as a case study of local, state, and federal support for neighborhood empowerment. It can also demonstrate how it is possible for a community to lead the way in ensuring that the environmental mistakes of the past are not repeated, and instead pursue a positive, healthy, and safe development path for the future."

He adds, "We need a few hundred projects like the South Wilmington SAMP across all our coasts. These are projects rooted in making a difference in the everyday lives of people at the local level, with much larger regional and national implications. I think that is what the CZMA intended to do. . . This is making a huge difference in a lot of people's lives, and that's exciting."

For more information on the South Wilmington Special Area Management Plan, go to www.dnrec.state.de.us/dnrec2000/Divisions/Soil/dcmp/WilmSAMP/SAMP.htm. For more information, contact David Carter at (302) 739-9283, or David.Carter@state.de.us.