Virginia Coastal Program: 2002 Coastal Grant Project Description and Final Summary
Project Task:
FY2002 Task 12.11
Grantee:
Citizens for a Better Eastern Shore
Project Title:
Village of Oyster Community Vision
Project Description as Proposed:
The Village of Oyster,
Virginia has been targeted by the private sector for significant
residential growth in the next few years. This community contains
tremendous historic, cultural and natural resources and residents
are concerned about the erosion of village character from the impacts
of new development.
The seaside Village of Oyster is tucked away on the southern tip
of Virginia’s Eastern Shore. The tiny community sits on the
Atlantic Ocean and contains the southernmost deep-water harbor on
the Delmarva Peninsula. Today, Oyster is a small village with fewer
than 100 residents.
A recent septic special use proposal caused concern among residents
about incompatible large-scale development in the village area,
particularly the waterfront. Due to a collapse of the native oyster
industry, the current harbor has suffered from years of neglect
with a few large shucking houses close to condemnation. The Village
of Oyster is however, a very popular sport fisherman “put in”
and projects are under way to expand the current public parking
lot, construct a public pier and a public memorial for watermen.
The University of Virginia is constructing a $2 million Coastal
Research Facility on the Oyster harbor front. In addition, the area
around Oyster has been the focus of a major Long Term Ecological
Research Program for coastal ecology research for over 15 years,
and The Nature Conservancy has owned over 1,000 acres of farmland
and coastal marshland in and around the village of Oyster for almost
20 years.
Oyster is one of the only deep-water access points on this portion
of the seaside. Incompatible development in or around the village
could have impacts that reach deep into the delicate estuarine bays
and salt marshes that are the lifeblood of indigenous natural communities
as well as many key migratory bird species and commercially and
recreationally valuable fin- and shellfish. Moreover, Oyster represents
one of a very few unspoiled seaside villages remaining in coastal
Virginia. Although its commercial activity is considerably reduced
from its heyday, the village has also not experienced the type of
high intensity resort or residential development of its waterfront
that has changed the character of many coastal settlements. Oyster
has a unique opportunity to plan for a more compatible and sustainable
future that respects its natural and cultural heritage and its traditional
water-dependent economy.
The Oyster Community Vision project is an opportunity for the community
of Oyster to create a positive vision for its own future. It presents
a framework for a citizen-based visioning effort, with professional
facilitation, to establish a preferred plan for the future of Oyster
that can serve as the foundation for future community and local
government decisions that will implement the vision in the coming
years.
The goal of this project is to create a road map to guide village
changes in a manner that is compatible with village values, history
and character. The Oyster Community Vision gives local residents
the means and opportunity to work with the local County government
to establish village development goals and objectives, and to enact
ordinances necessary to attain them. The visioning process also
gives each resident an opportunity to participate in the development
of the village plan, thus increasing the likelihood that the plan
reflects the ideas of the community.
Federal Funding:
$4,500.00
Project Contact:
Denard Spady, 757.678-7157; info@cbes.org
Project Status:
Grant Closed
Final Product Received:
"Oyster Community Vison Summary Report" (pdf - Northampton County website)
Project Summary Provided by Grantee:
Oyster,
VA - June 11, 2004 - The tiny seaside village of Oyster in Northampton
County has joined together to create a positive vision for its future.
Over the past 3 months, the residents, property and business owners
of Oyster have developed the "Oyster Community Vision"
- a blueprint for how they want their village to look and feel in
the future.
Two public forums in April resulted in a shared "Vision Statement"
and "Vision Plan" that describe, in words and pictures,
the community's consensus on its future shape, form and character.
The community hired a professional consulting firm, Paradigm Design,
to facilitate the public forums and prepare a detailed report summarizing
the Vision's process and final product. On June 9, in the hall of
Travis Chapel in Oyster, a core group of Oyster citizens, County
officials and staff met to affirm an action plan and a citizen committee
that will be implementing the Vision in the coming months. The County
representatives, including supervisor Tom Dixon expressed support
for Oyster's Vision and pledged to help translate Oyster's plan
into the kinds of comprehensive planning and zoning changes that
will help to achieve it at the County level.
As summarized in the final report, the community of Oyster sees
itself in the future as "preserving the Village's traditional
character with its historic maritime culture and lifestyle."
A color Vision Plan, included in the report, outlines the preferred
uses and character of different parts of the Village, such as the
harbor front, the UVA Coastal Research Center site and the residential
neighborhoods. The next steps will involve volunteer efforts to
implement the different priority tasks outlined by the citizens,
as well as County staff assistance in preparing an amendment to
the Northampton County Comprehensive Plan to incorporate the Oyster
Vision in its policy framework. A strong core of local resident
leaders are eager to get started and optimistic about Oyster's future.
According to Donna Fauber, chair of the citizen working group, "The
Vision is a wonderful thing for Oyster. It gives us a common sense
of purpose and a plan to preserve and enhance the place we all love."
The final report for the project is titled the "Oyster Community
Vision Summary Report," dated June 2004. It has been disseminated
to the key stakeholders and citizens who participated in the Vision
process, as well as to the Northampton County Board of Supervisors,
Planning Commission and Planning Staff. It will be posted to a local
Oyster web site in the near future.
Disclaimer: This project summary provides the federal dollars initially awarded to the grantee. Due to underexpenditure or reprogramming of grant funds, this figure may change. For more information on the allocation of coastal grant funds, please contact Laura McKay, Virginia Coastal Program Manager, at 804.698.4323 or email: Laura.McKay@deq.virginia.gov
A more detailed Scope of Work for this project is available. Please direct your request for a copy to Virginia.Witmer@deq.virginia.gov
