Boardwalk Blues

By Matt Brazier

The dismal state of the boardwalk area can be attributed to five basic problems:

1. Lack of motivation
2. Lack of access
3. Lack of direction
4. Lack of consensus
5. Lack of commitment

Lack of Motivation
Can we please get past the point of hoping for someone to redevelop their property to simply build an ice cream shop. The cold hard fact is that people will build only if they can make money doing it. The same can be said for people starting businesses. We must create the financial incentive to redevelop properties and start new businesses.

Lack of Access
Without vehicular access, no one can build any residential units. The economics of development tell us that residential supports commercial. It is folly to believe that the front row of the boardwalk area will be improved without allowing for some form of residential development. It’s time to consider opening the front row to traffic in some form or to waive parking requirements for this area.

Lack of Direction
The current zoning regulations in the CBD create a situation in which it’s impossible to judge the worth of your property (or the one you wish to buy). If you don’t know if you can put 4, 10 or 50 condos on a given property, how can you possibly know how much it is worth? This uncertainty has resulted in stagnation and inflated real estate prices. A clear development standard must be written to guide developers and establish what a fair market value is for a given property.

Lack of Consensus
Contrary to conventional wisdom, there is agreement on what people want. Business owners, residents and visitors agree that they would like to see a vibrant healthy downtown with more shopping variety (2001 Market Survey). The lack of consensus is alive and well among the many property owners of the boardwalk area. With such small properties, no significant redevelopment can take place without either total agreement between many property owners (very unlikely as recent history suggests) or a large developer purchasing multiple properties. The problem with the latter is that the resulting cost of purchasing multiple lots would make anything but high-rise development financially impractical. A development plan for this area must be written in such a way that small properties can be developed independently while still achieving the stated goal.

Lack of Commitment
Finally, the lack of commitment on the part of the Town has contributed to the deterioration of this area. The maintenance of the lighting, landscaping and public facilities is poor. Let’s face it, this area of town is ugly. If we’re serious about making this a visitor-friendly attractive area, a public works commitment must be made. This means spending money of course. We should commit the funding to build a real boardwalk, re-arrange traffic patterns or do some major landscaping improvements.


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