A regional greenspace protection and implementation strategy calls for a cooperative effort among all the communities of the South County Watersheds Region (Towns of: Charlestown, Exeter, Hopkinton, Narragansett, North Kingstown, Richmond, South Kingstown, West Greenwich and Westerly) to identify the areas of the South County Watersheds Region that are sensitive to the impacts of development and are of significant importance to the community character of the region. The fundamental idea of this greenspace strategy is to establish land protection priorities on a town-wide and regional basis to preserve the integrity of the watersheds. The emphasis of this project should be placed on the protection of wetlands, forestland and other features such as forested riparian corridors that serve to protect watershed health (i.e. ground and surface water quality) and to provide viable habitat for fish and wildlife.
The nine aforementioned towns encompass five major watersheds in Southwestern Rhode Island Annaquatucket, Pettaquamscutt, Saugatucket, South Shore Coastal Ponds and Wood/Pawcatuck. Collectively this area constitutes the South County Watersheds Region, which is a pilot area for the implementation of the Rhode Island Watershed Approach a community-based, collaborative environmental management approach. The Region is highly regarded for its wealth of natural resources (e.g. biodiversity, excellent ground and surface water quality, fish and wildlife habitat, contiguous forestlands), rural and agrarian community character, coastal beaches, fishing villages and proximity to urban centers. The South County Watersheds Region also is a focal point for many environmental management programs due in part by the intense development pressure that is causing rapid land conversion and related impacts to the natural and cultural resources of the region.
Watershed communities are searching for new ways to plan for growth. Several regional and cooperative initiatives are underway involving many stakeholders representing dozens of interests. The regional greenspace protection strategy dovetails into ongoing regional efforts. For example, the nine towns of the South County Watersheds Region are engaged in a technical planning project that focuses on the use of creative land use techniques for commercial and residential development. In addition, the Washington County Region Planning Council, formed of town council representatives from Washington County, has initiated its long-range, regional planning effort entitled Vision 2020.
Lastly, the newly formed South County Watersheds Partnership (SCWP) is a broad-based group of stakeholders with representatives from local, state and federal government, local watershed organizations, non-governmental environmental organizations and watershed community members. The SCWPs main objectives strive to protect and restore the health of the five major watersheds and their subbasins through cooperative community-based problem solving. This regional greenspace project would be supported by this active partnership.
The objectives of conducting this regional greenspace protection project are as follows:
1. Coordinate and assist with the implementation of a regional watershed greenspace plan.
2. Improve the ability of the state and watershed communities to address the need to protect and preserve surface and groundwater quality as well as aquatic habitat while accommodating new growth.
3. Maintain the integrity of high quality surface and groundwater and help restore impaired waters by establishing forested riparian greenbelts.
4. Build partnerships between communities within the South County Watersheds Region, Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, the Rural Lands Coalition, the Pawcatuck Watershed Partnership, the Washington County Regional Planning Council and all other applicable stakeholders.
5. Dovetail with existing conservation development programs in the South County Watersheds Region, such as the South County Watersheds Technical Planning Assistance Program, the Washington County Regional Planning Council Vision 2020 Project, the South County Watersheds Partnership and the Pawcatuck Watershed Partnership to address water quality and resource protection issues on a regional scale.
6. Advance the on-going efforts of the local communities and the State of Rhode Island to effectively protect and manage the land and water resources in the South County Watersheds Region through collaborative planning and management projects.
7.
Promote the use of forests and forest stewardship through greenspace
planning to protect, improve and restore the ecological health of the watershed,
including water quality and aquatic habitat.
8.
Assist in implementing the State Guide Plan and local plans for
greenspace protection.
The purpose of this project is to develop a regional greenspace protection and implementation strategy that will assist the South County Watersheds communities with the identification and prioritization of lands for future acquisition, application of creative land use and protection techniques, update of the open space component of their comprehensive land use plans and to raise public awareness about the value of watersheds and their sustainable development.
To implement this project the consultant will work with the DEM Strategic Planning and Policy Office, town planners, the Department of Administration Statewide Planning Office, the University of Rhode Island-Cooperative Extension Service and Environmental Data Center, Coastal Resource Center/Sea Grant, Washington County Regional Planning Council, South County Watersheds Partnership (including Narrow River Preservation Association, Saugatucket River Heritage Corridor Coalition, Salt Ponds Coalition and Wood Pawcatuck Watershed Association) and stakeholders from the watersheds region communities. This project will build on ongoing partnership activities in the South County Region.
In order to meet the above objectives, the following tasks must be accomplished. Each task will provide a milestone for the completion of this project. Please take note that the GIS analysis and map production tasks outlined below (Phase 1, Task #1, Phase 2, Task #4 and #5) will result from a separate contract with the University of Rhode Island Environmental Data Center (URI-EDC). It is expected that the URI-EDC will complete, among other tasks as defined, the work described below as Phase I, Task 1, prior to the initiation of Phase II, which relies on the GIS products called for in Phase I. The consultant submitting proposals for this Scope of Work should understand that the start of their work according to Phase I (Tasks #2 & #3) is not contingent upon the completion of the separate contract with URI-EDC. Phase II of this scope of work will depend on the completion of all tasks in Phase I. If, by any circumstances the URI-EDC is unable to complete the terms of their contract and fail to produce the GIS analysis and maps outlined below, the contractor shall continue with the execution of this scope of work, excluding the tasks specifically assigned to URI-EDC.
1.
Produce GIS coverages for each participating town that do not already
have these data.** Utilize GIS
the Critical Lands Prioritization methodology (Source: Dr. Peter
August, URI-EDC) to map protection priority coverages for the towns in the
project area. Each of the
individual coverages would comprise a separate overlay.
A series of these overlays should overlay a town map, zoning map and/or
orthographic photo, which would function as a manipulable planning tool.
In addition, each town protection priorities map should overlap and show
boundaries of neighboring towns in order to allow for coordinated protection
planning efforts between adjacent towns.
· Natural Resource Coverages Map ecological resources, including forestlands, wetlands, rivers, streams, ponds, wildlife habitat and vegetation (*Emphasis on contiguous and riparian forestland.).
·
Recreational Coverages Utilize
information from State Greenway Plan and enhance with more detailed town-scale
trail information as available. Map
water-based recreation corridors, launching sites, etc.
Identify parks and recreation sites, public access sites and parking
areas. Create comprehensive
recreational priorities plan.
·
Cultural Coverages Use
existing data to map historic sites and cultural resources.
Overlay with existing scenic resources information (1996 Scenic Roadways
data) to create a comprehensive cultural priority plan.
**The above tasks and products [Phase 1, Task #1] will be produced by the URI Environmental Data Center, Dr. Peter August - Director, under a separate purchase of services. The bidder or prospective contractor is required to incorporate the work of the URI Environmental Data Center into the project and to collaborate with the Environmental Data Center on relevant tasks outlined below in Phases 2 and 3.
2. Prepare and distribute educational materials to promote the regional greenspace project with emphasis on the stewardship and protection of forestlands and greenspaces for the purpose of water quality and watershed protection. Educational materials should focus on the values and multiple uses of forests, stressing their importance in water quality and watershed protection. These materials will be used to educate project partners (specifically towns) on the issues of forest stewardship and watershed protection. At a minimum, prepare and distribute a fact sheet to each watershed community.
3. Organize, administer and facilitate local and regional committees comprised of, but not limited to, town council members, planning board members, local planners, conservation commission members, economic development commissions/committees, watershed organizations, land trust members, and representatives from the business & development communities from each town within the watershed. The project partners, such as the South County Watersheds Partnership, Grow Smart Rhode Island, Vision Rhode Island and the Washington County Regional Planning Council, will assist in the organization of focused workgroups. These committees or groups will be asked to participate in the town-wide and regional workshops outlined in Phase II, Task #4 (see below). In addition, representatives from these local and regional committees and project partners, will make up a steering committee or Technical Advisory Taskforce for the project. Beginning with a kick-off meeting with the entire taskforce, the project consultant will meet with each local committee to assemble information and to assess the need for further data development and mapping. Consultant, in coordination with a steering committee, is responsible for scheduling meeting times, building and distributing agendas, notifying committee members of meeting times and scheduling changes via postal service, email, phone and/or fax, posting public meeting announcements, recording meeting minutes.
4.
Facilitated town review of comprehensive GIS data and maps.
The project consultant must employ the skills of an experienced
professional facilitator to execute public workshops outlined below.
Such a facilitator must have demonstrable experience with public meeting
facilitation and consensus building within the realm of land use planning.
In
cooperation and in coordination with the Coastal Resources Center URI/Sea
Grant Program, Grow Smart Rhode Island, Vision RI, the Washington Regional
Planning Council and the South County Watersheds Partnership conduct town-wide
and regional workshops with a broad representation to identify which lands are
the towns priorities for protection of greenspaces, community character and
water quality (i.e. watershed health). In
addition, these workshops should attend to the question of where each town
wishes to promote economic development (The economic development piece of this
task will be executed in conjunction with a separate, concurrently-run project
under the management of Grow Smart Rhode Island, Contact: Sheila Brush @
273-5711, and the Coastal Resources Center.).
This task should employ the following steps:
z
Work with local greenspace
committees to add natural, recreational and/or cultural sites of local
importance to the GIS-based information prepared in Phase 1, Task #1 by Dr.
Peter August. Furthermore,
coverages [from Task #1] that are not determined to be a priority by local
participants may also be modified.
z
May find it necessary to further
assess the resource protection priorities of each town to augment the focus
group/workshop process by using one of the following methods:
1) Administer a survey if needed, 2) Conduct field trips (windshield
surveys) of the town.
z
Determine where community
priorities are consistent with the RI Greenways Plan and protection priorities
of other towns, federal and state resource agencies (e.g. USFWS, DEM-Forest
Environment, DEM Agriculture) and stakeholders such as, Vision RI, The
Nature Conservancy, RI Water Resource Board and RI Audubon Society.
z
Add to and/or subtract from the
preliminary GIS-based information to create a master map of local resource
protection priorities (In collaboration with URI-Environmental Data Center, see Task #5).
z
Use the town-wide and regional
workshops to identify and to educate the project participants on how the
protection of greenspaces and the protection of watershed/water quality are
linked and mutually beneficial.
5. Synthesize feedback from town-wide and regional workshops into a regional watershed-wide resource protection map or maps. Present the results (i.e. local and watershed-wide protection priority information) of the town and regional workshops to local and regional interests such as the Washington County Regional Planning Council, South County Watersheds Partnership, and town councils & boards. In coordination with Dr. Peter August and the URI Environmental Data Center, use the results of the workshops to create a regional map of resource protection priorities and land suitable for economic development based on local priorities and the goal of creating contiguous greenspace linkages between towns in the watersheds. See Task #1 for details pertaining to the responsibilities of URI-EDC to execute this task.
6.
Analysis of Local Comprehensive Plans and Land Use Ordinances. Review of local comprehensive plans and ordinances to
determine what changes should be made by the towns to advance greenspace
protection priorities as identified in Tasks #5 & #6. The consultant should
conduct a town-by-town analysis of comprehensive plans and land use ordinances
to create a list of specific changes that could be made to meet the established
greenspace protection and economic development goals. For example, the consultant should work with local planners
and planning boards to determine land acquisition strategies and to adopt
creative zoning ordinances, including but not limited to river corridor
overlays, flexible or conservation zoning & PUD options and scenic overlays.
Techniques should be targeted at the protection of priority resources on
a town-wide and parcel-by-parcel basis where possible.
At a minimum the consultant should use the creative land use techniques
developed for the South County Watersheds Technical Planning Assistance Project
to emphasize that these techniques should be used in conjunction with land
acquisition strategies to implement community-based greenspace and economic
development objectives.
7. Consultant must meet and work with the South County Watersheds Partnership, Washington County Regional Planning Council and the town planners from each community within the project area. The purpose of this task is to create a regional umbrella for the proposed Greenspace strategy and foster coordinated, regional adoption and implementation of strategies devised under this project and the ongoing Washington County Vision 2020 Plan.
8. Provide assistance to towns on the development of land acquisition strategies and priority resource protection through creative land use techniques. Coordinate local resource protection priorities with on-going resource protection efforts of other project partners such as, RI Statewide Planning (i.e. Greenspace Plan), The Nature Conservancy, and RIDEM Planning & Development. Identify forestlands where alternative forest use management and stewardship activities could be applied. Target parcels where creative zoning could be applied.
9. Prepare a regional Greenspace Protection Strategy. The watershed-wide protection strategy shall include, but not be limited to:
z Maps of local and watershed-wide resource protection priorities.
z Summarized results from the town-wide and regional workshops conducted in cooperation with the CRC, Grow Smart Rhode Island, Vision RI, South County Watersheds Partnership and the Washington County Regional Planning Council.
z Results of the analysis of local comprehensive plans and/or land use regulations, including a list of recommended strategies to each town for integration into their comprehensive plans.
z Specific priorities and actions for each town and project partners for resource protection within the watershed.
z List of applicable funding sources for land acquisition (federal, state & private).
10.
Upon town adoption and Washington Regional Planning Council review of the
Greenspace Strategy it shall be submitted to RI Statewide Planning for
consistency review and consideration for adoption into the State Guide Plan.
The Project Partners will complete this task.
1. Educational materials as described in Task #2 1,000 copies.
2. A final Regional Greenspace Protection Strategy document as described in Task #9
1,000 copies and electronic version on 3.5 floppy or Zip disk, formatted for World Wide Web publishing [on the RIDEM WWW site] (Adobe Acrobat format (.pdf) and MSWord (doc.)).
3. Formation of local and regional greenspace committees as described in Task #3.
4. Town-wide and regional work groups as described in Task #4.
5. Town and regional land use maps as described in Tasks #1 & #5 (in cooperation with Dr. Peter August and URI Environmental Data Center) Two (2) copies of Phase I and Phase II maps per town. One (1) copy each of final Greenspace maps, hardcopy and digital copies on CD-ROM and/or Iomega Zip disks, to RIDEM Strategic Planning and Policy, Statewide Planning RI Greenways Council and the Washington County Regional Planning Council.
6. Review and analysis of local comprehensive plans and land use ordinances as described in Task #6.
7. Assistance and outreach to project communities to help them implement Regional Greenspace Project as described in Tasks #7, #8 & #9.