1. The
Township of Port Harbor contains approximately 120 square miles. Unemployment is currently averaging 9%,
approximately 3 times the state average.
2. Approximately
35% of the Township of Port Harbor is rural and undeveloped.
Much of this rural land is used for agriculture (mostly chicken farms and row
crops), although farmers have fallen on hard times due to low commodity prices. Recently, several farmers have sold their land to
different developers.
3. Neighbortown
is located across Port Harbor Bay. It is much
more urbanized due to the presence of a sewer system and it serves as the region’s
commercial center. Port Harbor and
Neighbortown both have a heavy influx of wealthy summer tourists and many local businesses
make most of their money during the May to September season. This often creates a huge traffic jam along Rt. 2
during the summer and increases other problems such as crime. In recent years, both traffic and crime problems
have been on the increase.
4. The
Township of Port Harbor provides public water to 60% of its residents from a community well. The rest of the Township is served by private
wells. Recent studies suggest that some of
these private wells may exceed the EPA’s nitrate standards, but the results were
inconclusive. Tests done at the community
drinking water well indicate elevated nitrate levels but they are still below federal
standards
5. There
are no town-wide sewer or municipal sewage treatment facilities within Port Harbor. Instead, residents and businesses are served by
septic systems. However, Neighbortown has a
municipal sewage treatment plant that discharges its effluent to Port Harbor
Bay after
secondary treatment (Exhibit 2).
6. Port Harbor
Bay is approximately 1,200 acres in size and lies within both Port Harbor and Neighbortown
(Exhibit 1).
It is an estuary with 50% of its freshwater coming from Port River and Harbor
River. The other 50% of the freshwater is
believed to come from groundwater discharge and surface runoff. The Bay includes valuable shellfish beds that
support a small commercial shellfishing industry. The
Bay also supports several important recreational fisheries and serves as an important
nursery for several commercially important species. The
Bay includes sensitive wetland areas (Exhibit 1),
although historically it is believed that as much of 2/3 of the Bay’s historic
wetlands have been lost. The Bay also has
numerous areas of seagrass beds. While they
have not been mapped or monitored, there is some concern that the seagrass beds are
declining and are being damaged by increasing recreational uses in shallow areas (e.g.,
boats and jet-skis). The Bay has also
experienced some erosion of shoreline and beachfront areas and sedimentation from the
rivers. As a result, several of the
Bay’s main channels and existing marinas are in need of dredging.
7. The
Bay is also actively used for recreational purposes such as boating, sailing, jet skis,
water skiing, fishing, and swimming. The
summer tourism economy is heavily dependent on the continued viability of the multiple
uses of the estuary. In recent years
recreational uses have increased dramatically and it is not uncommon for conflicts between
different recreational uses to occur.
8. Port Harbor
has a rudimentary zoning ordinance adopted in 1960. It
has no comprehensive plan. The zoning
ordinance divides the township into three zoning districts; residential, commercial, and
industrial (Exhibit 2). Residential uses require a minimum of ½ acres
(20,000 sq. ft) per unit. The subdivision
regulations are considered to be inadequate and establish only basic requirements for road
the placement of roads and utilities. Commercial
and industrial uses are broad; the ordinance only prohibits those uses involving the
storage and disposal of radioactive materials. Historically,
the Port Harbor has encouraged light industry and commercial businesses targeted at the
tourism economy. There are no local
ordinances designed to mitigate environmental impacts.
However, two years ago Port Harbor created a conservation commission whose mission
it is to review the environmental impacts of proposed development projects. The Town Council can act on the conservation
commission’s recommendations and include development restrictions and stipulations if
they help preserve and protect the public health, safety, and welfare and do not result in
the taking of private property (i.e., they preserve some economically beneficial use of
the land).
9. Three
years ago, a group of local residents formed the Port Harbor/Neighbortown Alliance for
Clean Water. One of their first acts was to
lobby the Town Council in Port Harbor to adopt environmental ordinances. Instead, the Town Council chose to create a
conservation commission described above. The
Alliance received some state funding to conduct a preliminary study of the Bay’s
water quality. The study delineated the
watershed (Exhibit 3), calculated the flushing
rate (approximately 80 times per year), bathymetry (mean depth = 5 ft), and provided some
general water quality information. The study
revealed that a fish kill and algae bloom that occurred four years ago was likely due to
eutrophication due to excessive nutrient loadings. The
data suggests that the Bay had elevated nutrient loadings the last four years, however,
additional research is needed to better understand the sources of nutrients. There are elevated bacterial loadings after rain
events, but so far they have not warranted closing the Bay’s shellfish beds. The study did not reveal any water quality
problems due to toxics but there were small levels of pesticides and hydrocarbons.
10. The site of the proposed
development is currently a farm that has been owned by one family for three generations. The farm consists of 3 poultry houses
(approximately 65,000 birds each) and approximately 90 acres of row crops that is often
used for corn or soy beans. The chicken
manure is used as fertilizer on the adjacent farm with surplus fertilizer given to other
farmers. The farm contains no historic
buildings, however, there is a path along the Bay’s shoreline that has been used by
the public as long as anyone can remember to walk along the shoreline, fish, and harvest
clams from the mudflats at low tide. The
owner of the farm has reached agreement to sell the 100-acre parcel to Bob’s
Development Company at an undisclosed price. The
owner has decided to sell the farm because he is nearing retirement and his children have
no interest in working the farm. However, the
sale is contingent on Bob’s Development Company receiving the requisite permits and
approvals from the Town Council (they already received the necessary federal and state
permits).
11. At an earlier Town Council
meeting, representatives from Bob’s Development Company described the general
parameters of their project. It involves
developing 200 condominium units on 100 acres of land adjacent to Port Harbor (Exhibit 4).
The condominiums will be served by a small community well for their drinking water
and be served by septic systems. While the
proposed project meets the county’s minimum standards for septic systems and drinking
water wells, however, the developers are interested in connecting to the sewer and water
system in Neighbortown and are willing to pay for the sewer and water connections. Neighbortown has also expressed a willingness to
allow the tie-in as there is excess capacity at the sewage treatment plant. To alleviate concerns about the lack of affordable
housing, the developers have proposed setting aside 10% of the condominium units with
rental prices in a range affordable to the average resident in Port Harbor. Other upland facilities constructed for the
residents of the condominium complex include 2 tennis courts, a community swimming pool,
health club, clubhouse, and laundry facilities.
12. The developers have proposed
constructing a private marina with a gas dock and jet-ski and sailboat rentals. While
condominium residents would have priority for slip rentals, the developer has promised to
set aside at least 25% of the slips and moorings for residents of Port Harbor. The marina would include 30 boat slips: 10 slips
for boats less than 10 feet; 10 slips for boats between 10 – 20 ft; 10 slips for
boats from 20 – 30 feet long. There
would also be 25 moorings: 5 for boats exceeding 30 ft; 10 for boats from 20 – 30 ft;
and 10 for smaller boats. It would also
include a boat ramp that is available free of charge to marina members and at a small fee
to residents of Port Harbor. A paved parking
area is also proposed adjacent to the marina, which will be used for boat storage during
the winter months. Some minor dredging of the
marina area is needed and the developer has already received the requisite permits from
the Army Corps of Engineers. The developer
has also received a permit for constructing the underground storage tank to service the
gas dock, however, Port Harbor must still approve the construction of all upland and
in-ground facilities. The facility will also
include docks for the rental of 8 jet-skis and 10 small sailboats. The developer has also pledged to provide sailing
scholarships to 5 local students per summer, with a local Boys and Girls Club to determine
the recipients.
13. A reputable researcher at a
nearby university hired by the developer prepared a report estimating that the
development, if approved, will generate 100 temporary jobs and 20 permanent positions. It will also result in a significant increase in
the property tax revenues to Port Harbor that can be used to fund a variety of local
services.
Note: You should also view Exhibit 1, Exhibit 2,
Exhibit
3, and Exhibit 4 as they contain
additional information
