Jessica Cejnar Andrews / Monday, Aug. 5 @ 4:38 p.m. / Local Government
Crescent City Harbor Officials to Discuss Strategic Plan, Along With a Proposal to Attract the 'Right Developers' Tuesday
Community System Solutions included a proposed development map in its draft Strategic Plan that will go before Harbor District commissioners Tuesday.
Crescent City Harbor commissioners have a full agenda to contend with Tuesday.
In addition to revisiting a discussion about fireworks, commissioners are expected to approve a resolution withdrawing the Harbor District from the Tri-Agency Economic Development Authority.
Representatives from Moffatt & Nichol will provide an update on the infrastructure projects it’s spearheading at the harbor, including the reconstruction of Citizens Dock.
Commissioners are also expected to get a first look at updates to a six-year-old strategic development plan from Community System Solutions and will hear from Commercial Real Estate Development Enterprises, or CREDE, on potential development opportunities.
Harbormaster Tim Petrick referred to the Irvine-based firm as a “professional matchmaker.”
“CREDE will do the analysis and feasibility studies to give the harbor a roadmap of the things we need to do to attract the right developers,” he told the Wild Rivers Outpost. “Then [they] will use their proven network of developers to bring the right development to CCHD.”
In an Aug. 2 letter to the Board of Commissioners, Community System Solutions CEO Mike Bahr, states the updated Strategic Development Plan prioritizes commercial fishing. It’s an integral part of Del Norte County’s economy and a key draw for tourists.
But the strategic plan also addresses recreational boating and “visitor-serving uses” in the harbor and the need to expand them.
The CCHD Board of Commissioners originally adopted the 10-year Strategic Plan in 2018. The update is paid for through $10,000 in Harbor Mitigation Grant program dollars, Petrick said. He said it outlines goals the Board of Commissioners want to begin working on within the next five years.
The strategic plan divvies up the projects by cost as well as timeline. It also touches on the proposed project’s potential to generate revenue for the harbor.
One potential big budget long-term project with the potential to generate high levels of revenue is a hotel and convention center. The updated Strategic Plan proposes locating the facility in the dredge ponds, stating that the area currently generates no revenue for the harbor.
The Harbor District would have to find another dredge spoil site and will need to change the land-use designation for the area, according to the proposed Strategic Plan update. However, the project would meet the Harbor District’s goal of boosting tourism.
Another proposed project is turning the current Harbor District Office into a cold storage and processing facility for the commercial fishing fleet. A retail area could allow fishermen to sell their product to the public.
According to the plan, the building is old and in need of repairs. Its current land-use designation within the fishing commercial zone is inline with this potential development, though determining if there is local demand for a fish processing facility would be necessary.
The Strategic Plan also addresses offshore wind energy, proposing the former Fashion Blacksmith facility — “former boat yard building” — as a potential location. The building needs to be revitalized and free of potential contaminants from the former tenant, according to the plan.
“The Harbor District is a good match for becoming an [operations and maintenance] port,” the plan states. “An O&M company will need warehouses/offices, spare part storage and a marine facility to support Operation & Maintenance vessels for crew transfer.”
Petrick said some of the grant-funded infrastructure projects addressed in the Strategic Development Plan will likely be the first projects to break ground.
“The work CREDE does will inform the investment in the business projects,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Crescent City Harbor District’s discussion about fireworks come after a fireworks explosion at South Beach sent roughly 14 people to the hospital on the 4th of July.
Board President Harry Adams and Commissioner Gerhard Weber on July 16 formed an ad-hoc committee tasked with crafting an ordinance banning fireworks within the district. They were also asked to coordinate with Crescent City and Del Norte County to discuss possible ways to curtail the flow of illegal fireworks into the community.
The resolution to withdraw from the Tri-Agency Economic Development Authority comes after the Board of Commissioners and the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors voted to terminate the joint powers authority in June.
The Crescent City Council added a third vote to terminate the Tri-Agency at a separate meeting June 17.
The Crescent City Harbor District Board of Commissioners will meet at 2 p.m. Tuesday in the Harbor District Office, 101 Citizens Dock Road in Crescent City. Agenda packets and links to the Zoom meeting are available at ccharbor.com.
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