Management Plan Summary
Overview/Contents
The Management Plan for the North Shore Heritage Area:
- Articulates a vision, purpose and geographic scope for the Heritage Area;
- Includes a detailed inventory of heritage resources;
- Provides interpretive themes to connect those resources in stories about our collective past;
- Offers policies, strategies and actions for achieving the vision;
- Recognizes and catalogues existing municipal and regional planning efforts related to the Management Plan;
- Documents the public involvement in the Plan's creation;
- Recommends four priority actions - i.e. "next steps;"
- Lists sites for protection through preservation and acquisition;
- Supports its recommendations with information on funding sources and preservation tools.
Geographic Scope
The Heritage Area stretches the entire expanse of the North Shore, from the border of New York City and Nassau County east to Orient Point. Bounded by Long Island Sound on the north, its southern border is the Long Island Expressway or State Route 25, whichever is further south. The area includes two towns in Nassau County (North Hempstead and Oyster Bay, including the City of Glen Cove) and six in Suffolk County (Huntington, Smithtown, Brookhaven, Riverhead, Southold, and a small portion of Islip), in which together there are 56 incorporated villages.
Because the Heritage Area includes a large number of diverse communities, application of the Management Plan's goals and recommendations will vary.
The Vision
The Long Island North Shore Heritage Area Planning Commission conceived its mission as working to:
- Preserve our heritage and historical resources;
- Protect our environmental, natural and maritime resources; and,
- Enhance the economic vitality and cultural life within the Heritage Area where needed and appropriate.
This mission is expanded through the following Heritage Area goals:
Protect... heritage resources through understanding and growth management;
Connect... resources to build stories that advance identity and sense of place;
Package... experiences so residents can come to know, connect to, and take pride in their region;
Promote... increased visitation of heritage resources in order to support their viability and decrease the seasonality of our tourism, all within sustainable limits;
Partner... to use heritage-based tourism as a revitalization tool for economically struggling portions of the Heritage Area.
The Stories
Two interpretive strategies - or ways of focusing North Shore stories - are presented in the Management Plan. One is physically based, dealing with architecture and land uses; the other concentrates on people.
The physically based strategy conceives of the North Shore as a set of five "neighborhoods," or rooms in a "living museum." These are:
The Gold Coast: This western-most North Shore neighborhood where mansions and millionaires once abounded is epitomized in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. The gateway to this conceptual museum room is Route 25 at University Gardens, on the Nassau-Queens border. The Glen Cove-Oyster Bay area is its anchor.
The American Dream: America's suburban ideal is expressed in the western interior of the North Shore Heritage Area, near rail and road corridors. Anchored by Huntington Center in or near Walt Whitman Mall and Walt Whitman Birthplace State Historic Site, the gateway to this "neighborhood" is LIE Exit 49 on State Route 110 in Melville.
The Maritime Coast: Safe harbors and deep-water ports gave rise to working waterfront communities in the center of the North Shore. Port Jefferson anchors the Maritime Coast. Its gateway is LIE Exit 56 on State Route 111 in Hauppauge.
The Pine Barrens: Natural heritage is showcased in the Pine Barrens, one of the largest preserves in New York, which sits atop a freshwater aquifer formed by the retreat of the final glacial ice tide. Located in the eastern interior of the North Shore, the gateway to this "room" is LIE Exit 68 to the William Floyd Parkway in Yaphank. Its anchor lies within the Pine Barrens area in Brookhaven.
The Harvest Coast: The North Fork of Long Island contains some of the most agriculturally productive land in New York State. Anchored in Mattituck, this area may be approached through LIE Exit 73 to Old Country Road in Calverton.
The people-based interpretive strategy also builds bridges across time:
Seafarers: The area's earliest Seafarers, Native Americans, are connected to early American whalers, 20th century shipbuilders and today's commercial fishermen through the common bond of deriving a livelihood from the sea.
Builders: The Builders theme looks at North Shore history through the lens of successive waves of settlement - from Native Americans to the first European colonists and later immigrants to modern day urban emigrants.
Naturalists: The Naturalists theme embraces open space preservation and conservation of natural areas, fish and wildlife. It also celebrates those who have taught, and fought for, environmental protection - beginning with the Native Americans who populated the North Shore during the early era of European settlement.
Visionaries: An important inspiration for the North Shore Heritage Area was a ring of Revolutionary War spies who used special codes and the protected bays and inlets of Long Island Sound to provide cover on their dangerous missions. The region hasn't stopped producing dreamers, leaders, patriots, and poets, Walt Whitman among the most notable.
The Strategies
General
Approve the Management Plan for the North Shore Heritage AreaEstablish an organizational entity for Management Plan implementationDevelop a Corridor Management Plan for Historic and Scenic Route 25ADevelop a Waterfront Trail for the enjoyment of Long Island Sound and the Peconic Bay, and to provide recreation and alternative transportationCatalog cultural and historic resource planning and preservation effortsCatalog natural and environmental preservation effortsAdvocate for implementation of plans consistent with the North Shore Heritage Area Management PlanDesignate all state actions within the Heritage Area as Type I actions subject to State Environmental Quality Review
Preservation
Perform cultural, historic and natural resource inventories and surveysEvaluate the impact of development plans and proposals of regional significance on the heritage, cultural and natural resources of the Heritage AreaSupport efforts to raise awareness of and preserve, enhance and rehabilitate cultural, historic and natural resources of the Heritage Area, including buildings, sites, vistas and landscapesAdvocate for preservation and restoration of natural and environmental resourcesAdvocate for preservation and restoration of cultural and historic resources, including scenic resources
Revitalization
Use market research tools to help increase project feasibility and identify revitalization opportunitiesIncrease and improve heritage venues, site amenities and visitor appreciation to raise understanding, enjoyment and access to the Heritage AreaSupport economic and job development effortsPromote Heritage Area resources to residents and visitorsConcentrate revitalization efforts on downtowns, struggling maritime communities and existing commercial centersDevelop incentives and streamlining processes to encourage the development of projects consistent with North Shore Heritage Area goals and objectives
Interpretation
Establish a regional approach to interpretation of heritage resourcesDevelop outreach and educational programs to engage interest and support for Heritage Area resourcesUse certain Heritage Area access points and natural resource sites to promote environmental preservation and restoration; limit these uses to areas that can sustain increased visitation without environmental impactCirculationDevelop gateways and anchors for the Heritage Area interpretive neighborhoodsDevelop alternative transportation and multi-modal access to Heritage Area resourcesDecrease road congestion within the Heritage Area through the use of multi-modal transportation systems such as the Long Island Railroad
Sites for Protection & Acquisition
The North Shore Heritage Area Management Plan acknowledges and supports the recommendations of other planning processes for the protection and acquisition of natural, cultural, historic, maritime and scenic resources. The existing plans and planning entities recognized are:
- The Historic Centers of Maritime Activity;
- Long Island Sound Coastal Management Program;
- The New York State Open Space Plan.
Additionally, specific properties were identified by the Long Island North Shore Heritage Management Plan Committee named as priorities in the Plan. These are:
The Pine Barrens CRA and CGA
North Shore properties 1, 2 & 3 - 400 acres, Peconic River system recharge
Peconic Pinelands Maritime Reserve
Coram Woods Wetlands - Freshwater wetlands, unique habitatCow Neck/Sebonac - Tidal wetlands, creeks, inlets & baysPeconic River Greenway - Easement or acquisition for improvements and public accessBroadcove - Peconic Bay shorelineStony Hill - 535 acres on the Ronkonkoma Moraine, deep groundwater recharge, habitat
Western Suffolk/Nassau Special Groundwater Protection Area
Underhill, Oyster Bay - Groundwater protection and public access; under acquisition
Whitney Estate, North Hempstead - 500 acres suitable for recreation and mansion tours, last large tract of undeveloped land in North Hempstead, giant glacier ledge
Arthur Dean Estate - 85 acres contiguous to Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park,
passive recreation
LaSelva - 24.3 acre addition to Planting Fields includes a 40-room 1915 manor house and Olmsted landscape, additional land and program space
Pulling Estate, Oyster Bay Cove - Scenic 114-acre estate, 70% of property has steep slopes, northeast portion is designated wetland and endangered salamander habitat
Held Property, Oyster Bay Cove - Nine acres of old-growth forest, songbird, turtle and tiger salamander habitat, adjacent to Nassau County nature preserve
Long Island Sound Coastal Area
Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor - Part of federal Long Island Estuary project, stream bank corridor protection, upland buffering, watershed acquisition, linking publicly held lands
Key Span-Shoreham - Access to Long Island Sound in Shoreham and Wading River hamlets with 2,000 feet of Wading River marsh, 893 acres, connection to Brookhaven State Park
Mitchell Creek Wetlands - Tidal and freshwater stream, 874 acres
Key Span-Jamesport/Hallockville - 513 acres of prime agricultural farmland, adjacent to Hallockville farm, access, future recreation
LI Trail System/Greenways
Shoreline to Shoreline Greenway Trail - Hempstead Harbor to Manhasset Bay including a 12-mile public walkway around the Port Washington waterfront
Glenwood Landing (Hempstead Harbor) - Acquisition or easements to seven parcels connecting new open space with four public facilities to create a two-mile greenway
Other sites were nominated by individuals during public participation activities held in connection with the Management Plan and are listed in the Appendices.
Plan Organization
The Management Plan for the North Shore Heritage Area consists of two volumes - the Management Plan document containing its recommendations, and the Appendices, which include the Plan's inventories, analyses and most of its resource tools (funding resources are given in the primary plan volume.)
The Management Plan document contains several plans within a plan - a Management Plan, Strategic Plan, and Implementation Plan. The contents of these, as well as other sections of the two volumes, are outlined in the table below:
Volume: Management Plan
| Section | Contents |
| Introduction | Letter from the Long Island North Shore Planning Commission offering a rationale for its work. |
| Overview | This is an extended introduction, containing:
|
| Management Plan | Protect, Connect, Package, Promote & Partner Policies and broad actions for advancing each of the Plan's five goals are given with respect to the topics of Preservation, Sustainable Heritage Development and Revitalization. The actions are sorted according to three levels of potential implementation agents:
|
| Strategic Plan |
This section addresses the North Shore "heritage experience," presenting the interpretive themes described above in the discussion of North Shore heritage stories. Concept plans show clusters of heritage sites for each theme. It offers preservation and land use strategies for enhancing access to and the appreciation of natural, historical, cultural, maritime and scenic resources. Photosimulations are given of concepts for implementing the strategies, such as streetscape improvements, trailhead access, interpretive signage, wetland boardwalks, scenic pullovers, etc. |
| Implementation Plan |
Long term strategies for pursuing the recommendations given in the previous two sections are detailed in the Implementation Plan. They are listed in this summary on page 3 above (The Strategies). For each Heritage Strategy, the Management Plan identifies the entity with primary responsibility, estimates costs and lists potential sources of funding. The Implementation Plan also includes two resources for moving forward:
|
Volume: The Appendices
| Section | Contents |
| Introduction | This section reprises introductory information from the primary plan document. |
| Boundary | Details on the considerations of the Boundary Committee and NYS legislative amendment establishing the Heritage Area. |
| Visitation Analysis |
Data, trends and market segmentation trends on heritage-based recreation, visitation and tourism in the North Shore area. |
| Economic Overview |
Data and analysis of North Shore economic activity related to the visitor industry, real estate and general employment. |
| Demographic Information |
Population, race, household composition, income, education and housing data by North Shore city (Glen Cove) and towns. |
| Resource Inventories & Detail |
General discussion and detailed tables presenting separate inventories for North Shore Heritage Area cultural, heritage, maritime, nature, recreational, transportation and circulation architectural, and scenic resources. The intrinsic value of each resource is rated on a scale of 1 to 5. Parameters are given for what constitutes a heritage area resource. |
| Sites for Protection & Acquisition |
Listings of recommended sites for protection and acquisition gathered from relevant planning entities and processes, the Management Plan Committee and the public. A partial list is given above (see Sites for Protection & Acquisition). |
| Planning Assessment |
This appendix is an inventory of existing local and regional planning efforts including Local Waterfront Revitalization Programs, Comprehensive and Master Plans, Economic Revitalization and similar studies. Twenty-seven are noted, each assessed for its relationship to and compatibility with the North Shore Heritage Area Management Plan. |
| Planning Commission |
Specifics on the composition of the Long Island North Shore Heritage Area Planning Commission and the Management Plan Committee. |
| Public Input |
Documentation on all public involvement opportunities including public workshops, focus groups, and meetings of the Planning Commission and Management Plan Committee. |
| Revitalization Program Descriptions |
Resource tool with information on resources offering financial support and economic incentives for sustainable heritage development, including:
|
| Federal Preservation Standards |
A brief synopsis of the US Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Preservation. |
Benefits of Approving the North Shore Heritage Area Management Plan
Enhanced Local Control/ State Compliance
Local home rule will not be affected by the approval of the Management Plan. However, State approval of the Plan will require that State projects conducted within the Heritage Area be in compliance with the Plan. Any State project - for example, a DOT roadway improvement - would have to take the area's historic character into account and design would have to appropriately address the area's heritage resources and policies.
Regional Identity & Pride
The Heritage Area will foster a sense of history, place and pride in area residents. It will promote a consciousness of, and identification with, "the North Shore." And it will cultivate an image of the area that is positive and rooted in local history and culture.
Participation in the State Heritage Area System - Technical Assistance - Funding
The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation administers the State Heritage Areas System. It provides Heritage Areas with technical assistance on projects such as the development of interpretive programs and appropriate visitor facilities. Funding is available through a grant program solely for Heritage Areas with an approved management plan.
Venue for Regional Collaboration
The Management Plan proposes that an independent non-profit organization be established to succeed the Planning Commission and pursue implementation. This new organization will bring together municipalities in the Heritage Area to collaborate on joint projects, such as Route 25A corridor management, a waterfront bikeway or walkway, interpretive trails, heritage information centers, kiosks and gateways, etc. It will also be a vehicle for attracting funds to implement regional heritage projects.
Preservation Assistance
Specific preservation-focused assistance provided through the Heritage Area may include help with developing local landmark and historic district regulations, and advocacy on behalf of threatened properties or landscapes.
Selective Participation for a Win-Win Scenario
Approval of the Management Plan does not bind a community to participate in its implementation. Municipalities are free to pick and choose which elements to embrace. In approving the Plan, each municipality may tailor the sample resolution to note specific Plan components that the municipality supports.
