OBSERVER Photo by M.J. Stafford Rebecca Wurster of the Chautauqua County Planning Department describes a Lake Erie municipal coalition at a recent meeting of the Dunkirk Common Council’s Economic Development Committee.

A Chautauqua County official touted a Lake Erie municipal coalition to Dunkirk officials as a way to unlock funding for waterfront projects.

Rebecca Wurster of the Chautauqua County Planning Department returned to familiar territory for the Common Council Economic Development Committee meeting. Wurster was formerly planning director for the city before taking her county job.

Wurster discussed the Northern Chautauqua County Local Waterfront Revitalization Program, a New York State-backed initiative. It’s supposed to bring together 10 county municipalities on Lake Erie, including Dunkirk, on development plans. New York is encouraging similar programs in waterfront municipalities statewide.

Wurster defined a Local Waterfront Revitalization Program (LWRP) as “a locally prepared land and water use plan for a community’s developed, natural, public, and working waterfronts. It provides a comprehensive framework within which a community’s vision for its waterfront can be formalized.”

The benefits of the program include “community consensus — you want everyone on the same page” when it comes to development, Wurster said.

From a legal standpoint, the state has mandated that projects undertaken by entities outside of the program are consistent with the locally adopted LWRP plan.

Most notably, Wurster continued, adopting a LWRP plan will unlock a host of state grants for various projects.

Wurster said local planning for the LWRP was challenged by a Department of State change in the rules. Prior to 2020, she said, the state required one LWRP for each district. However, now it requires each member municipality to have its own LWRP.

Consultants are drafting a list of proposed projects and future land use, Wurster continued. She said it’s good timing for the city of Dunkirk as it’s currently updating its zoning code.

Wurster flashed four slides full of possible projects for Dunkirk, which could be eligible for funding if the city joins the program. Here’s a few of them:

– Development of the NRG power plant site.

– Development of “parcels across from City Hall,” apparently including the vacant lot where the Masonic Building once stood.

– Establishing a Great Lakes museum, science and education center.

– Improvements to Cedar Beach.

– The Lakefront Boulevard breakwater project that recently had its federal funding cut.

– Encouragement and development of “green infrastructure.”

– Rehabilitation and improvements to railroad overpasses.

Wurster called her presentation “an entry-level discussion.” The city would have to adopt a “waterfront consistency law” before it can join the coalition.

She said a public meeting about the program is planned for sometime this summer and will “hopefully include a pretty substantial draft (of Dunkirk’s waterfront plan) with those projects more fleshed out.”