Per the Main Street requirements, your Cape Charles Mainstreet, Inc. has identified a focused designated commercial area. According to the official Main Street guidelines, “the community must propose specific boundaries for the commercial district revitalization effort and provide evidence that the district meets these criteria.”
The criteria include the following,
– A pedestrian scale and orientation;
– A critical mass of buildings and businesses which form the foundation for revitalization efforts;ü A critical mass of structures that would be eligible for frequently used rehabilitation incentives
In order to assure a physical setting conducive to applying the Main Street Four Points to commercial revitalization designated Main Street districts must have:
– At least 50 commercial enterprises and 70 commercial structures;
– At least 2/3rds of the structures are commercial (or commercially zoned) buildings and have a pedestrian scale and orientation including such elements as ground floor storefronts
– At least 25% of the linear street frontage has a setback of 15’ or less from the sidewalk
– A compact size and regular pattern of sidewalks so that it can be comfortably walked by pedestrians.
Communities interested in Main Street designation may request that Virginia Main Street review a potential district for its appropriateness and we have already asked them to do that; they will be guiding us throughout our journey from affiliate to designation.
The identified Cape Charles Main Street Commercial District consists of the following. From the Cape Charles Brewery on Stone Road (rt. 184) West to Fig Street South, West on Mason Ave to Bay Ave Including Peach St, Strawberry St and Pine St to their respective intersections at Randolph St. This includes both the commercial harbor and future business district. Please see attached picture.
It is important to note that while we must designate a commercial district for the focus of the Main Street approach, all marketing will include the Town of Cape Charles in its entirety.
If you have any questions, please contact Shelly Gorman, Program Manager at shelly.gorman@capecharles.org. Follow Cape Charles-Mainstreet on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MainStreetCapeCharles/ to find additional information and updates about Cape Charles Main Street, Inc.
About the Author
So, you’ve taken the existing commercially zoned area and drawn a line around it.
Well, that oughta help.
When these businesses open, will you castigate the owners as “Come here’s”? Or beat them up over insignificant architectural changes that do not detract from the ‘historic’ nature of the town? Or overcharge them water hook up fees? Or slam them for putting up too big a business?
Changing attitudes will help FAR more than CAD lines drawn on a map.