Brian Sharp

@SharpRoc

Planning at the Port of Rochester is starting over — not from scratch, necessarily, as the marina has been built and design standards put in place. But Mayor Lovely Warren is seeking to reset, having seen a groundswell of opposition to the last effort lead to a shift in neighborhood leadership.

"It's sort of starting all over again," Warren conceded, "with the people who are (there) now."

Warren has asked City Council to hire the Community Design Center Rochester to lead a community charrette process, which officials say would cover not just the port development area — a city-owned swatch of mostly parking lots near Lake Ontario, south of Corrigan Street — but the Lake Avenue commercial corridor from Pattonwood Drive north to Beach Avenue, east to the Genesee River.

A charrette is usually thought of as a large-scale design meeting where neighbors, business owners and other stakeholders rough out ideas for an ideal neighborhood, resulting in a final report. It also includes an inventory and study of existing conditions and past planning efforts. The second phase is where the "vision plan" develops. The $20,000 Warren is seeking would cover the first phase, estimating the charrette process will take seven months. The Charlotte Community Association, which has been pushing the charrette process for a couple years, is working on funding the rest.

"Something is going to happen there," the mayor said, not backing off the city push to develop the port. "But you want it to be the right thing."

The city has thought it had the right thing several times over the past several decades. Most recently it was a 10-story hotel with condominiums, a spa and restaurant. Two more buildings were to be built later. But Michigan-based project developer Edgewater Resources struggled to pull together financings, leading Warren to cancel the deal last June.

►After port project collapses, what's next?

Jonathan Hardin is president of the Charlotte Community Association. He has lived in Rochester for six years, and Charlotte for going on three. His predecessor came up through another group, Charlotte Strong, that work aggressively against the Edgewater project. Warren's decision last summer signaled a shift in the relationship between City Hall and neighborhood leaders. The past year has been focused on rebuilding and strengthening those connections.

"We can't undo what they've already done. And the Harbor (Town) District being changed, I don't see that being changed back," Hardin said of the guidelines encompassing zoning, building height and design for the study area. "At least now we are communicating with the city. That hasn't always been the case."

Neighbors as optimistic about the work ahead, he said. And though unsure of the timetable, added: "It won't be a hurried process."

City Council member Molly Clifford represents the Charlotte neighborhood. She sees the charrette as an educational process for all involved, including for neighbors to better understand design principles that can achieve the small-community feel while also delivering an entertainment and destination area.

"Things have changed. We do have a marina. We have some new businesses," Clifford said. "But some of the things that were outstanding issues for Charlotte remain the same. ... I don’t personally support that approach (of high-density development seen in past plans). I think we have to have a development that is in scale with the rest of the community. I would like for us to think a little bit differently."

Council members could vote on the matter at their March 28 meeting.

BDSHARP@Gannett.com