As our area grows, we’re focused on understanding and addressing the real-world impacts of new development—traffic flow, congestion, environmental strain, noise concerns, and long-term livability. We’re here to raise questions, examine data, and ensure changes support a safe, sustainable, community-friendly future.
Smart Growth Principals
Smart growth is a community-focused approach to development that emphasizes balanced sustainable planning:
- Encourage Community-Driven Planning
- Involve residents early and consistently so development reflects local voice, needs and identity
- Support Transportation Choices
- Reduce congestion by planning development around safe, efficient travel patterns for cars, pedestrians and cyclists.
- Strong Sense of Community
- Support development that feels cohesive, welcoming, and fitting to the communities existing scale
- Create Community Value with Low-Impact Development
- Our vision for the old Seafood Shack property focuses on improvements that enhance daily life, support local businesses, and bring economic value without overwhelming traffic, noise, or the environment.
- Restaurant: acts as a social hub strengthening community identity while creating jobs, attracting tourists and increasing property values and bringing in tax revenue. The Seafood Shack was a good example of minimal impact on traffic, noise and environment.
- Bait & Tackle Shop: provides steady income, supports Cortez’s fishing heritage, and draws recreational fishers who spend money in the community without creating large crowds.
- Marina (Modest & Managed): a well-planned, low-impact marina can bring in meaningful revenue and encourage complimentary small businesses while remaining compatible with neighborhood scale and thoughtful design.
- Passive Waterfront/Park accessible green space attracts both locals and tourists, improves water quality through natural filtering and offers a peaceful area that compliments restaurants and small businesses rather than compete with them.
- Our Position for Boat Ramps: While we support improvements that enhance the community value with minimal disruption. Boat ramps do not align with this vision due to the substantial traffic and noise implications of boat trailers. You can read more on this on the Boat Ramps page under The Issues menu.
- Our vision for the old Seafood Shack property focuses on improvements that enhance daily life, support local businesses, and bring economic value without overwhelming traffic, noise, or the environment.