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Edgewater kicks off comprehensive-plan update as staff warn of steep infrastructure costs
Summary
City staff launched a comprehensive-plan update, projecting major population growth and listing large capital needs — a $1.2M stormwater master plan, a $100M wastewater plant expansion (city share ~32%), and multi‑million dollar public-works projects — while urging residents to weigh trade-offs at upcoming workshops.
Ryan Solstice, the City of Edgewater’s Development Services and Economic Development director, opened the city’s comprehensive-plan kickoff presentation and said the update will guide decisions about housing, infrastructure and where the city grows. “The City of Edgewater is going to grow immensely,” Solstice told attendees, citing staff projections for significant population and housing increases over the next decade.
Solstice presented demographic and building-permit data drawn from American Community Survey estimates and city records, saying 2023 population estimates were about 23,314 and recent residential construction suggests the city is approaching roughly 25,500 residents. He noted the city’s median age is near 55 and that nearly 40% of residents aged 25 and older have at most a high-school diploma, framing workforce and housing policy implications.
Staff outlined major capital items the city expects to face as growth proceeds. Solstice said the stormwater master plan being prepared by Jones Edmunds & Associates will cost about $1,200,000 and that the wastewater treatment plant expansion is estimated at $100,000,000, with the city likely responsible for roughly 32% of that cost after developer impact and connection fees. He also listed a two‑phase Public Works complex with phase one costed at $22,791,918 and a force main to Deering Park estimated near $6,000,000.
Those figures, Solstice said, are the reason the comp-plan process must consider not just where to build but how to pay for it. “I really don't want to be the one with egg on my face when we don't have any money to do any of this stuff to actually alleviate flooding,” Solstice said, urging that the council plan funding sources—bonding, grants and other revenue—alongside the capital needs the master plan will identify.
Solstice described the stormwater master plan as both a diagnostic and an eligibility gateway: completing a vulnerability assessment will make the city eligible for certain state grant programs tied to sea-level rise and storm-surge resilience. He cautioned, however, that the likely capital list could total many tens of millions of dollars and that the council will need to decide whether to bond for projects, build reserves, or seek other funding tools.
The presentation closed with an invitation to the public to participate in upcoming interactive workshops, with staff planning a first workshop two weeks after the kickoff to gather resident priorities and feedback on land-use choices, infill versus peripheral growth, and standards such as right-of-way and sidewalk requirements.
Next steps: staff will publish the presentation materials and convene the first public workshop; the city’s stormwater master plan and vulnerability assessment are expected to drive grant applications and capital planning later in the year.
