City planners outline 'Resilient Hampton' vision tying waterfront to long-term strategy

Terry O'Neil, the city's Community Development lead on waterfront planning, told the council the city's vision statement explicitly calls Hampton a 'waterfront community' and traced a planning lineage from the 1986 Beachfront Master Plan through a 2010 waterways study to the Resilient Hampton initiative adopted in 2018.

"Living with water is not just about beaches and the bay — it's about tributaries and the little creeks that run through neighborhoods," O'Neil said, describing a shift to a hydrologic approach that groups assets by drainage area rather than by neighborhood. He said the initiative emphasizes layering public benefits — flood control, recreation and environmental improvement — to maximize funding opportunities and public value.

O'Neil pointed to several pilot projects staff are prioritizing, including design work in the Newmarket Creek area and conceptual work on the Lake Hampton project, Big Bethel Blueway and North Armstead Avenue green infrastructure. He said the Blueway project has about 20% design complete, with an estimated six to nine months more of design before the city can bid construction; construction is likely at least a year after that.

Council members commended the multi-benefit framing and urged staff to identify funding timelines and permitting lead times early so projects can be matched to appropriate grant programs. The city manager said staff will compile council suggestions from the session for use in the capital improvement and budget planning process.

The presentation and council feedback were framed as a strategic starting point; staff emphasized that many of the initiatives will be phased and will require federal, state and local coordination before work begins.