Updated Vision Presented for Fish Creek’s Waterfront Park

This revised concept plan was reviewed at a Feb. 7 town board meeting. Photo courtesy of Ayres Associates.

The Gibraltar Town Board examined a revised plan that’s been shaped by town and community feedback on how the Fish Creek waterfront could look, and the amenities it could offer.

Created by Ayres Associates, the revised plan introduced to the board, Feb. 7, encompasses the existing town marina area as well as the town park and the adjacent .46-acre property at 4148 Main Street parcel known as the Kinsey property. 

The footprint of a previous and current version of the plan are the same, with features and amenities rearranged, added and subtracted. Differences in the new plan include a boat turnaround in the parking lot to avoid potential traffic issues; additional parking spaces, totalling to 20 to 26 spots; and town-owned access to the park.

The park would feature a multi-use green space behind the house on the Kinsey property, which the board decided to turn into a residential rental in early 2023. That green space would include a lawn, a pedestrian path, a community pavilion and storage space for kayaks, canoes and paddleboards. A boardwalk along the water would extend from the far end of the greenspace to a midpoint at a boat launch with an accessible kayak, canoe and paddleboard launch. The remainder of the boardwalk would extend around the town’s marina.

The revised plan resulted from community feedback collected by the Waterfront Steering Committee, which the town created to help gather public opinion on the project and incorporate it into town board discussions.

Such input was gathered during a meeting and site tour on June 26, 2023, and a community input session July 29, 2023. At that session, hundreds of residents and visitors examined three plans for the parcel.

In addition to implementing community feedback, Ayres received pointers from the town’s Plan Commission, the Harbor Commission and the Parks and Lands Committee, all of which are collaborating on the waterfront project. The Plan Commission focuses on making the park mesh with the town’s “look” and comprehensive plan; the Harbor Commission focuses on aspects of the plan relating to the harbor itself, such as boat slips and permit parking for boaters; and the Parks and Lands Committee focuses on the greenspace. The two commissions and committee met with the town board during a special meeting to review the concept plan by Ayres on Oct. 18. 

After receiving this aggregation of input, Ayres gathered three key takeaways, Ayres representative Chris Silewski said at the Feb. 7 meeting. These takeaways were that the community wanted to have a waterfront property that prioritizes pedestrians rather than vehicles; a place for people of all ages and abilities; and a way to preserve the historic character of the site while adding modern amenities. 

That last takeaway is part of why the revised plan retains the 1914 house along Main Street, maintaining the street’s historical look.

The other buildings on the property are two cottages and a carriage house, originally owned by Holiday Harbor Waterfront Cottages before town residents authorized Gibraltar to purchase the property for $3.5 million in 2021. The waterfront project would remove these buildings as the size and/or condition of each would make them difficult to renovate.

This month, the involved commissions and committee will take a final look at the plan. If they approve it, the board will discuss their input and schedule a workshop similar to the one held Oct. 18. 

The Harbor Commission has not yet scheduled a meeting date, but the Plan Commission and the Parks and Lands Committee will have a joint meeting Feb. 26, 6 pm. It will be held at the Gibraltar Town Center, 4097 Main St. in Fish Creek.