The provisions of this Chapter establish special regulations which are designed to guide development along the City's waterfront and in so doing to promote and protect public health, safety and general welfare. These general goals include, among others, the following purposes:

(a)        to maintain and reestablish physical and visual public access to and along the waterfront;

(b)        to promote a greater mix of uses in waterfront developments in order to attract the public and enliven the waterfront;

(c)        to encourage water-dependent (WD) uses along the City's waterfront;

(d)        to create a desirable relationship between waterfront development and the water's edge, public access areas and adjoining upland communities;

(e)        to preserve historic resources along the City's waterfront;

(f)        to protect natural resources in environmentally sensitive areas along the shore; and

(g)        to allow waterfront developments to incorporate resiliency measures that help address challenges posed by coastal flooding and sea level rise.