Quotes Regarding Brownfields and Farmland Preservation Investing In Existing Communities In communities like mine and so many others throughout America, we can measure changes in the U.S. economy by the vast inventories of abandoned industrial properties and other brownfield sites. These once productive properties, which contributed so much to this country's wealth, are well situated to take advantage of the substantial prior investment in infrastructure that serves these properties. Already my community and others are seeing the potential for reusing these properties and tapping the hidden value of extensive roads, streets and other utilities that are already in place to serve the next generation of business development. Anthony Masiello Mayor of Buffalo Co-Chair, Brownfields Task Force Neighborhood Revitalization and Job Creation The impact of brownfields is not just on that one parcel of land but on the surrounding neighborhoods as well. These sites need to be cleaned up, redeveloped and put back into productive use. We need to make our neighborhoods healthy and vibrant where jobs are located in the communities where people live. Harvey Johnson Mayor of Jackson Co-Chair, Brownfields Task Force Moving People Back Into the Cities Vacant warehouses as well as abandoned older homes have the potential of being brought back into productive use through residential and commercial development. One example of this is with Dayton's Rehabarama project which successfully has renovated formerly abandoned and deteriorated houses into beautiful homes. The results are amazing - these neighborhoods have experienced a resurgence with people moving back into the city and into these neighborhoods. Michael Turner Mayor of Dayton Co-Chair, Brownfields Task Force What the Conference is Doing Our second national report further documents the negative effects of the Superfund law on the nation's cities, as shown by the vast inventories of brownfields throughout America. At the same time, it shows that cities are partnering with counties and states to make these sites productive once again. What remains is to get the Federal Government behind the efforts of mayors and others by means of incentives and other policies that stimulate private sector investment. This report provides ample evidence for why federal policy-makers should act, and it also provides guidance on where such actions are most needed. J. Thomas Cochran Executive Director he U.S. Conference of Mayors defines the term "brownfields" as an abandoned or underutilized property where The expansion or redevelopment is complicated by either real or perceived environmental contamination. This description can apply to a wide variety of sites including, but not limited, to industrial properties, old gas stations, warehouses, or even residential buildings which could contain lead paint and asbestos. These sites are located in just about every community throughout the United States. They represent pockets of disinvestment, neglect and even missed opportunities. Many times these brownfield sites can be found in poorer communities and neighborhoods, areas that could use economic investment and job creation. The existence of many brownfield sites can now be traced to the strict liability provisions of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), a federal law more commonly known as "Superfund." CERCLA was enacted in 1980 to stop the irresponsible discharge of pollutants to the environment by holding entities to very strict liability standards, making owners fully responsible for any and all costs to rid "Superfund-caliber" properties of contamination. This federal law, over time, has affected virtually all properties including brownfields- by making owners of these sites potentially subject to liability even though they did not cause the contamination, and it drives many potential developers and businesses away from these brownfields as potential sites for investment. Instead, private and public parties have looked to "greenfields", pristine or undeveloped land resources, as the first choice for locations for new businesses and other development. As a result, our nation is consuming farmland and openspaces at an alarming rate, while leaving brownfields abandoned or underutilized in just about every community in the nation. The purpose of this report is to build upon last year's first national brownfields survey, by compiling new information from the nation's cities on the status of brownfields and the impact these properties have on communities. The information in this report has been added to the The U.S. Conference of Mayors National Brownfields Database to help track local efforts in redeveloping these properties. This resource will be updated regularly as more information becomes available. Introduction This report is a compilation of data from 223* cities that responded to a Conference of Mayors' questionnaire. Participating cities represent all parts of the United States including Bangor, ME, San Diego, CA, Bellingham, WA, and San Juan, PR. Additionally, it was determined that the problem of brownfields affects cities of every size, with survey respondents ranging in size from Oak Brook, IL, with a population of 9,087 to New York City with a population of 7,380,906. Cities completed all or part of the questionnaire based on their best available data. The questionnaire solicited information on the number of brownfields (subject to each city's criteria) and acres of land affected, impediments to and potential benefits of redevelopment, state activities and regional partnerships. The final portion of this report contains narrative descriptions of brownfield sites as well as information regarding redevelopment activities. The U.S. Conference of Mayors wishes to thank everyone who participated in this report. * It should be noted that 28 additional cities did respond to our brownfields questionnaire but indicated that, according to their definition, they had no brownfields. These cities were not included in this report since our purpose is to measure brownfield redevelopment activities. We wish to thank these cities for sending in their responses. he second annual brownfields report once again demonstrates the pervasiveness of the brownfields problem The throughout the United States, and documents the lost opportunities by failing to recycle these sites back into more productive uses. Brownfields are abandoned or underutilized property where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by either real or perceived environmental contamination. Status of Problem A total of 223 cities provided information regarding the brownfields in their communities, a substantial increase from last years' 149 responses. In this years' survey, 180 cities estimated that they had over 19,000 brownfields sites. This figure represents more than 178,000 acres of land, acreage that exceeds the total land area of Atlanta, Seattle and San Francisco. This year's report again found that brownfields are not just a "big city" problem; more than 50 percent of the survey responses came from cities with a population under 100,000. These cities alone reported nearly 3,000 brownfield sites, totaling more than 89,000 acres. The cities again identified the major obstacles to the redevelopment of brownfield sites. Like the 1998 survey, the 'lack of funds to cleanup these sites' was the most frequently identified impediment, followed by 'liability issues' and the need for 'environmental assessments' to determine the extent of the contamination. The survey also asked cities if they had brownfield sites that would require additional subsidies beyond cleanup funds and assessment monies. More than 75 percent of the survey respondents indicated that they would need additional help, such as infrastructure upgrades, financial assistance to demolish obsolete buildings and structures, tax incentives, and low interest loans. Potential Benefits Among the potential benefits cited most often were tax base growth, job creation, neighborhood revitalization, and environmental protection. Two-thirds of the survey respondents estimated that if their brownfields were Executive Summary redeveloped, their cities would realize additional tax revenues in the range of $955 million - $2.7 billion annually. In addition, 168 cities estimated that more than 675,000 jobs could potentially be created on former brownfield sites. More than 170 cities said they could support additional people moving into their city without adding appreciably to their existing infrastructure. Of these, 115 respondents estimated that, collectively, they could support more than 3.4 million new people in their cities, a population that is nearly equal to the City of Los Angeles, our nation's second largest city. Other Findings More than one-half of the respondents indicated that they now offered incentives to encourage brownfields redevelopment, through tax credits or abatements, infrastructure upgrades, low interest loans, job training, grants, cleanup funds, and tax increment financing. The survey also found that states have increased their participation with cities on brownfield issues, with 51 percent of the cities indicating they had city-state partnerships, up from last year's level of 33 percent. While only 16 percent of the cities reported that the state was working with them on the issue of urban sprawl, 27 percent of the respondents had formed a partnership with their county to deal with this issue. The reviews are still mixed when it relates to cities ranking their State's Voluntary Cleanup Program. For the 140 cities in states with such programs, 44 percent gave their state a "satisfactory" rating. The remaining respondents were about equally divided, with 28 percent giving their states an "excellent" or "very good" rating while 29 percent giving them either a "not very good" or "poor” rating. Descriptions The last section of this report contains descriptions of brownfields throughout the United States as well as redevelopment projects on these properties. These city status reports document the progress being made by cities. Finally, many cities credited the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and its Brownfields Pilot program in helping them address their brownfields problem. |