Read the full post from Governing.
Most urban parcels in the middle of Northeast or Midwest cities have some form of environmental contamination caused by a previous use. Would-be developers of these parcels typically face a long and unpredictable regulatory cleanup process that leaves many properties languishing for years in a state of neglect.
So it was big news last month when New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg gathered with a group of city and state officials in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn for a development groundbreaking. The big news wasn’t the development, but the fact it was being built on a contaminated site. Home to a former gas station, it had been vacant for four years — the type of site most developers avoid because of the fear of environmental red tape.
Instead, the contaminated dirt will now be removed. The new development, which includes a diner, 50 new apartments and several small retail shops, will not only energize the neighborhood, but also add to the city’s tax rolls. It was the first municipally run “brownfield” development in the nation. Hopefully, it won’t be the last.
The project’s success was possible because environmental regulators came to see their role as, “How can we enable environmentally beneficial development?” In this case, city and state regulators worked together with the developer to create a clear path to cleanup and rebuilding.
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