| Land Use and Growth Management |
| Improving Access and Mobility Opportunities
for Brownfield Redevelopment and Community Revitalization |
| By Deborah McDonald, New York, New York 1-212-465-5642, mcdonaldd@pbworld.com
|
| A study done for the Somerset
County Planning Board is an important step in the revitalization of
four pilot brownfield sites in the near term, and additional sites
in the future. |
|
Early in 2000, the Somerset County Planning Board (SCPB) in New
Jersey received a grant from the North Jersey Transportation Planning
Authority (NJTPA) to complete transportation studies related to brownfields.
Brownfields are abandoned, idled or underutilized industrial or commercial
properties on which expansion or redevelopment is complicated by a
real or perceived environmental contamination.
PB led the team selected to conduct a seven-task study to:
- Identify brownfield sites located in existing
town and village centers that are affected by regional transportation
linkage deficiencies and access and mobility constraints, and
whose redevelopment is critical to the revitalization of a neighborhood
or community as a whole
- Develop transportation solutions that will
act as catalysts for the redevelopment of these sites and other
nearby vacant and underutilized sites within existing towns and
villages, including other brownfields.
SCPB's goal was to get a clear picture of the number and locations
of brownfields in Somerset County and the redevelopment potential
of each site. SCPB's intent is to embark on a long-term process of
redeveloping as many of these sites as feasible to provide services
and facilities that would improve the environment and lives of Somerset
residents.
Task One: Compile Success
Stories
Our team studied several areas in the U.S. where brownfield redevelopment
was completed in order to identify "best practices" that
were applied locally, regionally and nationally and that involved
transportation initiatives. We identified "lessons learned"
and factors that contributed to the success or failure of brownfields
redevelopment. The knowledge gained from this task was invaluable
in helping to lay out the steps we would take and in educating the
public about the project. We used the compiled success stories for
presentation at a public forum and in a newsletter for public outreach.
Task Two: Initial Rankings of Somerset's
Brownfield Sites
A significant factor that contributed to the success of this project
was building consensus between a wide array of stakeholders with differing
objectives. To this end, our team worked in conjunction with a steering
committee of state, county and local officials, including brownfield
redevelopment experts, who gave us comments and approval for the ranking
procedures and system we developed. This process helped to foster
a sense of participation with the client and stakeholders.
In performing the ranking, we used the New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection (NJDEP) GIS Known Contaminated Sites List (KCSL) database
and identified more than 1,300 brownfield sites in Somerset County.
Next we met with each of the local municipalities where brownfields
exist to involve them in the process and learn more about the communities'
priorities. They provided us with detailed information about their
priorities, or highly ranked sites that enabled us to narrow the list
of sites to 89 sites-an acceptable number for ranking.
Database
Established. One of the lessons learned from Task One was the
value of establishing a database of the information we gathered. We
set ours up in Microsoft Access, starting with the initial 1,300 sites
and developing it further throughout the study.
It was important to SCPB that it be able to link this database to
several state databases that were being developed during the project's
time span, and that it be able to use the database in the future to
identify additional sites for redevelopment and financing options.
To meet these requirements, members of our team
participated in planning sessions with the New Jersey Office of State
Planning (NJOSP) and linked our database to the state's database by
use of qualifying numbers, such as the NJDEP master file number or
NJOSP brownfield number.
Task
Three: Site Ranking and Prioritization
We considered the remaining 89 sites under three criteria-whether
the site:
- Was located within a state planning center
- Had transportation-related issues (would
the site benefit from the performance of a transportation assessment?)
- Met the definition of a brownfield as vacant and/or underutilized.
Twenty-eight sites that passed all criteria continued in the process.
The next step involved performing a numerical ranking of these sites.
It was crucial to design the ranking criteria to evaluate the data
effectively and enable us to present it in a useable form. The team
developed a customized ranking system with point values to evaluate
information important to SCPB and the municipalities, including vital
transportation factors, environmental issues and community enhancement
issues. For example:
- If a site was more contaminated than others
or had a significant transportation issue, it was given a high
point value.
- If redevelopment of a site was expected to
have a strong positive impact on the community, the site was given
a high point value.
- If the site had significant natural restrictions
to redevelopment, it was given a low point value.
The ranking resulted in a list of 15 sites that was given to the project
steering committee, which chose three as pilot sites for further analysis.
Task Four: Conducting Transportation Assessments
and Developing Improvement Recommendations.
We assessed the transportation access opportunities for each of the
three pilot sites, addressing a variety of modes and searching for
linkages and synergies between them and surrounding land uses. This
work was undertaken on both a macro (subregional) basis and micro
(localized) basis, depending upon the site and its location and proximate
accessibility. We considered six key factors related to the attractiveness
of transportation access:
- Traffic operations on access roads
- Sight visibility
- Future physical and operational improvements
- Pedestrian or bicycle linkages
- Transit and freight opportunities
- Goods movement limitations.
Task Five: Identification of Financing Options
Here again, lessons we learned during Task One proved to be valuable
in helping us to determine preferred funding mechanisms. We started
by conducting an extensive review of various funding options. We then
identified several state and federal funding mechanisms that included,
but were not limited to:
- The State of New Jersey Hazardous
Discharge Site Remediation Fund. Under this fund, managed
by NJDEP and the NJ Economic Development Authority, municipalities
may apply for grants and loans up to $2 million per year for investigations
and cleanups. Fund grants are provided specifically to municipalities
for a preliminary site assessment, site investigation and remedial
investigations.
- The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative.
Available grants under this initiative include brownfields assessment
demonstration pilots ($200,000), cleanup revolving loan fund pilots
($500,000) and job training and development pilots ($200,000).
While our work on the project was progressing, the Smart Growth Coalition
within Somerset County applied for and received the Assessment Demonstration
Pilot funding from EPA. Information gathered from the NJTPA project
will be used in this EPA grant project.
Task
Six: Presenting Findings to Stakeholders
We participated in two public information sessions and press briefings
that were vital to the success of the project, and
presented our findings at several other meetings of public and agency
groups. As part of the community outreach, a Web site was developed
for ease of access to information.
Task Seven: Delivering the Results
Throughout the project life and at the end of each task, we compiled
the information gathered and summarized it in a technical memoranda
for client review and comment. The technical memorandum (and responses
to review comments) became chapters of the final report. Such an arrangement
enabled the final documents to be completed expeditiously with minimal,
if any, corrections or additions near the project's end.
The Job Has Just Begun
Our work was a critical early step in SCPB's long-range brownfield
program to be carried out over the next 15 to 20 years. Work is progressing
on the first three pilot sites and developers have been identified.
As SCPB continues its efforts, the database we established will continue
to serve its staff members as they identify additional sites and gather
additional information relative to future development. |
|
| Deborah McDonald has been with PB since late
1999. As an environmental engineer and Project Manager in the environmental
engineering and health services group in New York, she specializes
in brownfield redevelopment. |
|
