Conservation and development in urban planning

URBAN PLANNING Environmental Conservation

DOCTOR RIM MEZIANI SECTION #51 FINAL RESEARCH MALAK ALI–1047378

Conservation areas When planning for conservation areas, a variety of methods and tools to identify lands critical for ecosystem protection are used.

Conservation planning generally: 1. Requires an approach to ecosystem and management that integrates the concept of sustainable use with human needs and ecosystem management so that the needs of future generation re not compromised by those of the present.

2. It requires going beyond geopolitical boundaries. For example, the overlap of potential uses for a freshwater lake water supply, fishing, habitat protection, recreation, tourism, travel.

3. Requires active, adaptive management to identify new threats and flexible strategies for action 4. It represents the leading edge of an opportunity to manage protected lands in way that educates and inspires us while maintaining enough resources for future generations.

Global conservation planning: The multidimensional approach that is being adopted for conservation parks worldwide focuses on several goals:    

Address gaps in national protected systems.

Promote connectivity at landscape a seascape level Enhance public support for conservation parks and protected open space.

Recognize the importance of a range of governance type as means to strengthen management and expand the world’s protected areas.  Strengthen the relationship between people and the land, freshwater and the sea.

Identifying and evaluating lands for conservation:

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Conservation and restoration are interrelated to identify and evaluate lands for conservation parks, a planner must consider: Land acquisition The ability to increase habitat and create new habitat form urban land Restore linear connections Protect riparian and migratory corridors

Consideration of identification and evaluation of lands in order of priority highest to lowest;       

Protect undeveloped properties with significant natural values within a region.

Conserve properties that could serve to join together exiting conserved properties Protect land alongside riparian corridors to develop and maintain a contiguous corridor Preserve or restore a riparian communities and pre-clued development in floodplains Manage croplands and recreation areas as buffer lands for conservation parks.

Maintain opportunities to create trail links Assess underutilized of abounded properties for conservation potential.

Inventory and analysis studies

The planning process for conservation parks includes studies    

That identify and evaluate lands along the lines of natural patterns of landscape Natural drainage ways and flood retention areas Surface water and groundwater quality Historic and rural landscapes and wildlife diversity

An inventory and analysis dataset for a conservation parks includes the following: 1. Environmental value:  Forested areas  Stream channel  Wetlands  Floodplain areas  Steep slopes greater than 12%  Moderate slopes  Hydrologic soils  Stream channel buffer  Key species habitats 2. Hydrology  Physiography  Watershed sub basins and floodplains  Tributes and stream orders  Land cove 3. Vegetation  Vegetation cover types such as forest, open woodlands, savannah. turf  Existing natural plant communities.

A conservation plan uses inventory maps as am analytical toll to establish degree of protection, permitted uses, and the relationships between resource areas. There are 2 map conservation maps and restoration maps these of maps include: 1. High priority conservation areas  Important watersheds associated with protection of water quality and water supply  Habitats or potential habitats of endangered or declining species  Riparian and coastal areas associated with wildlife, water conservation, and shoreline protection  Wetlands associated with flooding protection, wildlife and water conservation  Geologic features or soil types that contain rare minerals or potential for unique habitat.

2. Medium priority conservation areas  Areas of less significant habitat or natural features that can be managed for limited public access for environmental uses.  Areas that can be used to test management prescriptions for higher quality areas.

3. Lower priority conservation areas  Areas that can be managed for sustainable use to serve as buffer areas between developed areas and conservation parks.  Examples of activities that might be permitted include: controlled hunting, organic agriculture, pasturing and sustainable harvesting.

Restoration strategies maps: High priority restoration maps  Potential high quality habitat areas for restoration  Areas of medium or low distribution for restoration  Areas for potential large scale restoration  Riparian corridors that can be reforested forest gaps that can be filled to create continues forest canopy and forest interior  Woodland edges of missed plant species  Savannah and meadow areas Management and monitoring  Conservation areas require both land management and monitoring plan/program  The character and quality of landscape depends on management over time.  Land management depends on:  Control, manage, and preferably, eliminate invasive, nonnative species  Maintain the population density of fauna such as (white tailed deer)  Replant with species native to region  Reintroduce extirpated native species  Maintain habitat diversity, especially high priority ecosystem

Conservation development  It focuses development on each parcel as it being planned at least 50 percent of the buildable land.  The same number of houses can be built in a less land consumption manner, allowing the balance of the property to the permanently protected and added to a network of community green spaces.

The conservation development process involves three steps  Assess current community development trends  Identify primary and secondary conservation areas  Employ conservation subdivision design steps  Community Assessments: this process help local officials and residents see the ultimate result of continuing to implement land use policies also start discussions about how current trends can be modified to ensure a “greener “future.  Many local ordinances allow or encourage standardized layout “wall to wall” house lots  This leads to the conservation of every unprotected acre of buildable land into developed uses Assessments entail the following;  Analyzing growth projections, both in terms of number of dwelling units and number of acres that are likely to be converted to development under present regulations  Evaluating adopted land use regulations, identifying their strength and weakness. and offering constructive recommendations  Mapping future development patterns for the entire municipality.

Open space conservation areas To create an interconnected network of open space, communities should draw a map of potential conservation lands. This map serves as the tool that guides decisions regarding lands to protect. After identifying the information contained in the community in existing planning documents, then next is to identify the two kinds of resource areas.  Primary conservation areas  Comprise only the most severely constrained lads where development is typically restricted under current codes and laws  Secondary conservation areas  Include all other locally significant features of the natural or cultural landscape  Mature woodlands, prime farmland, groundwater recharge areas, historic sites and buildings, scenic view sheds, greenways and trials  Local residents should be involved in the identification of secondary conservation areas. These areas are typically unprotected and often zoned for some other type of development.

Preservation, Conservation, and Reuse Open spaces which includes woodland, fields, wetlands, streambanks … has been a subject of preservation, which is a voluntary process involving a landowner willing to sell or donate land to the government There are many benefits from preserving open space, some of it are: 

Biodiversity

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Storm water management

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Scenic value

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Smart growth

Biodiversity That is protecting wildlife habitat (plant and animals), maintaining healthy ecosystem and recycling of nutrient.

Storm water Management Woodlands and wetlands filter and absorbs storm water runoff and allow water to replenish groundwater supplies.

Scenic Value Preserving open spaces will increase the market value of nearby lands, due to scenic amenity, and activities provided: walking spaces, hiking, biking skiing …

Smart Growth Preserving open spaces help in the development of the area, and attractive population due to green infrastructure, park lands and services provided.

Preserving open space needs collaborate of private interests and government. Some of the technique to preserve open space are: 1. Fee-simple acquisition: 

land ownership means bundles of right related to: water, minerals, air, usage and leasing, passage, development. This bundle is called ‘’ fee simple ‘’.

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When the open space is preserved for recreational, ecological and education purpose, then it is recommended to acquire the fee- simple bundle of the land.

2. Land Trust: It is a private nonprofit organization, that many receive donations of land, or easements, bonds and cash. The organization might manage the donated open space or sell it to the government for parklands. This way is used in USA.

3. Land and water conservation funds: LWCF is a fund created by the congress 1965, which receive royalties from oil and gas companies and use it purchase or improve open spaces, these spaces remain forever in outdoor recreation.

4. State Programs: Served states ha departments which plans to acquire open spaces and purchase it by the help of various funding resource especially from some collected taxes.

5. Conservation Easement: It is a legal contract by which an owner voluntarily restricts the usage of his right on the land. He limits his activities and development on the land for a specific time. The landowner may receive cash or tax benefits as a compensation for the easement. The contract between the owner and the government is signed and recorded at the court, and this conservation easement contract runs with the land and applies to any future owner. The government monitor the application of the contract and annual visits and reports are made to assure that no violation is taking place, unless fine are enforced. Appraisal value of the easement is determined by a professional, who decide the market value of the land, the value of restriction and wild habitat. Income tax savings are adjusted: estate tax, property tax savings.

Tax benefits there are several potential tax benefits from donating a permanent conservation easement. The landowner may use the value of the easement as an income tax deduction, subject to certain limits defined in section 170(h) of the internal revenue code. There may be estate tax benefits, depending on the size of the landowner’s estate. A few states offer state income tax credits for people who donate a conservation easement on their land. In some states, the landowner may receive a reduction in the assessed value of the property for property tax purposes.

Scenic Easements Scenic easement is a subset of conservation easements. A scenic easement is voluntary and may be sold or donated or transferred in a bargain sale. Unlike the typical conservation easement, a scenic easement usually doesn’t apply to an entire property. Scenic easement mostly applies to a land within a few hundred yards of a highway, to maintain a greenbelt of undeveloped the use of scenic easements in the late 1940s and early 1950s to protect the views along the great river road beside the shores of the Mississippi river.

Purchase and Transfer of Development Rights The purchase of development rights (PDR) and the purchase of a conservation easement are the same thing. By convention, however, the purchase of development rights refers to the purchase of a conservation easement by a government agency, whereas the acquisition of conservation easements is done by private land trusts. Purchase of development rights also tends to refer to the preservation of a farm and forest lands.

The purchase of a conservation easement and PDR involve retiring development rights so that

they cannot be used again. Transfer of development rights (TDR) features moving development potential from a property targeted for preservation to a property. planned for development. The owner of the first property receives cash compensation from a developer or local government (See Transfer and Purchase of Development Rights for more information).

Mandatory Dedication and Cluster Development Many communities have subdivision regulations that include the mandatory dedication of parkland and open space to maintain open space when allowing development on greenfield sites.

Ideally, the amount of required open space should be described in the regulations, but in practice the size of the dedicated land is often negotiated.

Cluster development involves arranging building lots on a portion of a parcel and while retaining a certain percentage of the parcel as open space. For example, a cluster zoning ordinance might require a subdivision that creates five or more lots to set aside 40 percent of the land area as permanent open space. A cluster zoning ordinance can require a developer to donate a conservation easement on the open space to a land trust or the local government to ensure that it stays undeveloped.

CONCLUSION A number of techniques are available to preserve open space. Fee- simple acquisition is recommended when the goal is to actively manage the property for wildlife habitat, recreation. or educational purposes The purchase of conservation easements is attractive because the cost is often much less than fee-simple purchase. Scenic easements are useful in maintaining scenic vistas. especially along highways. Mandatory dedication can be used to enable a community to acquire public open space Cluster development can be used to create private preserved open space when the open space is required to be restricted by a conservation easement held b land trust or government agency.

Farmland Preservation –

It describes both short to medium-rate protection of high quality farmland, through land-use regulations and financial motivations, and the more permanent protection of farmland is through the voluntary programs that enable governments and land trusts to purchase or transfer development rights of the farmland.

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Prime farmlands often have gentle slope and deep, well drained soils, which make them very easy to develop.

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However, they provide a variety of environmental services like aesthetical open spaces, wildlife habitat, water recharge, and air filtering which are especially important for metropolitan areas, where most farmland preservation programs are found.

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Farming is a $200 billion industry nationwide and an important sector of many local economies.

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940 million acres is dedicated to farming and ranching uses; however, only about 230 million acres are actually used in crop production.

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Each year, more than one million acres of farmland are converted to other uses, mainly in metropolitan areas.

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Metropolitan countries produce most of the nation’s fruits, vegetables, and milk, and about onequarter of all farm output.

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They are expected to absorb most of the nation’s population growth in the twenty-first century; therefore, farmland preservation in an essential growth management element.

Development threat on farmlands –

Farmland is threatened by two types of development; large scale urban and suburban expansion, and scattered housing, office, and store construction.

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Development of farmland to nonagricultural uses may have significant consequences for food production.

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Farming as a practice today in highly inappropriate with suburban residential and commercial development; therefore, separating developing areas from good farming areas is an important step in preserving farming in a community.

Local Government Role: –

Local governments can legislate farmland protection programs and use financial incentives and land-use regulations to minimize land-use conflicts between farmers and newcomers, and to implement a comprehensive plan that identifies farmland and agriculture as valuable resources that should be maintained within the community.

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A local government should try to preserve a critical mass of farms and farmland to manage development and to enable the farm support businesses to remain profitable and maintain agriculture as a local industry.

Farmland Preservation Tools: –

There are a variety of financial incentives, laws, and regulatory tools available for farmland preservation.

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These tools work to preserve farmland for the short, medium or long term.

1. Agricultural Districts  

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An agricultural district is an area where farming is the preferred land-use.

Landowners receive a number of benefits that may include exemption from sewer and water assessments, greater protection from eminent domain*, use value taxation, and eligibility to sell development rights.

In return for these benefits. Landowners usually agree to not develop their land for a certain number of years.

2. Differential Assessment –

Differential assessment involves determining the value of farmland for property tax purposes based on its use value for farming, rather than on its “highest and best” use for potential development.

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There are three types of differential assessment:

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Preferential assessment

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Deferred taxation

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Restrictive agreement

Preferential assessment –

Preferential assessment gives farmland owners a reduced assessment if they meet standards for a certain minimum number of acres and value of farm output. If the farm owner sells the farm for development, the owner is not required to pay back the taxes that would have been due if the farmland had been taxed at its “highest and best” use.

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Therefore, it does not act as a long term preservation tool, especially where the value of farmland is greater for development.

Deferred taxation –

Deferred taxation provides a reduced assessment, but if the landowner sells farmland for development, then the landowner must pay at least some of the tax benefits in addition to an interest penalty.

Restrictive agreement –

A restrictive agreement is a contract between the landowner and local government under which the landowner agrees not to sell the farm for development for a certain number of years in return for a preferential use-value assessment.

3. Right-to-Farm Law –

Farming can generate noise, dust, animal odors, and chemical sprays that spill onto neighborhood properties. The right-to-farm law protects farmers against nuisance lawsuits from neighbors if the farmers are using standard farming practices.

4. Agricultural Zoning –

Agricultural zoning is designed to protect farmland from incompatible nonfarm uses. It is the most widely implement land-use regulation to protect farmland from development.

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There are several types of agricultural zoning. Exclusive agricultural zoning allows only farmrelated uses. Nonexclusive agricultural zoning varies according to the nonfarm uses allowed, the minimum farm size allowed, and the size of setbacks or buffer areas between farms and nonfarm properties.

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There are three basic types of nonexclusive agricultural zoning:

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Large minimum lot size

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Fixed area ratio

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Sliding scale

Large minimum lot size –

For large minimum lot size, the minimum lot size should reflect the minimum-size viable farm, which varies by the type of agriculture.

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The larger the minimum lot size, the less likely no farmers will be interested in buying the land.

The price of the land will tend to reflect a value affordable to farmers.

Large minimum lot size –

Environmental cleanup and demolition are land values that are relatively low and cannot accommodate nonvalue added costs so they require a mix of public incentives and private financing to be viable in the market. Federal government, local, county, and state governments offer a variety of incentives to support the assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment of the brownfield sites.

Fixed area ratio zoning In fixed area ratio zoning, a density ratio controls how many nonfarm dwellings there shall be per a number of acres; for example, a ratio of one nonfarm dwelling per 25 acres and limiting the building lot to two acres.

Sliding scale zoning –

Sliding scale zoning allows more nonfarm dwellings to be subdivided off smaller farm parcels. It is designed to appease owners of small parcels within agricultural zones and tends to result in more nonfarm dwellings than Large minimum lot size or fixed area ratio zoning.

Other elements of agricultural zoning  

Setbacks in the agricultural zoning ordinance describe the distance between a farm building and a road, a property line, or other buildings. Setbacks vary according to the type of agriculture.

For example, some farmlands require setbacks between a few hundred feet and a few thousand feet, depending on the number of animals, because of the intensity of animal odors.

5. Urban Growth Boundary –

A growth boundary is a line on a map within which there is enough land to accommodate urban expansion, typically up to 20 years.

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The government agrees not to extend urban type services beyond the growth boundary.

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This encourages development inside the boundary and reduces the likelihood of development onto nearby farmlands.

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Growth boundaries can be expanded over time as needed.

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Local governments that decide to use growth boundaries must clearly state that the boundary is serving a public purpose.

6. Donation of Development Rights 

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The right to develop land is one of several rights that come with landownership. This right can be sold or given away separately from the other rights. If it is removed, the land remains private property, but it becomes limited to farming and open space.

Landowners can donate development rights to a private, nonprofit land trust and use the value of donation as an income tax deduction and possibly as an estate tax deduction, depending on the size of the estate.

7. Purchase of Development Rights

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The purchase of development rights involves the voluntary sale of the right to develop a property by a landowner to a government agency or private nonprofit land trust.

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The landowner receives a cash payment in return for signing a legally binding agreement that restricts the use of the land to farming and open space; however, the land remains private with no right of public access.

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The sale of development rights lowers the value of the farm for estate tax purposes, helping in the transfer of the farm to the next generation which will not have development rights to sell, but the farm will retain a value for farming and can be sold to someone else to farm.

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By purchasing development rights, development will be directed away from the farming area, which would reduce the complaints of nonfarm neighbors on the farmers.

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Approximately a dozen countries have preserved more than 30,000 acres with the purchase of development rights.

7. Transfer of Development Rights  

The transfer of development rights allows development rights to be moved to another site to develop that other property at a higher density than it would normally be allowed.

For farming preservation purposes, after the development rights transfer, the sending area is then restricted to farming.

View shed Protection –

It is an area that is visible from a point, a line, or a specific locality. It also can be referred to an area from which an object can be seen. Topography, vegetation, structures, and other physical barriers usually define the borders of the view sheds, but in some cases can be limited by distance, change in visual character, or change in land use.

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Public areas such as public roadways, public parks, and high rise buildings are calculated by view sheds.

Why do we use view shed protection?

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To protect historic and scenic view sheds.

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To protect a resource’s natural or scenic views.

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To protect the views and settings of landmark buildings.

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It is acts as a foundation of a community’s identity and wellbeing. Public health safety and welfare.

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To intensify property values.

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Contribute to the economy.

How does View shed protection contribute to the economy?

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The view shed protection has a strong effect on the economic development.

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It maintains high property values.

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Enhances tourism.

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Enhances the region’s quality of life.

Brownfield is a term used in urban planning to describe land previously used for industrial purposes or some commercial uses.

Such land may have been contaminated with hazardous waste or pollution or is feared to be so. In the United States, it is estimated by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that there are between 500,000 and 1 million brownfield sites existing.

Brownfield sites are scattered throughout the united states but highly concentrated in large metropolitan areas with a history of industrial activity.

The Liability Issues Up to 1980, the United states had hazardous and industrial wastes that were largely unregulated.

One of the main issues of the brownfield redevelopment, is the concern over legal liability. The uncertainty of rehabilitation costs for contaminated sites can frighten away many potential developers and investors. In an effort to combat such liability risks, laws at the federal and state levels have been implemented to minimize risk. In the 1980’s two of the most influential federal laws affecting the redevelopment of brownfields are the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) were passed by congress and signed into law.

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CERCLA, also known as “Superfund,” establishes a liability system in which responsible parties must pay for the cleanup of contaminated sites. It also establishes a trust fund used to pay for the remediation of such contaminated sites. The US EPA created National Priority list (NPL) through Superfund, which concentrate on the superfund sites.

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The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) is a “cradle to the grave” program, managing the generation, transportation, storage, treatment, and disposal of hazardous waste. And regulates the actions of operating businesses. It provided the US EPA with corrective action authority, with which it can demand environmental compliance.

Unlike the superfund sites that pose a real threat to human health and the environment because of higher levels of contamination, brownfield introduced an economic and social threat because of their development prevention.

In 1995, the US EPA formed a brownfield initiative through state voluntary cleanup programs to address the states about the vast majority of contaminated sites.

In 1998, the US EPA launched the RCRA Brownfields prevention initiative as it responds to concerns raised by cities, industries, and communities who have recently begun emphasizing the importance to look further superfund to address issues at brownfields in a more comprehensive manner so that the land better serves the needs of the community, either through more productive commercial or residential development.

The driver for brownfield cleanup and reuse is redevelopment. There are steps for the redevelopment plan that must be put in consideration, but in some cases where the sites pose a serious danger to health, there will be no redevelopment plan or a project driving the effort.

Before a Brownfield site can be cleaned up and reused, several activities should take place to help ensure successful redevelopment.

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Pre-development activities are

1. Securing of funds.

2. Identifying potential redevelopment uses.

3. Involving the community in the Brownfield redevelopment process.

4. Interfacing with regulatory agencies.

5. Determining the extent and type of site contamination.

6. Dealing with liability issues.

Steps of Brownfield Redevelopment Project: 1. Site selection and control.

2. Development team creation.

3. Market analysis.

4. Environmental assessments.

5. Engineering and traffic assessments.

6. Political support.

7. entitlements example zoning and regulatory approvals.

8. Project design.

9. Financial feasibility and incentives.

Environmental Assessment –

It is essential for a brownfields site to have an environmental assessment conducted.

Environmental assessments are based on 2 phases.

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Phase 1: It is obligatory for all brownfield sites to have phase 1 of environmental assessment. It involves a review of past and present records, identifies any chemical processes that took place, a site inspection, and interviews with owners, occupants, neighbors and local government officials.

While sampling and laboratory analysis are not always included in this phase, they should still be conducted by an environmental professional trained in the appropriate standards. The review of government records and interviews may take a lot of me. If a Phase I identifies potential contamination of the site by hazardous materials, a Phase II may be conducted.

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Phase 2: Sometimes may be called phase 3, it includes sampling and laboratory analysis to confirm the presence of hazardous materials on their location on the site. In phase 2 investigation is more expensive than phase 1 because of the scientific sampling and technical review that is required. It is important to work with a qualified consultant because there is no standards for conducting a phase 2. Phase 2 report establishes cleanup goals, identifies future land use restrictions, determines remediation techniques, identifies remediation risks, and develops a remedial action plan and timeline. These goals and action plan should be related to the standards of the state voluntary cleanup programs.

Institutional Controls and Engineered Barriers: –

They are used to meet risk-based cleanup standards without fully eliminating the contaminated soil. The usage of property by the owner for only industrial or commercial purpose which requires less remediation than a residential use is an example of Industrial Control.

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When a building is constructed over a contaminated area to block the pathway of human exposure to the contaminants is an example of Engineered Barrier.

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Institutional controls, as well as engineered barriers can only be effective at reducing risk if they are both properly maintained.

There are several points that must be taken into consideration for a redevelopment strategy for a brownfield site: –

Barriers to clear title.

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Obsolescence of any existing building on the property.

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Public infrastructure.

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Type, level, and location of the environmental contamination.

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Costs and risks.

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Market conditions.

Viability Environmental cleanup and demolition are land values that are relatively low and cannot accommodate nonvalue added costs so they require a mix of public incentives and private financing to be viable in the market. Federal government, local, county, and state governments offer a variety of incentives to support the assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment of the brownfield sites.

There are many potential benefits for brownfields redevelopment to their host communities. Prime redevelopment areas are large population clusters, transportation systems, and networks of suppliers and buyers that are located near the brownfield sites. Reusing brownfields can create notable community benefits such as –

Increasing the local tax base.

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Generating job growth.

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Creating community amenities and services.

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Encouraging equitable development.

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Reusing existing infrastructure.

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Increasing surrounding property values.

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Protecting human health.

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Improving the environment.

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Reducing urban sprawl.

It provides additional tools for the public and private sector to promote sustainable brownfield cleanup and reuse: 1) Assessment grants, which provide funding for brownfield inventories, planning environmental assessments, and community outreach.

2) Revolving loan fund grants, which provide funding to capitalize loans that are used to clean up brownfields.

3) Cleanup grants, which provide direct funding for cleanup activities.

4) Job training grants, which provide environmental training for residents of brownfields communities.

5) Training, research, and technical assistance grants, which fund organizations supporting local and national brownfields efforts.

6) State and tribal response programs grants, which fund the establishment or enhancement of state and tribal response programs.