Suburban 04/15/19

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Rep. Arndt

Brownfield reform bill gets hearing By Larry Limpf News Editor news@presspublications.com

Wave action

Even though it's spring, winter keeps trying to make a comeback. Addison McNutt, age 10, dresses warm for a recent visit to Marblehead, unconcerned with the wave behind her. (Photo by Maggi Dandar)

Kmart

Oregon to finalize agreement for property Oregon on Monday held a meeting on downtown development in city council chambers. The focus was mostly on the development of property where the former Kmart store is located on Navarre Avenue, an area where the city wants to develop a downtown area. Oregon in the last couple of years has been in the process of acquiring property in an effort to create a downtown area. In 2017, council passed a resolution in support of designating a zoning overlay as the first step in creating a downtown area that would include retail, residential, an entertainment district, and open green space along Navarre Avenue. The overlay district covers three areas bordered by Isaac Streets Drive, Navarre Avenue, Coy Road, Dustin Road, and Pickle Road, an area that totals 167 acres. The goal of the overlay district is to make it easier for the city to welcome modern development. Developers will have the option to bring buildings up closer to the front lot line to make some walkable space, and to move in some innovative ways with

Service with You in Mind

million.

Ultimately, our expectation is, we’re going to put a developer in our shoes. This is a risk the city is going to take.

By Kelly J. Kaczala News Editor kkaczala@presspublications.com

parking. To that end, the city acquired 30 acres of property from Navarre Avenue to Pickle Road, and property south of Dustin Road, including the former WOHO radio station property on Pickle Road. Plans call for that area to be mixed use residential and retail development. The city appropriated $3 million in the municipal budget for land acquisition and development in the core of the city. Oregon purchased the 30-acre site, behind the former Kmart on Navarre, for $1.4

Due diligence Oregon also authorized a ground lease/ purchase agreement for the former Kmart property for a 120 day due diligence period that ends on April 26. The city wants the property as part of its downtown development project. During the due diligence period, the city wanted to determine whether it should enter into a 10-year lease with an option at the end of the 10 years to buy the property for $3.7 million, with lease payments of approximately $300,000 per year during the period. The city also had to determine whether the cost of demolition, the interest in development, and its capacity to develop were practical in an effort to move forward. Final engineering estimates will be obtained for demolition to determine suitability for possible development. “We’re in the final weeks of our due diligence phase,” City Administrator Mike Beazley said at the meeting on Monday. “The title work is in its final stages.” The administration has recommended the city move forward with the agreement, Continued on page 2

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A bill that would reform brownfield regulations in Ohio has been re-introduced in the state legislature. Representative Steve Arndt, R – Port Clinton, said House Bill 168 would stimulate economic development by incorporating into Ohio law the federal bona fide prospective purchaser defense for someone interested in purchasing contaminated properties. Rep. Arndt provided sponsor testimony for the bill last week to the House Civil Justice Committee. “In many areas throughout Ohio, there are many slightly contaminated properties, like the site of former gas stations or dry cleaning businesses, that are not currently in productive use simply because of a business our current regulatory structure says is too cost prohibitive for developers to pursue,” he told the committee. The federal purchaser defense was established as part of the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) – the program created to regulate what are called Superfund sites. Arndt said federal statute provides purchasers with an affirmative defense who have knowledge of existing contamination if the purchaser follows the appropriate protocol. His bill would establish state level immunity for potential purchasers of contaminated property through the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency if the protocol already in place in federal law is followed. Under the protocol, potential purchasers would have to review federal and state databases for information about possible contamination on the property, interview persons knowledgeable about the property and have the property inspected by an environmental professional for signs of contamination. Continued on page 2

Q uote

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Bryan Golden See page 7

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