Brownfield Impact Assessment Report Fall 2014
Municipality Types 7% 2% 5% 19% City Town Village Specialized Municipality Other 67% Population Size Represented 9% 19% 16% Under 2,500 2,501 to 10,000 Over 10,000 Other 56%
Average Number of Brownfields in each municipality: 5 Types of Brownfields Gas Station Chemical/petroleum warehouse/store Automotive repair shop or dealer Establishment selling oil/gas/chemicals Refinery Other Dry cleaner Manufacturing Painting business Foundry Unknown Mill 19 11 9 8 7 5 5 4 3 2 1 1 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 Type of Brownfield Sample of Comments: not an original story...former retail gas stations left fenced, underutilized in otherwise mature, attractive neighbourhoods...
Owners of Brownfields 30 25 24 20 15 10 9 5 0 2 2 Private Sector Municipality Not for Profit Other Sample of Comments: Currently it is cheaper for oil/gas owners of property to buy up the land and sit on it then to remediate to a reclamation state. If the regulations were tweaked it would allow those companies to be more open about redevelopment for other purposes through a land management/mitigation strategy. The owners of two sites have refused to pay taxes hoping that the town will take the property in a tax sale and thus get the liability. The negative impact these brownfield sites have on our community is with regards to unsightly premises and the difficulty in contacting companies, let alone having them come and clean them up. There are numerous sites in high profile areas. The private ownership model allows brownfield owners to make decisions that negatively impact neighbouring businesses/communities while still complying with legal/environmental requirements of the province...conspicuous gaps in communities for decades.
Location of Brownfields 20 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 19 Downtown / Main Street 18 11 10 3 Industrial Area Town Entrance Residential Area Other Sample of Comments We have 4 sites in our community that are in prime locations for development and the company keeps putting us off each year. Since 2009 they have indicated they are moving forward with redevelopment but never happens. Very frustrating as the Town has invested significant dollars into our roads, downtown, and property yet these guys continue to be able to delay at their own will. We have two brownfield at the entrance of our downtown. We are trying to do a downtown beautification and revitalization. We are also trying to realign our highway and we cannot because of these two sites. The companies will not cooperate or even maintain the sites. We are afraid to disturb the areas surrounding the sites, which is preventing us from moving forward. Most of these sites are in locations that are very desirable for commercial development. It makes our Downtown uninviting because it is the first property leading into downtown.
Barriers to Redevelopment Liability Concerns Environmental Regulations Low Land Value Lack of Information Resistance from Property Owners Lack of Capital Lack of Coordination with Province Lack of Staff / Expertise Poor Coordination with utilities Low Demand for Property Inadequate Infrastructure Low Community Interest Lack of Support from Financial Institutions Neighbourhood Conditions (crime, poverty, etc.) 4.21 4.04 4.00 3.71 3.63 3.58 3.42 3.13 2.57 2.38 2.38 2.25 2.17 1.43 0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 Average Rating Sample of Comments: Each property has a unique issue - but the equation - remediation cost against redevelopment opportunity makes a project advance or halt. The City owns two parcels of land in the downtown which have been actively marketed for several years without a final sale agreement. The estimated cost of remediation is equal to or exceeds the land. The City would be fortunate to sell the land for no revenue or will have to look at some type of incentive, which are very limited under Alberta legislation. With many available sites for sale in the downtown, coupled with the social vagrancy issues of the downtown, the City is challenged in meeting its redevelopment goals of the Greater Downtown Action Plan. A small business that was constructed recently on an un-contaminated lot, has had difficulty trying to attract buyers because of contaminated land across the road. Brownfields affect a wide area and environmental regulations have made financial institutions and investors wary of any possible neighbouring issues. There are several brownfield sites located in prime locations in each of our hamlets, but land values are not high enough to financially warrant their remediation. Much cheaper to build someplace else. This has created many parking lots in our communities simply because nothing else can be done with the site unless a significant capital investment is made by someone. Our top priority site has been vacant and underutilized since 2003. Concern
regarding offsite contamination in the road right-of-way and the potential risks to the utilities, and to employees conducting maintenance work in the area. Wanted to use a brownfield site located along main street for a neighborhood park. The conditions attached to potentially using the site were prohibitive. Everything must be temporary, and able to be removed with 30 days notice. Which community group, chamber of commerce or municipality is going to invest tens of thousands of dollars to pretty up private property, with no long term lease, and consider it a good idea!? This particular site. The whole concept that the municipality should be cleaning up these sites is just ridiculous. Constant battle with very little onus on the land owners to reclaim, no authority at municipal level for brownfields and no help from Alberta Environment to force clean up. These owners have pulled millions out of a community through their previous businesses and have now left the community with an eye sore of underutilized prime commercial land.