Urban Planning and Economic Development News Magazine

URBAN PLANNING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT January 2012 January

NEWS MAGAZINE

A Solar Panel is a Solar Panel, Right?

Alternative Energy for Economic Development

Tourism Planning Tools for Sustainable Economic Development

Bad Planning Vs Urban Economic Development

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Cover Photo, “Morning Sunrise at North Hoyle”; North Hoyle offshore wind farm, Liverpool Bay, Irish Sea Courtsey of Arron Crowe, Denbighshire, UK. For more information about Arron Crowe and his work you can contact him at: acrowephotography@gmail.

2 “Partnering for a Brighter Tomorrow” FEATURE ARTICLES: Alternative Energy Solutions A Solar Panel is a Solar Panel, Right? A closer look at solar power options for your home, business or public facility. By Clayton T Grow, PE, LEED AP 4

Alternative Energy for Economic Development Implementation of Biomass, Hydro and Solar Power By Alison Bates 39 Transportation Bad Planning Vs Urban Economic Development Why did Cicloparqueaderos bike storage feature not alleviate urban exclusión in Bogota? By Solenne Cucchi 8 Shinn Pamela by Photo Economy Tourism Planning Tools for Sustainable Economic Redevelopment Development By Tracy Mullins, MS, AICP 15 Brownfield Redevelopment in Michigan The forgotten element of community planning Urban Scape By Flo McCormack 32 Is the International Architectual Style Sapping Restorative Development Regulations Urban Soul? By Kaizer Rangwala, AICP, CEcD, CNU-A 36 By Annette Fehr-Stomp 20 Law Credits Photo Credits 47 Redevelopment and Blight in Flux San Diego Superior Court Affirms High Legal Threshold for Municipalities to Declare an Area “Blighted” for Purposes of Redevelopment By Anthony Nash 23 Agriculture Urban Agriculture A growing trend By Beth Hagenbuch, ALSA 26 Photo by Niko Paul Bovenberg Paul Niko by Photo

A Solar Panel is a Solar Panel, Right? A closer look at solar power options for your home, business or public facility. By Clayton T Grow, PE, LEED AP

Growing Sustainably: Your guide to green building This column, written by an engineer with experience designing sustainable building practices in new construction and renovation projects, will keep you up-to-date on useful strategies to help your building or construction project use energy Image via SunVest Solar Inc. more efficiently, generate less waste, and reduce its impact on the environment. Urban planners, municipality officials, building owners and oper- Thin-film PV panels are considered the “second ators, engineers, and architects will benefit from generation” of solar panel design. The general princi- the sage advice and easily understood explana- pal of converting the sun’s rays to DC electricity and tions of the often confusing, but essential, world then inverting it to AC is the same as standard PV of sustainable construction products and prac- panels, but the materials used to make the panels are tices. drastically different. Manufacturers of thin-film PV’s use nanotechnology to reduce material costs, fabri- A Common Misconception cating these futuristic panels from non-silicon materials, including copper, indium, gallium, and seleni- A design team looking to use green building practices um. The flexibility of the film used to make these in new or renovated buildings will, at some point, innovative panels allows them to be configured in al- consider using solar panels. The idea of solar panels most any size or shape to best meet the needs of a that many people have is one of billboard-like assem- project. blies with sturdy vertical supports that require a significant amount of rooftop or open area to convert the sun’s rays to electricity.

The truth is, there are several different types of solar panels, and one of the most popular types does not convert sunlight to electricity at all. This article will explain the differences, advantages, disadvantages, typical applications, and supplemental information sources of three main categories of solar panels: standard photovoltaic (PV); thin-film PV; and solar thermal collectors. Three Categories of Panels Standard PV panels are the prototypical solar panel that most people have in mind when they envision solar panels. These panels are often mounted on rooftops or in open areas, where they convert energy from Thin-film PV panels on a residential roof the sun to DC electricity (#1). This DC current flows in New South Wales, Australia. Image via to the inverter (#2), where it is inverted to AC elec- SolarShop on Flickr. tricity, to be used on-site (#3), with the excess getting sent and sold back to the grid (#4).

A Solar Panel is a Solar Panel, Right? A closer look at solar power options for your home, business or public facility. By Clayton T Grow, PE, LEED AP

Solar thermal collectors may look similar to stand- Standard PV Panel ard PV panels, but are quite different. The most com- Examples mon form of solar thermal collectors are flat plate collectors, which are panels that consist of a transparent cover, a dark-colored flat solar energy absorber, and Standard PV panels are ideal for installation on pro- heat-transport tubing. Instead of converting the sun’s jects that have plenty of would-be wasted space. light directly to electricity, these devices are config- Buildings with extensive roof areas and projects with ured with a series of fluid-filled pipes inside the panel. large open areas are a good fit for a standard PV solar A pumping system circulates this fluid - water or a wa- array. While warehouses, factories, and campuses ter/anti-freeze mix - that is circulated from inside the with large open fields can best benefit from a PV -ar building, through the panel tubing out in, where the ray by generating large percentages of their electricity fluid then transfers the heat it absorbed from the sun use, smaller commercial and residential applications to a hot water storage tank. The tubing in the solar can also achieve significant electricity savings when collectors is very well insulated on the non-sunlight properly configured. side in order to minimize heat dissipation to the outdoor environment. Thin-film PV Examples Many properties do not have sufficient area in which to install large supports for a standard PV array, so thin-film PV may be more appropriate. Recent increases in efficiency and cost reduction are making thin-film technology viable for more applications. The advantage of installing a thin-film array is that they can be installed with a very low profile, sometimes even using a peel-and-stick application. If building owners are concerned with maintaining a sleek aesthetic for their building or if large support structures are infeasible, a thin-film PV system may be most appropriate. Solar Thermal Collector Examples Because solar thermal collectors and PV panels Schematic of solar themal collector and storage tank serve very different functions, a building owner configuration. Image via Inkwibbna on Wikimedia could conceivably install both types to help de- Commons. fray the costs of both electricity and heating. So- lar thermal panels are most cost-effective when used for buildings that have a high hot water de- Less common variations of solar thermal collectors mand, such as restaurants, hotels, laundromats, include: evacuated tube collectors, parabolic troughs car washes, or buildings with hydronic heating and dishes, and solar power towers. These are more systems. While they can be used for essentially complex and experimental technologies and are not any building that uses hot water, the payback pe- commonly implemented, except by large utilities or riod is shorter for buildings with high hot water research organizations. demand.

A Solar Panel is a Solar Panel, Right? A closer look at solar power options for your home, business or public facility. By Clayton T Grow, PE, LEED AP

Solar LEED Credits If you’re considering LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, solar PV panels and solar thermal panels can help achieve the following credits in the United States Green Building

Council’s (USGBC®) LEED Green Building Rating Sodons Energy Solutions by Photo System, version 2009 for New Construction and Ma- jor Renovations (NC+MR): Energy Savings 1. Sustainable Sites Credit 7.1: Heat Island Effect – Nonroof (1 point) The amount of energy you will save each year 2. Energy and Atmosphere (EA) Prerequisite 2: with a solar power system depends on the size of Minimum Energy Performance (required) your building, the size of the system, the climate, the price of electricity, and a slew of other fac- 3. EA Credit 1: tors. For an appropriately sized system, if a Optimize Energy Performance (1-19 points) building owner receives all of the federal, state, and local tax credits and rebates available to de- 4. EA Credit 2: fray a portion of the system installation costs, a On-site Renewable Energy (1-7 points) home or small business PV system can have a payback period as short as 4-5 years. This figure 5. EA Credit 6: also factors in the increase in property value that Green Power (2 points) benefits a building owner that installs a solar PV system. 6. Innovation in Design Credit 1: Source: PV FAQs, U.S. Dept. of Energy, National Innovation in Design (1-5 points) Renewable Energy Laboratory, http://www.nrel. gov/docs/fy04osti/35489.pdf 7. Regional Priority Credit 1: Solar thermal collector systems installed for buildings Regional Priority (1-4 points) with a high demand for hot water – restaurants, car washes, et al. – can often pay for themselves in less than a year, taking into account the tax rebates and incentives available for these systems in most states. Another factor to consider when determining the payback period is the price fluctuation of the traditional method of water heating in your area, which is natural gas in most areas of the country. Residential installations can also see a reasonable payback period, especially if a solar thermal system can be incorpo- rated into a hydronic heating system.

More information about energy savings and payback periods for solar thermal systems is available at the US Department of Energy site below:

Photo courtesy BWL courtesy Photo http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/water_ heating/index.cfm/mytopic=12910

A Solar Panel is a Solar Panel, Right? A closer look at solar power options for your home, business or public facility. By Clayton T Grow, PE, LEED AP Photo by Pamela Shinn Pamela by Photo Resources Many organizations can help guide you through the process of selecting, sizing, and financing a solar energy system. A few reputable resources – both government and private-sector organizations – are listed below.

1. United States Department of Energy (US DOE) - http://energy.gov/science-innovation/ energy-sources/renewable-energy/solar - a division

Photo by Karla Peiper Karla by Photo of the federal government dedicated to informing the public about energy.

The Right System for 2. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)- http://www.nrel.gov/solar/ - a division of Your Building the US DOE dedicated to renewable energy research. Factors to consider when deciding if a solar PV or thermal system is right for your residence or com- 3. SunVest Solar - http://www.sunvest.com/ - a mercial building include: private, full-service solar electric installation company. 1. Your monthly electricity bill 4. Solar Rating & Certification Corporation 2. Your monthly natural gas bill (if used for (SRCC) - http://www.solar-rating.org/ - a non-profit water heating) organization that provides ratings, certifications, and standards for solar thermal products. 3. Your hot-water demand 5. American Solar Energy Society (ASES) 4. The space available for a solar system – www.ases.org – a non-profit association of solar (roof, parking lot, yard, etc.) professionals and advocates whose goal is to speed the transition to a sustainable energy economy. 5. Average days of direct sunlight in your region About the Writer

6. The local or state solar energy incentives Clayton T. Grow, a licensed professional engineer available in your area (Database of State and sustainability advocate, is an idependent writer Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency: for the engineering and construction industries. http://www.dsireusa.org/incentives/index. More info at www.TheWritingEngineer.com. cfm?state=us )

Bad Planning Vs Urban Economic Development Why did Cicloparqueaderos bike storage feature not alleviate urban exclusión in Bogota? By Solenne Cucchi

and driven by his broader vision for a more egalitarian city. This system has some connecting points with the city’s cycle path or CicloRuta through free and secure bike storage called cicloparqueaderos. It is my understanding that bicycle and public transport do not compete with each other but are comple- mentary (see Fig. 1), despites that initially, both networks have been implemented as two parallel transport systems presenting integrative features and impacts. Phot by Terry Farrant Terry by Phot Bad Planning Vs Urban Economic Development This article aims to bring to attention how a lack of consistent urban planning can ruin the potential contribution of transportation to urban economic development. It takes the example of Bogotá, Colombia, and the battle against urban exclusion. The concept of urban exclusion, ‘urban’ meaning both the physical entity of the city, its population and its complex organization, is introduced as the combination of spatial segregation and a lack of access to social services, political participation, economic opportunities and cultural recognition. Poor transport service constitutes a ecoefficiency.bligoo.com Source major barrier to accessing job opportunities, reducing the size of effective labour market, which has been TransMilenio provides social advantages in the single presented as a key element for urban economic devel- fare applied regardless of the travelled distance and opment by many eminent economists such as Remy the free feeder-buses distributed mostly in poor areas. Prud’Homme. Intermodality, understood as an inte- These favour income redistribution from the main grative space where users can easily switch from one corridors of the system, used by richer people who means of transport to another, can partially bring a so- contribute to pay for feeder-bus services without us- lution to public transportation failure if well designed. ing them, to the periphery where those are running. It can allow more people to reach the main activity centers by combining the means of transport that are On the other hand, with a length of 344 km, Bogota´s more appropriate for them. In Bogotá, this intermo- CicloRuta is the longest bike path network in Latin dality could be found in the combination between bi- America, mainly distributed through the periph- cycle and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system. However, eral and poorest neighbourhoods. By connecting all the lack of social planning added to socio-economic parts of the city, the CicloRuta constitutes a key el- and political limits actually failed to integrate the ement of economic and spatial integration and con- excluded citizen to main job centers and to extend stitutes a major (and often only) recreational space the effective labour market size for the companies. for the poorest residents. It also recognizes bicycles Bogota is well-known in the planning field for the as major mobility assets for them with a number physical transformation implemented under the gov- of daily commutes by bicycle up to 4.5%, and more ernment of Enrique Peñalosa, articulated around a than 80% of cyclists living in poor neighborhoods. Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system called TransMilenio See figure 1.

Bad Planning Vs Urban Economic Development Why did Cicloparqueaderos bike storage feature not alleviate urban exclusión in Bogota? By Solenne Cucchi

LEGEND

TransMilenioTransMilenio network network Terminals Terminals CicloRuta network TransMilenioCicloRuta network terminals with cicloparqueaderos TransMilenio stations with cicloparqueaderos TransMilenio terminals with cicloparqueaderos Figure 1 Coverage of CicloRuta network and TransMilenio system in Bogota (Source: ITDP Colombia) A brief discussion of Bogota’s socio-economic struc- As one can see, the poorest neighborhoods, which ture helps understanding the importance of down- also suffer from capability constraints in terms of town access for the residents’ economic interests. transport due to longer commute and poor public Bogota is usually described as a polarized city along transport service, are the farthest from the formal a north-south axis. However, using the DANE socio- job centres. The creation of cicloparqueaderos within economic stratification model, which determines the TransMilenio stations has therefore an interesting po- price of urban services in each area, as an indicator for tential for urban inclusion and for economic develop- the price of rent, Bogota’s urban structure appears to ment bringing more workers in the CBD by becoming roughly follow the monocentric Alonso-Mills-Muth an alternative feeder for TransMilenio for low-income model. With the exception of wealthier pockets, and residents in areas outside its coverage area. It pro- taking into account the Andean topography limiting vides a space for intermodality between two very urban expansion, its price gradient declines from the efficient transportation networks that should allevi- city centre or CBD, where most of the activities, espe- ate mobility-related exclusion in Bogota by reduc- cially economic ones, are located (Fig. 2). ing mobility barriers, providing a cheaper and more flexible mode of transport, a safe environment to store bicycle and access to a fast mass-transit system.

Bad Planning Vs Urban Economic Development Why did Cicloparqueaderos bike storage feature not alleviate urban exclusión in Bogota? By Solenne Cucchi the CicloRuta, and that Trans- Milenio moves on above 198,000 passengers during peak hours, the service offered is negligi- ble as it provides protected free bike storage to less than 1% of both networks’ users. This lack of infrastructure and availability of cicloparqueaderos resources renders its social impact mini- mal. Additionaly, two major political barriers emerge when this low number is questioned. Firstly, political tension between the two left-wing last municipal governments with the image

of bicycles and TransMilenio Photo by Carlos Felipe Padro Felipe Carlos by Photo strongly associated with Peña- losa (Independent) is a main obstacle to the implementation of more cycling facilities in Bo- gota. The last mayors did not want to invest in infrastructure that could make publicity for their opponent. The public investment in CicloRuta network development illustrates this lack of political will towards the pro- motion of bicycle usage. While the Peñalosa and Mockus ad- ministrations built 330 km of cycling facilities from 1998 to 2003, construction fell to 15 km under the next administration

Photo by Carlos Felipe Padro Felipe Carlos by Photo and to 4 km since 2008, with a poor maintenance of the exist- However, it actually is a failure in terms of full soci- ing infrastructure. This abandonment of cycling con- etal integration and social objectives. My analysis of cerns is also reflected in a declining amount of insti- the case conducted to identify several barriers to the tutional resources dedicated to cycling policy. As an urban inclusiveness that the cicloparqueaderos can example, the bikeway management division of the provide. Urban Development Institute (IDU), which employed 8 people in 1998, has closed, and even the 3 people The scarce number of cicloparqueaderos in Bogo- in charge of cycling in the public space division have tá, 1,640 in total distributed among 6 out of the 114 been removed. With the CicloRuta, it is the theme of TransMilenio stations, is the first observation that one public space policy the political effort has turned its can make when studying this street fixture. Consider- back on. ing that more than 250,000 citizens commute daily on

Bad Planning Vs Urban Economic Development Why did Cicloparqueaderos bike storage feature not alleviate urban exclusión in Bogota? By Solenne Cucchi

(lowest)

(highest) 1

1: Downtown, mainly strata 6 and 5

3 2: Mainly strata 4 and 3

3: Mainly strata 4 and 3, with a richness pocket in the north.

4: Mainly strata 2 and 1 4 5: Informal settlements

Figure 2 Price gradientFigure of 1 Bogota Price gradient based on of the Bogota District based Planning on socio Secretary economic 2009 structure socio-economic stratification.

Bad Planning Vs Urban Economic Development Why did Cicloparqueaderos bike storage feature not alleviate urban exclusión in Bogota? By Solenne Cucchi

Secondly, the weak cycling lobby in Bogota, which on main-trunks, which operators’ revenue depends impedes the formulation of a sustainable cycling on the number of kilometres covered. Second, the policy, as well as institutional stubbornness with re- feeder buses service, which operators’ income de- spect to the bureaus in charge of cycling is apparent pends on the number of passengers transported. as another explanation for the weak political commitment regarding cycling and intermodal integration. Imbalance emerges with an economics’ classic: the Indeed, it has not been defined by any clear institu- free-rider issue. Indeed feeder-buses, to which access tional scheme to manage the bicycle theme in an in- is free, are not exclusively used by TransMilenio users, tegral way. There are different divisions in charge, in but allow local people to move within the neighbour- different public entities, but in a disarticulated way hoods where the service is provided. Those free rid- and without a visible responsible person for the com- ers, not taken into account in the fare’s construction, munity. The responsibility for the cicloparqueaderos generate a negative financial balance for the company. features is currently left to TransMilenio S.A. by the public administration. However, this small company Bicycles have therefore been viewed as a solution to does not have the capacity to fully develop the in- alleviate the feeder-buses burden, and the operational frastructure for the needed full-integration between costs of TransMilenio. The very first objective in build- BRT and cycling, and a self-sustaining cycling policy. ing cicloparqueaderos was to foster a switch in modal access to the system, from feeder-buses to bicycles, by At this point I think it is important to look at two providing users a safe place to store their bike. This main aspects of the case: the motivation behind the objective is clear when considering the location of all implementation of cicloparqueaderos, in order to de- but the last Cicloparqueadero implemented in 2010 in fine whether social concerns were initially part of the the Ricaurte station: all were built in stations provid- plan, and their users’ profile. ing feeder buses services, making bicycles an alternative ‘feeder’ for public transportation, and in stations Curiously, despite the fact that some cycle paths have where there was space, and not where the major de- been clearly designed to feed the TransMilenio sys- mand was. This is clear with the Ricaurte station’s tem, the attempt of integration between the two net- cicloparqueaderos, located under a highway bridge works only appeared in the second phase of Trans- in a low accessible place. It appears, indeed, that the Milenio construction. According to one of Peñalosa’s distribution of demand is very unequal among the assessors, the absence of cicloparqueaderos in the first cicloparqueaderos, and their parking-capacity is not phase can be understood in terms of social and eco- necessarily reflective of the users’ needs (see Table 3). nomic policy. By not providing public bike parking, While some bike storage stations are under-utilized, the local government aimed at fostering a ‘quasi-in- with occupation rate as low as 23% in February 2010, formal economic opportunity’ for the residents living the cicloparqueadero in Terminal Sur registers an av- around TransMilenio stations to provide private bike erage demand of 162%. storage. However this economic development never took place, hence the creation of formal cicloparqueaderos in the next phase.

But this implementation was not exactly driven by social concerns. The first general manager of Trans- Milenio S.A explained during an interview I conducted, that economic concerns were the primary motivation for the company to furnish this infrastructure. Indeed, one of the main goals for the sustainability of the network is the maintenance of a low-cost and consistent fare system. The unique tariff of TransMilenio, privately operated, is built to cover two main operational costs. First, the articulated-bus service running Maltsev Andrey by Photo 12

Bad Planning Vs Urban Economic Development Why did Cicloparqueaderos bike storage feature not alleviate urban exclusión in Bogota? By Solenne Cucchi

Table 1 Capacity, demand and occupation rate of cicloparqueaderos within the TransMilenio system (source: TransMilenio S.A., personal communication)

LOCATION CAPACITY DEMAND (USERS/DAY ) OCCUPATION RATE Terminal AMERICAS 785 194 25% Terminal SUR 220 356 162% Terminal SUBA 324 74 23% Station BANDERAS 101 N/A N/A Station GENERAL SANTADER 48 N/A N/A Station RICAURTE 162 N/A N/A

This utilitarian vision enters in conflict with the cycling 40 km, equivalent to about 160 minutes of Chamber of Commerce (CCB, 2009) considera- cycling. The main justification he gives for his tion of bicycle and public transport as complemen- choice of transportation is speed and health, but he tary and not competing with each other. Surely, the also expresses that he does not like TransMilenio economic motivation explains the maintenance of system, for it is too expensive. The 160% rise in the cicloparqueaderos within TransMilenio despite their TransMilenio fare observed since 2001 might ham- under-utilisation. However, this particular type of in- per the mobility options for the poorest in Bogota, centive seems to be misguided because it aims only which was limited to begin with, considering that to keep the same overall number of users while al- despite a low trip rate – less than 1.5 trips per day leviating the feeder-bus charge. It does not take ad- in the lowest segment of the population - transpor- vantage of those features to attract new users, who tation cost exceeds 20% of the total income of the would bring economic benefit to the system by con- poorest households (see Bocarejo & Oviedo, 2010). tributing to the payment of feeder-buses without using them. This highlights the existing tension between the demarginalisation of excluded areas and economic pressures on TransMilenio S.A. The lack of social interest in the company’s decision to implement free bike-storage is therefore consistent with the average cicloparqueadero user’s profile found by Ciudad Humana in 2006. Overall, the residents living in areas excluded from public transport service are very marginally represented among their users and savings is not a primary motivation to use the features.

There are many reasons for the scarcity of lowest-income representation among cicloparqueaderos users. Financial concerns are the main obstacle to the urban integration of those currently excluded from the system. The relatively high ridership fare (US $0.80) is probably the main issue for the poor residents’ lack of access to the TransMilenio system. This barrier is also pointed out by Alirio, a 48-years-old-Bo-

gotano living in stratum 2 area, who daily commutes Maltsev Andrey by Photo

Bad Planning Vs Urban Economic Development Why did Cicloparqueaderos bike storage feature not alleviate urban exclusión in Bogota? By Solenne Cucchi

The purpose of this paper was to bring to attention References: how a lack of consistent urban planning can ruin the potential contribution of transport planning to so- Bocarejo, JP & Oviedo, D 2010, ‘Transport Accessibility and cial policy, to the battle against urban exclusion, and, Social Exclusion: a Better Way to Evaluate Public Transport through those, to the city’s economic development. Investment?’, proceedings of the 12th World Conference on As shown, poor transport service actually constitutes Transport Research, Lisbon, Portugal, 11-15 July. Retrieved 3 a major barrier to accessing job opportunities. The in- August from JP Bocarejo [personal communication]. vestigation on the specific inclusiveness provided by Cámara de Comercio de Bogotá (CCB) 2009, Movilidad en the installation of free and secure bike storage within Bicicleta en Bogotá, Cámara de Comercio de Bogotá, Bogota. the TransMilenio system has produced seemingly Cámara de Comercio de Bogotá (CCB) & Universidad de los contradictory results. Indeed, although the ciclopar- Andes (UA) 2009, Observatorio de Movilidad, issue 3, Cámara queaderos have the potential to better connect the ex- de Comercio de Bogotá, Bogota. cluded residents to Bogota’s city centre, where most Ciudad Humana Foundation (CHF) 2006, Campaña por el Fo- of the economic activities are located, the analysis of mento de la Integración Modal en TransMilenio: Propuesta de their current provision and utilisation tends to di- Gestión Social Integral para la Optimización de los Cicloesta- minish these hopes. The lack of social planning on cionamientos de Estación Banderas y Portal Américas. Prim- the part of the company TransMilenio S.A., which era Fase: Diagnóstico y Análisis. Fundación Ciudad Humana, focuses solely on the economic benefits of the ciclo- Bogota, March. parqueaderos, causes the company to overlook the Gilbert, A 2008, ‘Bus Rapid Transit: Is TransMilenio a Miracle possibilities for the network in a broader scheme of Cure?’, Transport Review, Vol.28, issue 4, pp. 439-67. urban development. TransMilenio is instead regard- Pardo, CF & Sagaris, L 2009, ‘Building a Multimodal Transport ed as an end per se while I believe it should be viewed System: Integrating Cycling and Public Transport’, in T. Go- as a means to increase people’s access to better eco- defrooij, CF Pardo & L Sagaris (eds.), Cycling Inclusive Policy nomic opportunities. Secondly, the lack of political development Handbook, GTZ, Utrecht. will towards alternative transport policy from part of UN-HABITAT, ROLAC 2010b, Estado de las Ciudades de the present local administration has been noted as a América Latina y el Caribe, United Nations Human Settlements major problem for the implementation of sustainable Programme, Oficina Regional para América Latina y el Caribe transport policy involving bicycle and TransMilenio. (ROLAC), Rio de Janeiro. It is urgent to disconnect Peñalosa’s image with those Videos means of transport in order for political rivalries not Bogota: Building a Sustainable City 2007, documentary e2 to remain a barrier to citizens’ well-being and to Bo- design, PBS series, season 2, episode 3 (26’46’’). gota’s economic development. In that sense, the pro- gressive appropriation of the cycling theme by the green movement might bring some hope for a more organized and engaged cycling policy in Bogota. About the Writer

One suggestion provided as a result of this work is Solenne Cucchi works as a mobility and environment whether a differentiated fare system could be applied project coordinator. Solenne Cucchi’s professonal for further improvement in intermodality. Keeping educational background includes Msc Regional and in mind that one of the limits to cicloparqueaderos’ Urban Planning - LSE as well as Master Stratégie Ter- inclusiveness is the prohibitively high price of Trans- ritoriale et Urbaine - Sciences Po Paris. Milenio for the poorest. As the users do not use feeder-buses, they could be charged a few less than regu- You can contact Ms. Cucchi at http://co.linkedin.com/ lar TransMilenio users, which would compensate for in/solennecucchi their physical effort to arrive at the station. This or Follow her on Twitter: SolenneCucchi would indeed be an efficient incentive to achieve the objectives TransMilenio S.A. had when it provided cicloparqueaderos facilities in the first place: reducing feeder-bus usage and therefore some overhead costs. 14

Tourism Planning Tools for Sustainable Economic Development By Tracy Mullins, MS, AICP

Tourism Planning Tools Sustainable tourism planning is not an end in itself, but an ongoing practice that requires an iterative for Sustainable Economic monitoring and improvement process. One of many methodologies for framing the process of sustainable Development tourism development is the OODA Loop. A quick search of the Internet using ‘OODA loop’ as a key- Tourism is one of the largest industries in the world. word will yield hundreds of articles on the subject. A While it is partially addressed in regional land use full explanation of the OODA loop can be found in plans, transportation plans, comprehensive plans, Robert Coram’s book, Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who recreation plans, and economic development plans, Changed the Art of War. Coram’s book is the biogra- comprehensive tourism planning is rarely found at phy of John Boyd, creator of the OODA loop. the local level. Sustainable economic development for tourism requires the utilization of mechanisms to envision and plan for the future across economic, environmental, social, and political dimensions.

Tourism is dependent upon a sense of place, either natural or created. Without a sense of place, the attraction, tourists and tourism dollars will not be sustainable. In his book The Geography of Nowhere, James Howard Kunstler explains that people will not be attracted to a location if “there is no there, there.” Additionally, attractions that merely capture pass- through traffic will not generate consistent revenue for all community stakeholders. An example of this is the highway strip mall. Franchised operations in ho- mogeneous strip malls rarely create a sense of place; rather, they simply provide opportunities for retail sales and marketing that are the hallmark of strip mall developments. Photo by Pamela Gail Shinn Shinn Gail Pamela by Photo Sustainable tourism requires establishing a critical mass of tourism attractions, goods and services that create a sense of place - a destination. One must plan THE OODA LOOP for a quadruple bottom-line (economic, environmental, social, and political) that meets the needs of both There are four steps in the OODA loop: Observation, the visitor and the local community. This requires co- Orientation, Decision and Action. OODA requires ordinating a diverse group of stakeholders to address that you plan through a number of iterative planning disparate issues such as multimodal transportation cycles, not just one linear pass. infrastructure, preservation of ecological diversity, designing energy efficient buildings, and controlling The first step of the OODA loop,observation , involves waste streams. Sustainable tourism development observing and inventorying tourism assets, collecting must meet the need of today’s tourists and host re- data, and analyzing the data. The tourism environ- gions while protecting and enhancing opportunities ment (economic, environmental, social and political) for the future. Successful tourism plans reflect the val- is described in maps, spreadsheets and reports. ues and interests of the local community, frame an action strategy, and result in activities that are actually The second step,orientation , is where the information implemented. created from data is presented to stakeholders,

Tourism Planning Tools for Sustainable Economic Development By Tracy Mullins, MS, AICP first as educational material and then as the subject of A vast number of physical inventories and data-rich analysis and discussion. Program and policy develop- documents are available on the Internet, such as State ment may require a long negotiation process, but this Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plans, regional provides the basis for creating strong, binding agree- transportation plans, and special district plans (e.g. ments on agreed-upon goals and actions. soil, water, economic). Also look for other data sources such as regulatory compliance reports and studies, The third step,decision , codifies the knowledge from permitting records (e.g. wetland, endangered species), negotiations and agreements into policy, regulations and Memoranda of Understanding. Don’t forget non- and implementable business plans. Planning efforts profit data sources, such as conservation easement da- address both big scale spatial planning and small scale tabases and native plant societies. place-making. Also required during observation is an inventory of In the final step,action , plans are implemented and the natural, cultural, historic and heritage attractions the results are monitored for change. The wisdom and recreational activities in the study area and adja- gained from this monitoring are fed back into the ob- cent region. Inventory and evaluation sheets can be servation stage to iterate the OODA loop, resulting in found on the Internet or in publications like Linking continual improvement and effectively eliminates the Communities, Tourism & Conservation by Conserva- inertia that kills many planning efforts. tion International.

At any point in the looping process, you may decide to It bears mentioning that localism should be avoided drop back to an earlier step and begin that step again. during the observation phase. The Internet offers -re Fluidity, agility and speed are key factors in this plan- sources and information from all over the world; con- ning methodology. The planning and looping never sidering this information will give you a competitive end, but they provide opportunity for responding to edge over other project groups that have limited their market events as they unfold. Your plans should be a observations to local, regional or state data. living document, with revisions based on continuous monitoring and looping so they never gather dust on Another essential piece of observation is the Tourism a shelf. Market Demand Analysis. This is a situational analysis which describes the tourist, the competition and each Let’s take a closer look at each step in the OODA Loop competitor’s advantage. Historic marketing data can and tools that can maximize the effectiveness of sus- be obtained through Chambers of Commerce, Visi- tainable tourism-based economic development plan- tor and Convention Bureaus, Economic Development ning. Agencies and local businesses. Market segmentation software such as ESRI’s Tapestry or Claritas’ Prism can focus your search further, as can government tourism agencies and trade associations. Compiling data OBSERVATION on the competition may require on-site investigation to survey your competitors’ properties. Compare and Observation requires assembling a tourism re- contrast local labor and training needs with services source inventory. This should include existing tourism offered by the competition, which will help direct de- resource assets (activities, facilities and services), po- velopment of a local capacity building plan to create a tential tourism resource assets, and the infrastructure superior service offering. required to sustainably support tourism use within a defined geographic area. This inventory can be kept Maps are indispensable for tourism planning, as as digital files and maps with easy Internet access for they are an effective way to inventory information. stakeholders. Start with an inventory of infrastructure Computerized mapping known as Geographic In- and public services essential to tourism found in your formation Systems (GIS) allows you to capture, man- county and municipal comprehensive plans. age, analyze and display all forms of geographically

Tourism Planning Tools for Sustainable Economic Development By Tracy Mullins, MS, AICP referenced information as files and data layers. GIS helps you view, understand, question, interpret and visualize data to reveal relationships, patterns and trends, and then express this information as maps, reports and charts that are quickly understood and easily shared.

You can also use GIS to determine location and con- dition of tourism assets, track tourism trends, and measure tourism impacts and changes. GIS analyti- cal tools used in the observation phase allow you to ORIENTATION follow the flows and impacts of tourist activities and resource usage so you can model what if scenarios for The sustainable tourism destination needs a critical decision support. GIS mapping layers should include mass of engaged stakeholders. Stakeholders identified topographic information, land use and land cover, in the PIP should be invited to join planning com- water resources, traffic and transportation, tourism mittees. Engage the full diversity of the community’s infrastructure, and administration and statistical data. residents, businesses, and other legitimate interests in Most of this data are available for free over the Inter- Community Advisory Committees (CAC), but recog- net through organizations like the Geo Community nize that not everyone has sufficient background to (www.geocomm.com), or you can ask a professional make expert decisions. geographer or certified GIS professional to work with you as a means of saving time, money and effort. To avoid alienating professionals, experts and local government officials, create a Technical Advisory Your project will also require a database of tourism Committee (TAC) whose activities will parallel but stakeholders, tourism operators, and their products. not duplicate those of the CACs. Bring the commit- This can be recorded in electronic spreadsheets or in tees together early and often. All committees should customer relationship management (CRM) software. address policy coordination, setting and maintaining A Public Involvement Program (PIP) is essential to performance standards, promoting equitable sharing identify stakeholders, build community vision and of tourism benefits, and generating economic sup- encourage the buy-in necessary to implement plan- port for conservation of natural areas. Paper-based ning. Work sessions, focus groups and public presen- maps can be used to record committee recommenda- tations can be used to gather information, educate the tions such as setting buffers around special areas (e.g. stakeholder and build coalitions. These “communities residential areas or environmentally sensitive areas), of purpose” can build local capacity for tourism. identifying buildable land, and determining the best place for infrastructure improvement and tourism The results ofobservation should include a user- zoning. This information is then recorded in your GIS friendly database, map series and public involvement software. effort. Together these can create a common operating picture of the tourism environment for stakehold- The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) pro- ers to understand and discuss during the orientation vides a mechanism for screening tourism planning ef- phase. forts for potentially negative impacts. Environmental impacts often address use/overuse of land and ecological resources, waste management issues and the physical impacts of travel. The World Bank and other large funding agencies have guidelines on how to un- dergo EIA; these guidelines can be used directly or adapted to fit your needs. Measurable socio-cultural G I S impacts include the influx of tourists and their impact on the local communities and their cultural values.

Tourism Planning Tools for Sustainable Economic Development By Tracy Mullins, MS, AICP

Carrying Capacity describes the maximum number of taxes, bed taxes, and micro-lending programs. people that might visit a destination simultaneously. A final piece of the orientation phase is educat- Carrying capacity tools describe current and project- ing the community about the activities of the TAC/ ed impacts by the number of visitors a site can hold, CAC groups. This can be achieved through educa- the point at which environmental degradation is irre- tion, interpretation and training programs that build versible, the point which tourists feel an unacceptable the community’s capacity for implementing tourism decrease in the quality of experience, and the level at plans. which local inhabitants feel their life is disrupted by tourism. Although carrying capacity is a tool under At the end of the orientation step you have created a development, several planning frameworks have been database of documents, maps, analyses, and scenarios established and tested in a variety of situations. These that have been thoroughly discussed and vetted by the include Limits of Acceptable Change, Visitor Impact public involvement process. These materials support Management, Visitor Experience and Resource Pro- the decision phase of the OODA loop. tection, Visitor Activity Management Planning, and Tourism Optimization Management Model. These all have their strengths and weaknesses; more information on each can be found online. DECISION

After reaching consensus on Carrying Capacity limi- Although decision-making requires that the observa- tations, a sustainable product offering can be devel- tion and orientation work is as complete as possible, oped. One helpful tool is the Recreation Opportunity holding back on making decisions until all possible Spectrum (ROS), a U.S. Bureau of Land Management data is collected can kill an otherwise well-planned framework to inventory, plan and manage recrea- project. Your TAC/CAC groups must be willing to tion opportunities. This tool divides land use into move forward once they have sufficient data to do so. six classes ranging from natural, low use areas to Committees need to seek convergence on agreed in- highly developed, intensively used areas and identi- tentions, document them and build from there; it is fies appropriate programming and development for important to keep the decision phase focused so com- each of the six classes. When using ROS with plan- mittees don’t keep revisiting issues that have already ning committees, it is important they understand that been addressed. facilities will differ based on the recreation/tourism experience and equipment. One-size-fits-all design Decisions made during this phase might include pol- solutions typically fail because they don’t take local icy coordination, setting performance standards, pro- variables into account. moting equitable sharing of benefits/profits, generating economic support for the conservation of natural Tourism Zoning codifies decisions to regulate activi- areas, and fostering the socioeconomic advancement ties and identify where those activities are permitted. of local communities. TAC/CAC groups will need to Other management tools include use limitations, user write business plans, master plans, marketing plans, fees, design standards and guidelines, certification and implementation plans based on their agreed- programs and regulation. Tourism regulation can be upon policy documents and codification. The master delivered through standards, licensing and inspection plan might include multimodal transportation corri- of facilities and activities. dors, linkage of parks and open spaces, and grey field redevelopment. Experts in the TAC group might even After determining what can be done and how, one create defensible/sustainable business plans, user pay must determine if it is financially sustainable. Fi- strategies, investment strategies, or other decision- nancial tools such as a Cost-Benefit Analysis should based strategies that help to complete the picture. be used to examine the qualitative and quantitative benefits and costs of the project. Additional financial The results of the decision phase must be based on planning can include tax incentives, airport departure solid data and analysis, not the gut feelings of a few 18

Tourism Planning Tools for Sustainable Economic Development By Tracy Mullins, MS, AICP decision-makers. Tourism planning that is centered on creating a sense of place may help reconcile topics such as housing, jobs, infrastructure, and open space. Your plans need to have both political legitimacy and technical capacity in economic development, transportation, and land use. Your results can manifest as business plans, sustainable tourism master plans, land use change, zoning ordinances, overlay districts, etc. At the conclusion of the decision stage, you should have solution differentiation and risk resolution that is based in community consensus and ready for action.

ACTION Hanson Ron by Photo

Action and implementation require sufficient investment capital to make the project happen, political re- About the Writer sources (both top down and bottom up) to maintain community involvement and support, elements of design and nature to create a sense of place, focused Tracy Mullins, MS, AICP attended Lakehead Uni- marketing campaigns to attract and retain tourists, versity where he completed simultaneous degrees in and careful maintenance that sustains and renews the Outdoor Recreation, Geography and Tourism Man- attraction itself. It is not uncommon for a tourism agement. After a short time with the Ontario Ministry project to fail after initial interest wanes or short-term of Tourism, Mullins started his career in consulting. expectations are unmet. Planning through several Working from Ontario, he provided economic devel- OODA loops allows the process itself to evolve, keeps opment capacity building services to entrepreneurs stakeholders engaged, and builds on lessons learned and nonprofit organizations in both Canada and the along the way. Experience can shape how scarce re- United States. Notable projects included the fields sources are allocated in the future, what kind of infor- of tourism, recreation, telecommunications, historic mation is really needed, how communication should preservation and small business start-up. be designed, and which stakeholders need to be added to the process. After being awarded a full scholarship from Eastern Michigan University, Tracy graduated with a Master At the end of the day, the real product of the planning of Science in Geography, major in Urban Planning. process is the development of agreed intentions which While writing his Master’s thesis, he was retained as will be carried out – not a report that gathers dust on a a Professor of Geography at the University of Michi- shelf. The OODA methodology can assist urban plan- gan. Mullins subsequently received professional cer- ners and economic development professionals to bet- tification from the American Institute of Certified ter integrate their activities with those of the tourism Planners and moved to Florida where he consults in sector. Sustainable tourism development is dependent Urban Planning/Design and Sustainable Economic upon the creation of a sense of place using cross dis- Development. Expertise includes community rede- ciplinary tools and technology to envision and plan velopment, urban design, tribal planning, tourism for the future across economic, environmental, social, development, and professional services business and political dimensions. planning.

Is the International Architectural Style Sapping Urban Soul? By Annette Fehr-Stomp Is the International and urban planning contest for Paris, called Grand Architectural Style Paris and meant to create ‘’a new global plan for the Paris metropolitan region,’’ according to French Presi- Sapping Urban Soul? dent Sarkozy. The anecdote was related at a confer- Once upon a time not very long ago, in a fairy land ence held recently in Switzerland by one of the two filled with fairy castles and picturesque tree-lined co-presidents of the scientific committee, who was lanes, a Great Contest was held to design the future of stunned to say the least, by the contrast between the the Great Capital City. Invitations were sent out to the overwhelming number of images presented and their most famous architects all over the world to submit incredible lack of variety. their most creative and innovative ideas for the future of the Great City. Time went by, and the plans, draw- These images were representative of a style of archi- ings and ideas for the Great Contest were collected to- tecture now very much in vogue around the world gether from a great variety of famous architects. Who called ‘’The International Style’’, presented in a book by would have the most creative idea? Who would win Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson in 1997. the Contest? Based on the Modernism of the 1920s and 1930s, the International Style was supposed to express scientific As the Scientific Committee examined the many, development and progress which would erase tradi- many applications, filled with very many beautiful tionalistic superfluous ornament as well as links to graphis courtesy Grand Paris, from Bustler from Paris, Grand courtesy graphis As Modernism and the International Style of Ar- pictures, drawings and maps, they were amazed to chitecture along with it became popular around the discover that all of the applications looked alike! In world as expressions of Western-style development, fact, the applications were mostly filled with pictures progress and especially riches, its megalithic if faceless which were so very similar, it was hard to tell apart buildings started replacing those typical architectural one application apart from the other. Had there been expressions of culture and history which so clearly a mistake? Had an evil (and uninventive) wizard sto- identify one city from another. This year's plan for len the plans and submitted his own in their place? Abu Dhabi's Main Street transformation, for example, could just as easily be Miami, Monaco or Singapore. This anecdote, although highly romanticized, is in fact a true version of what occurred in the architectural

20 eco-friendly than Modernisteco-friendly buildings. ing backwards technologically, are much often more geographically and within even 100km, far from be of architecture,ticularities vernacular can which vary Architecturally, manifests this itself unique inthe par parently human inthe deep runs psyche. identity, as individuals both and as communities, ap groupticular and to have and unique aparticular Yet, to need belong, the to to need identify the apar ish. inlooking which high-techis momentarilystyle styl are forever lost inexchange for an bland aesthetically tant memories and identities for population, local the distinguish best which cities, and impor embody also culturally uniqueis clear: buildings and landscapes, may at be rootthe of it, Internationalthe Style's result represented West inthe than Rest. inthe Whatever prominent architectural schools, are which more also andidentical ideals most aesthetic inthe ideologies hand, it might result the be of areplication of nearly of Western tastes and consumerism. other Onthe or some form of Western or imperialism adiffusion Style aresult could be of globalization, Modernism, The architecturalpopularization the of International

Is International the Architectural Style Sapping Urban Soul? 21 ------By Annette Fehr-Stomp ity of inner-city neighborhoods. a 'perforated' lowering urban fabric, further qual the residents, and thus prevent demolitions to lead which suburbs. Retrofits canhelpalso retain an inner-city's urban sprawl by providing real alternatives to the suburban with new getically housing, can discourage vironments, able to compete and aesthetically ener to make habitable them and high-quality living en advertising. However, retrofittingtraditional houses place,ed must where everyone drive to reach it is false mark highly-rated green building located inan isolat more carbon is emitted by vehicles. Having one land to consider need also transportation networks, as metro In scale. addition, climate-friendly measures includealso sustainable development patterns on a only considered be one building at a time, but must This bringspoint the up that 'green' building mustn't and clearly non being carbon-intensive. made for climates materials using local local while beforedeveloped industrial the era are as if custom- In way, this many 'traditional' buildings, local, which intimately to history, the tied peopleand the land. the areland they designing for, up grew over long periods far away places by foreigners foot never set inthe who Vernacular buildings, rather in than designed being

Image courtesy Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council - - - - -

Is the International Architectural Style Sapping Urban Soul? By Annette Fehr-Stomp

One example of an area rich in vernacular architecture The traditional, 'old-fashioned' buildings, full of elab- is the wonderful pisé, or beaten-earth construction orate decoration, and historical and cultural elements common throughout the Beaujolais area in France. represent a great resource for cities looking to increase The thick walls of tightly packed dirt from local sites residential and commercial spaces and preserve their effectively shut out cold and humidity in the winter, memory, identity and 'urban soul'. Doesn't ''reuse, and the scorching heat of southern France in the sum- reduce, recycle'' apply to real estate as well? Since mer, while lasting for centuries if regularly plastered. when was, ''tear it down and bring in foreign ideas Sadly, these historic structures, many of which date and materials'' a good idea for social, economic or en- back hundreds of years, are regularly torn down to be vironmental sustainability? It's time to look around replaced by rows upon rows of bland, faceless, soul- at the architectural wealth around us in the form of less, sprawling single-family homes which as well as irreplaceably old, traditional, and cultural buildings erasing a place's architectural memory, lead to more and think about how retrofitting them might be an carbon-intensive uses and lifestyles. Ironically, real- environmentally friendly alternative to urban sprawl. estate companies advertise the construction of new of Preferring fixing up, that is retrofitting, the old, to houses by describing then as designed ''in the own- building brand-new houses may even prove cheaper if er's image'', while in fact they are more in the image the subsidies were removed from new real estate con- of Southern California, while the truly French pisé struction and mortgaging. Giving value to a place's buildings and even castles are being torn down to architectural past could also go far in preserving that make way. place's memory and even in creating that elusive urban sense of place called urban soul. While this is only one example, there must be thousands of others for the thousands of places where vernacular architecture exists, including Western nations. Often these older structures are torn down with the excuse that it would be more expensive to repair them than to tear them down and start anew. How- ever, the construction and mortgaging of new houses is government-subsidized to such a degree that it was one of the major factors pushing the economy to a cri- sis-point in the 2008 Recession, and may do so again.

At the same time, urban planners have been trying to enliven downtowns and other ares of the city, search- Sinn Pamela by Photo ing to create or reinvent 'urban soul'. This elusive About the Writer sense of place is as much felt as seen, and is made up of a mix of density, diversity, accessible and human- Annette Stomp has a B.A. in anthropology and ur- sized walkscapes, as well as lively public spaces and ban geography and a Master of Urban Planning, both commercial streetscapes. It also reaches into the from McGill University in Canada. She is presently memory and identity of a city, for it evokes historical doing doctoral research at the Swiss Federal Institute moments which help to shape a place's collective and of Technology at Lausanne (EPFL) on questions re- unique identity. In contradiction to this, the Interna- lated to urban sprawl, especially in its comparative tional Style of architecture erases history and memo- dimensions across cities, countries, and cultures. ry, in-line with Modernism's sense of 'progress', and While touching upon institutions, individuals, envi- denies identity, while making a true sense of urban ronments, and transportation, her work is as focused soul unauthentic, by making all places look alike. upon the spatial variations of peripheral urban spaces as it is upon the underlying social, political, and economic issues.

Redevelopment and Blight in Flux: San Diego Superior Court By Anthony Nash

On April 20, 2011, San Diego Superior Court Judge Redevelopment and Blight Steven R. Denton delivered a significant ruling for in Flux: California property rights cases. The Court ruled in the case of Community Youth Athletic Center v. City San Diego Superior Court Affirms of National City, San Diego Superior Court Case No. High Legal Threshold for Munici- 37-2007-00076404, that the City lacked the legal basis, due to lack of substantial and tangible evidence, to palities to Declare an area “Blight- declare specific properties “blighted” to allow amendment of its redevelopment plan. The Youth Center ed” for Purposes of Redevelopment decision also contained findings about National City’s ability to protect information it provided to consult- In 2005, the United States Supreme Court decided ants during the attempted amendment of its redevel- Kelo v. City of New London (2005) 545 U.S 469. In opment ordinance. These topics will be addressed in Kelo, the Supreme Court interpreted the Takings turn below. Clause of the Fifth Amendment to allow the power of eminent domain as justification to transfer land from one private owner to another for the broad pur- National City’s Redevelopment pose of economic development. Essentially, Kelo opened the door for redevelopment of blighted prop- Ordinance Number 2007-2295 erties through eminent domain proceedings. The aftermath of the Kelo decision is still playing out all is Found to be Invalid and over the country as numerous condemning agencies Unenforceable use “blight” as the basis for condemnation of private property. This process is controversial because blight In February 2007, National City began the process contains elements of subjectivity which forces juris- of amending its 1995 Redevelopment plan to reau- dictions to define what must be established in order thorize the eminent domain power over a 692 acre for condemning entities to exercise the power of emi- area including the Youth Center. To accomplish nent domain. this amendment, National City had to comply with the Community Redevelopment Law encapsulated An interesting example of a condemning entity seek- in California Health and Safety code section 33300 ing to use blight as part of its redevelopment occurred et seq. Compliance requires finding that significant recently in National City, California. National City blight remains within the project area and that the sought to amend its redevelopment plan to extend its blight cannot be eliminated without the use of emi- right to use the power of eminent domain to con- nent domain. (California Health and Safety Code demn real property that contained the Community section 33333.2(a)(4).) Blight is a legal question of Youth Athletic Center (“Youth Center”). The Youth whether a structure substantially impairs the growth Center contains a boxing program that focuses on of the community, hinders housing accommodations, keeping local at-risk youth engaged and off the streets. constitutes economic or social liability, or is counter The Youth Center challenged National City’s amend- to the good public health, safety, morals or welfare of ment to its redevelopment plan in the courts. Now, the community. after four-years of fighting, the Youth Center garnered a critical victory which highlights some of the ongo- The Youth Center case found that determination of ing issues related to blight playing a role in the imple- blight must be both observable and verifiable. Thus, mentation of redevelopment plans and acquisitions of National City did not have the authority to assert that property via eminent domain. an area was “blighted” and thus subject to redevelop

Redevelopment and Blight in Flux: San Diego Superior Court By Anthony Nash ment or eminent domain without a clear definition National City’s Consultant of what constitutes blight along with tangible and substantial proof of a how a specific property may be Documentation Regarding considered blighted. The Court found that National City failed to articulate any clear definition of blight. Blight Was Not be Protected Further, National City was unable to show any tan- Under Cal. Const. Art. 1, Section 3 (b) (1) and Gov- gible proof that the Youth Center property met this ernment Code Section 6250: access to public records nonexistent criterion. A key example of National are a fundamental Constitutional and statutory right City’s inadequate showing was its failure to introduce All Governmental documents are presumed open any maps showing the location of the alleged blighted to the public. The Government has the burden of conditions and therefore, by deduction, which par- establishing whether an enumerated exception ap- ticular pieces of property were purportedly blighted plies. Generally, on a case by case basis, if a contract within the 692 acre development area. between a municipality and a private entity gives the municipality ownership over the documents, and the The Court also found that the limited and delayed data within those documents meets the definition of evidence introduced by the City to establish blight public records, the items are presumed to be subject did not show substantial or serious current or future to disclosure. blight issues. Finally, the Court found that National City did not meet the “nexus” requirement in assert- The Youth Center Court clarified the Public Records ing that the Youth Center was blighted. The “nexus” Act by holding that when the government retains a rule requires evidence that the facts regarding blight private consultant to perform government functions, are reasonably connected to their conclusions (in this the documents produced by the firm remain public case that 692 acres need to be reserved for potential record and are subject to disclosure under the Act. taking pursuant to eminent domain.) The Court The Court confirmed a previous ruling that “[a] pub- noted “the purpose of the nexus requirement in Cali- lic entity cannot categorically shield any and all docu- fornia Health and Safety code section 33031(a)(2) is ments from the light of public disclosure by contract- to prevent the use of redevelopment powers in areas ing out services to private entities.” National City’s that are functioning, but that a city simply wishes contract with a private consulting firm gave the City were more modernized.” (See Court’s April 20, 2011 full ownership over all documents. The documents Statement of Decision, pg. 22:18-20.) were public record. The Youth Center reasonably re- quested all data used by the City and the private con- The Court’s denial of National City’s request to amend sulting firm in reaching the conclusion of substantial its redevelopment plan affirms the importance of blight. The Youth Center Court found that these re- substantial and quantifiable evidence of blight as a quests were legitimate, timely, and clear enough where prerequisite to redevelopment acquisitions. Califor- the City had no excuse to refrain from disseminating nia Health and Safety Code Section 33333.2 requires the information. Importantly, the Court noted that “substantial evidence” to show “significant blight.” the requirement of clarity in document requests must Further, Section 33352 (b) requires “ponderable le- be tempered with the realities of record requests. A gal significance” and tangible quantifiable evidence requester likely does not know precisely the identity in determining a property to be blighted. The Youth of documents sought because they have not seen the Center decision is instructive in California because it documents. Therefore, requests may be broadly de- restrains the expanded eminent domain authority of scribed by general content. the government contemplated by the Kelo decision, and upholds a high threshold for municipalities to Instructively, the Youth Center Court did not find clear before establishing that a property is blighted persuasive the argument that the records were in the for redevelopment or eminent domain purposes. possession of the private consultant rather than the City. The items remained Public Record and the City had a duty to undertake a reasonable search and ef . 24

Redevelopment and Blight in Flux: San Diego Superior Court By Anthony Nash fort in disclosing the items. Thus, the Court granted Lessons from the Youth Center the Youth Center’s request for declaratory relief and found that the City violated the Public Records Act through its failure to provide documents from its private consultant in response to the Youth Center’s re- It must be noted that the Youth Center case is a lim- quests. ited decision. The Court did not rule on whether condemnation of the Youth Center would be acceptable Relevance of Youth Center under these conditions because National City had yet to file a condemnation action. Moreover, the Youth for Urban Development and Center decision came from the Superior Court and Planning is not reported appellate authority in California. The prevailing United States Supreme Court case, Kelo, The Youth Center ruling is an important one for both remains the highest authority regarding Eminent Do- condemning entities and business owners. The over- main and the government retains broad authority to riding lesson is that blight is not a simple path to re- take private property for public use. Regardless, the development of troubled urban areas. Rather, despite youth center controversy and decision represents an Kelo, condemning agencies and government redevel- instructive example of how the lines between rede- opment efforts must meet a high burden in enacting velopment, blight and eminent domain are being ad- reasonable regulations related to the redevelopment dressed in the wake of the Kelo decision. In sum, the and potential taking of private property. Condemn- decision indicates that courts will be willing to extend ing entities must be aware that detailed evidence and protections in favor of private property owners in re- findings of blight are required along with a strong lation to redevelopment and eminent domain cases connection to any particular property that might be connected to blight. singled out for redevelopment. Condemning entities must also be aware that private consultants retained to analyze and document the existence of blight could be subject to full disclosure under the Public Records Act. This could change the nature of interactions and assignments provided to consultants related to redevelopment areas. About the Writer

On the other hand, property owners faced with emi- Antony Nash is a partner in the law firm of Luce, For- nent domain proceedings related to blight should en- ward, Hamilton & Scripps. Mr. Nash's practice in- sure that all components of the process are open and volves all aspects of complex business and real estate timely. Property owners should follow the example litigation, including representing trustees and benefi- of the Youth Center and participate vocally and ex- ciaries in both judicial and non-judicial foreclosure tensively in public hearings regarding redevelopment proceedings, representing parties in complex com- and exercise of eminent domain powers related to mercial disputes, representing both public agencies blight. Property owners should also be aware that the and private citizens throughout all phases of eminent public is allowed access to all public documents re- domain proceedings, and representing landlords and lated to the redevelopment or taking of land including tenants in unlawful detainer and lease disputes. Mr. graphs, maps, contact information, and environmen- Nash also represents real estate developers in all forms tal impact reports. These types of information can of litigation ranging from subcontractor disputes to all be obtained via due diligence, research and persis- development approvals. He has extensive trial experi- tence. Parties must become knowledgeable about all ence in the above issues. Mr. Nash also has expertise facts and arguments relating to all areas and aspects of in easement disputes, breach of contract, breach of a redevelopment area or specific project. fiduciary duty and other tort actions.

Urban Agriculture: A Growing Trend By Beth Hagenbuch, ALSA

Community gardening efforts are on the rise in south- eastern Michigan, and increasing in popularity in Detroit. Due to efforts by organizations such as The Greening of Detroit, the University Cultural Center Association (UCCA), and GrowTown, communities are coming together in droves to participate. Mid-Town Detroit.

Starting in late 2008, the UCCA worked with Detroit to establish a community garden within three par-

Photo by Beth by Hagenbuch Photo cels—two of its own and the other by the city, located at the corner of Willis and 2nd Streets in Mid-Town. Urban Agricuture The corner was blighted; a dumping ground for gar- bage and a center of illegal activities. Some vacant A Growing Trend housing surrounded its boundaries. A potential prime development area owing to recent improvements to Community gardening has been called many things the area prior the economic downturn, UCCA want- in recent history such as relief gardens, Liberty gar- ed to find a community use. dens and Victory gardens, to name a few. In the Unit- ed States, community gardens can be traced back to UCCA staff surveyed current users of the property the 1800’s, where potato-patch gardens were located and determined if the parcel became a park, unfa- within city-owned plots of land offered to the unem- vorable activity would continue. Thus, a community ployed poor so they could grow their own food. garden was born.

War-time gardens such as Liberty and Victory gardens Sue Mosey, UCCA president, coordinated efforts with were government-promoted plots aimed at relieving the community and the city to move the project for- food shortages due to the war. Relief gardens during ward. The timetable was tight with the goal to have the Great Depression were used to not only heighten the garden built and planted by the 2009 Memorial morale, but provide fresh food to a nation of unem- Day weekend. ployed. Although the purpose of the gardens may have changed over the years, these gardens all pro- Mosley enlisted the assistance of JJR’s Ann Arbor of- vided the same results: producing locally grown fresh fice, to guide the site planning, design and installation food as a result of a community-driven endeavor. of the space. Brian Charlton, a JJR landscape architect—and McHugh—led the planning and implemen- Recently, the community garden trend has become tation efforts for the project. more popular due to several factors. One issue is the lack of access to fresh food in urban communities, es- As part of the JJR Employee Volunteer Program, staff pecially inner-city communities where food options, sacrificed their lunch hours to design ideas for the much less fresh food options, are limited. Addition- space. Designers presented their ideas to residents ally, an increased awareness of knowing where food and UCCA for input. Barthel Contracting, a Detroit- is coming from and the time and cost associated with area general contractor, got the site plans within just getting it from field to table are also drivers in com- a few weeks. munity-produced food efforts. Countless community members, along with JJR’s vol- “Community gardens can bring a neighborhood to- unteer participants, spent four weekends cleaning up gether and make an inactive space into a social hub; and preparing the site for planting. An environmen- it’s really quite remarkable,” said Jessie McHugh, a tal assessment was completed after the removal of re- landscape architect at JJR of Madison, Wisc. fuse and debris.

Urban Agriculture: A Growing Trend By Beth Hagenbuch, ALSA Photo by Beth by Hagenbuch Photo

Volunteers contributed time in their own unique ways. A local artist used salvaged play equipment from a neighboring vacant site and created a planter Photo by Beth by Hagenbuch Photo sculpture for the entrance to the garden. A retired auto engineer made detailed “Ikea-type” instructions The property was located on a former gas station site; for volunteer laborers on how to construct and assem- soil samples revealed arsenic and lead. Even though ble the raised garden bed structures. levels were low enough not to cause human harm, to further ensure the user safety and meet state envi- “Going through this process and observing the en- ronmental contact requirements, 100 cubic yards of gagement of the community volunteer dedication, topsoil was removed, a layer of geo-textile fabric was and the follow-through of the project to completion, placed and 12” of new topsoil capped the site. was inspiring both personally and professionally,” said Charlton. “When a particular need arose, someone Upon researching the growth potential of vegeta- was there to help out.” ble roots, the design team required that the planting beds needed to be at least 12” to 18” deep. This would Enclosed with a short fence and gate, not tall enough keep the roots from penetrating the soil beneath the to keep anyone out, the garden is operated on a trust capped system. system. The last gardener to leave for the night locks the combination on the gate. Community sign-on In its second season, there is a waiting list to join. Sev- eral local restaurants use the garden as a supply for The community embraced the idea from the begin- recipes. Some of the gardeners donate the harvest to ning. Some neighbors who had been living in the area food pantries. Other organizations use plots to teach met for the first time during these volunteer days. community children about food sources. The result- Weeks before the garden was to open, even before ing effort has been successful in cleaning up the site, it was built, 91 garden plots, located within the 0.37 making it an active space, engaging the community acres, sold out in one week’s time. and, of course, providing fresh food.

Urban Agriculture: A Growing Trend By Beth Hagenbuch, ALSA

Urban Agricuture Another kind of community garden has taken root. Lafayette Greens is an organic vegetable and fruit garden right in the heart of downtown Detroit. It is an example of a cooperative effort between private and public sectors, resulting in a productive use of a vacant parcel of city land.

An urban garden sponsored by Compuware Corpo- ration, Lafayette Greens fulfills its role as a commu- Photo by Beth by Hagenbuch Photo nity garden and an attractive urban green space. Lafayette Greens "Currently, Gleaners Community Food Bank is the main beneficiary," said Megan Heeres of Compuware, "and we have extended that to include other organizations like the Central Methodist Church and Alterna- tives for Girls and other local community food banks and soup kitchens for next season's harvest."

Heeres, art curator and community art and garden program manager at the company, looked at several sites in the downtown area to build a garden. A location near Compuware's headquarters, so that employees could easily take part in the garden, was a priority.

Photo by Beth by Hagenbuch Photo The vacant lot at West Lafayette Boulevard and Shel- by Street, site of the recently demolished Lafayette Building and only a short walk from Compuware headquarters was chosen. Heeres worked closely with Compuware Genesis Detroit city officials to secure a lease for the property. The agreement brings a green space to what had been The idea to create an urban garden originated with an urban blight site, while allowing for future devel- Peter Karmanos Jr., founder of Detroit-based soft- opment of the property. ware and consulting giant, Compuware. At the grand opening of the garden in August, he spoke of how the garden brings together two of his great passions: gardening—he’s a master gardener himself—and the city of Detroit.

It was conceived as a place where Compuware employees, many of whom live in the suburbs, could be active and invested participants in downtown Detroit and continue the Compuware culture of giving back to the community. The fresh, organically grown produce is grown and harvested by volunteers at Lafay-

ette Greens. Beth by Hagenbuch Photos Flowers and herbs at Lafayette Greens

Urban Agriculture: A Growing Trend By Beth Hagenbuch, ALSA

Design Phase Kenneth Weikal and Beth Hagenbuch of Kenneth Weikal Landscape Architecture (KWLA) began working with Heeres in fall 2010 to design the garden on the Lafayette site. Preliminary discussions centered on an edible-garden concept, based on community and volunteer involvement.

This included conventional community garden elements of raised beds, pathways and fencing. Heeres

was also interested in providing opportunities for Beth by Hagenbuch Photo community art in the space. "The overall design of the garden was shaped by care- Many children of Compuware employees attend the ful site analysis," said Weikal, "Our design team did daycare program at the headquarters and would be seasonal sun-angle studies to make sure the raised visiting the garden with teachers and parents. A spe- vegetable beds are oriented for optimal sun exposure. cial place for children was an important part of the In a city environment, shade can be a challenge when program. growing vegetables.”

When KWLA designers began looking at the oddly It required both a fence for security and a welcome shaped, nearly ½-acre site, surrounded on three sides atmosphere of inclusion. The garden is bordered by by busy urban streets and tall buildings, they realized streets and pedestrian traffic, so the fencing chosen the lot had the potential to be much more than simply for the project was strong, but nearly transparent to a community garden. “invite” pedestrians into the space when walking by on the sidewalk. “It’s a highly visible location” said Weikal, “and that puts it in a position to serve as focal point and educational space, one that can expand the conversation about the urban food movement and its place in the Multi-use, city landscape.” Bio-sensitive site It’s a community garden that adds pleasure and outdoor activity to the urban experience, said Weikal. “I “Situated adjacent to the recently restored Westin think that productive gardens in highly public places Book Cadillac Hotel, the Detroit Federal Building have a great potential to bring together green space, and the famous American and Lafayette Coney Island public space, public health, community engagement restaurants, there was activity and traffic in the area, and sustainability in a very powerful way.” but no outdoor place to sit, enjoy lunch in the sun, or pause to do a little people watching,” he said. As design development progressed the program for Due to its unusual shape, the vacant Lafayette site re- Lafayette Greens evolved. The conversation grew to quired pedestrians to go out of their way when pass- include the use of sustainable practices, relationships ing through the area. Consequently, people were cut- between the garden and its surrounding urban con- ting across the dirt-covered site. text, defining spaces for public use and enjoyment, and creating a rich educational and experiential chil- The promenade through the garden now carries peo- dren’s garden. ple along this desired route, offering choices to

Urban Agriculture: A Growing Trend By Beth Hagenbuch, ALSA

It brings a sense of ordered simplic- ity to a busy urban space through lines, circles and squares. Sym- metry and long linear raised-beds provide a structure of elegance and order to this urban garden.

The wide Promenade lined with lavender beds and benches, defines public space and passage through the garden, serving a functional re- Photo by Beth by Hagenbuch Photo lationship between the garden and move through quickly, linger on a bench, or enter and its urban location. Garden elements include an heir- explore the garden. To encourage public use of the loom apple orchard with a short orchard meadow space, seating is provided throughout the site. below, a bioswale, the Lavender Promenade, a hardy Visibility of the garden from the surrounding build- kiwi trellis for shade, the Children's Garden, a terrace ings and parking garages also led to consideration of with umbrella tables and 2,000 square feet of raised the visual impact from above. vegetable beds.

KWLA designers integrated sustainable practices and Three whimsical garden sheds designed by KWLA materials into the overall design. Impervious surfaces serve as garden follies, as well as storing tools and sup- were kept to a minimum. plies for the gardeners.

Drought-tolerant grass, gravel paths, the orchard, meadow and vegetable beds cover most of the site. Interactive Garden Vegetable production takes place in bio-intensive raised beds with drip irrigation. The most important aspect of the garden is its par- ticipatory nature. Overseen by Compuware Garden Stormwater is collected and slowed in the Dogwood Manager Gwen Meyer, the garden is tended by Com- bioswale along Michigan Avenue. A gabion curb filled puware employees and volunteers from the entire with re-used broken concrete outlines the entire gar- community. Programmed by Heeres and Meyer, La- den and is also used to construct the bioswale. fayette Greens hosts seasonal events, art installations Broken pieces of concrete sidewalk from the con- and offers a steady stream of ways to get involved with struction entrance are re-used as paving on site. The planting, harvesting, clean-up and cooking activities. garden sheds are clad with recycled pallet wood, and planters in the children's garden are re-purposed 5- gallon juice barrels.

Vegetative Richness The layout of Lafayette Greens is a strong geometric statement clearly visible from above. The final design concept selected for the garden was titled ‘Urban Ge- ometry’, described as “a play on formal landscape design and the rows of crops in Michigan’s rich agricultural heritage. Photo by Beth by Hagenbuch Photo 30

Urban Agriculture: A Growing Trend By Beth Hagenbuch, ALSA Photo by Beth by Hagenbuch Photo

Maintained and man- aged by its corporate sponsor, Lafayette Greens is a commu-

Photo by Beth by Hagenbuch Photo nity garden in the way it provides an avenue Local master gardeners designed and cared for a sec- of engagement for its tion of the planting beds. The Children's Garden is an- own corporate com- other area where horticulture-inclined volunteers can munity, as well as in- express themselves. viting in the public to observe, enjoy, learn Community involvement through artwork is an ongo- and even get their ing process at Lafayette Greens. "We're looking at it as hands in the soil. a way to showcase more than just one or two artists," Beth by Hagenbuch Photo says Heeres.

The first project involves the window openings on the historic brick wall facing the garden. Colorful panels painted by the Detroit Mural Factory create the ap- pearance of a giant flower growing up through the building. Additional works of art will be added over time.

Last July, while the garden was still under construction, kindergartners from the Compuware daycare walked to the garden and planted dozens of sunflowers. Just a few weeks later, they were able to visit the garden and see all the sunflowers in bloom and buzz- ing with bees. Photo by Beth by Hagenbuch Photo

31 BROWNFIELD REDEVELOPMENT IN MICHIGAN The Forgotten Element of Community Planning By Flo McCormack, Director of Special Projects, Michigan Association of Counties

The hardest hit areas in the United States resulting The Forgotten Element of from these changes were clustered in the Midwest and the Northeast. These areas were the heart of the Community Planning manufacturing industry from the late 1900s through the mid 20th century. Ultimately, these areas became Communities could do a better job of revitalizing known as the “rust belt” areas of the country. if they included brownfield redevelopment in their planning efforts. Master plans are not the only place They also became the “hole in the donut” as devel- brownfield redevelopment can appear. It can appear opment moved further and further into the suburbs, in any plan the community puts together. Commu- rural communities and farmlands. Infrastructure de- nities need to incorporate brownfield redevelopment mands increased and community services were taxed elements into their various planning activities in a to the limit to accommodate this migration of busi- meaningful way to help ensure the plans are realistic. nesses and residents from the urban areas. Planners and analysts spend a great deal of time and resources on developing a wide range of plans to help shape the characteristics of the areas they cover. The Regulatory Barriers negative legacies left behind from historic uses of properties are powerful influences that also shape Existing regulations were a significant deterrent to re- how and where development occurs. development and did a lot to promote expansion into rural areas. Business owners who knew or suspected their properties were contaminated were an earlier Brownfields version of “don’t ask, don’t tell.” This approach often meant owners maintained the Efforts to return underutilized or abandoned build- properties under their control, but left them to dete- ings and property to productive use is a challenge riorate year after year and to become a blight on the for any community. These properties are the result of community. Because of “joint and severable liability,” economic, regulatory and environmental issues that where past and present property owners were consid- changed the way businesses operated. More and more ered liable and the nightmarish specter of the federal properties sit idle or are abandoned because it wasn’t easy to change how we operated or to address the leg- “Superfund” program descending on a business owner for environmental damages that occurred before environmental regulations were created, it was far easier to locate or relocate businesses to what became known as a “greenfield.” A greenfield site is generally thought of as an area of agricultural or forest land, or some other undeveloped site that is earmarked for development – either residential, commercial or for industrial projects. However, because of herbicides and pesticides that might be used in agricultural or commercial forestry, one cannot automatically assume that no contamination exists on the property. Agricultural and forest lands could already be “brownfield” sites due to residues left by application of chemicals commonly used in these types of operations. Photo by Flo McCormack by Photo

32 BROWNFIELD REDEVELOPMENT IN MICHIGAN The Forgotten Element of Community Planning By Flo McCormack, Director of Special Projects, Michigan Association of Counties

Changing the Regulatory Regime Recognizing the urgency of turning this tide of abandonment, the U.S. Conference of Mayors worked with Congress and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to craft legislation that would help to revitalize many communities, create jobs, increase tax revenue and improve the environment. On January 11, 2002, President George W. Bush signed into law the Small Flo McCormack by Photo Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitaliza- tion Act and the nation’s brownfield redevelopment program was born. “We don’t have any

The law defined brownfields as “real property, the- ex brownfield sites” pansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a While the brownfield program has now been around hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.”i The for quite some time, some communities still aren’t mere possibility that a property might be contaminat- sure whether they have properties qualifying as ed was sufficient to often prevent its reuse. brownfield sites. The initial focus of brownfield redevelopment programs centered in the Michigan urban While the definition of a brownfield site is pretty clear, areas in Michigan but it quickly became apparent that most people often assume, incorrectly, that if a prop- every community in the state is likely to have a site erty is designated a brownfield site then it must be that would qualify. contaminated. While the perception that a property might be contaminated was often a sufficient barrier Just a few years ago, I visited a county to promote to redevelopment, it wasn’t until the new laws were brownfield redevelopment efforts and, because they promulgated that the tools became available to deter- were a very rural county with lots of forestlands, they mine if the perception was justified. Using the envi- believed they didn’t have any brownfield sites. At that ronmental assessment procedures recognized under point in the conversation, I invited them to walk over state and federal regulations, landowners can prove a to the windows in the room where we were meeting so property is “clean” with no pollutants or contaminants that I could point out several brownfield sites visible that pose environmental or health risks. from where we were standing.

Brownfield sites come in all sizes and shapes, from the corner dry cleaner or gas station to large manufacturing facilities. They even include properties that have been used for the illegal manufacture of drugs (e.g., meth labs) and mine scarred lands. Sometimes it is easy to recognize a property qualifying as a brownfield site, while at other times it’s much more difficult. But in either case, communities must do all they can to identify their brownfield properties and treat them as such in the planning process if they want to facilitate the development and preservation goals of the community. Photo by Flo McCormack by Photo

33 BROWNFIELD REDEVELOPMENT IN MICHIGAN The Forgotten Element of Community Planning By Flo McCormack, Director of Special Projects, Michigan Association of Counties

Michigan’s Brownfield Michigan’s Brownfield Redevelopment Authorities Redevelopment Program The purpose of a local brownfield redevelopment -au thority is to review brownfield plans and redevelop- According to the Michigan Department of Environ- ment proposals and to help determine what financial mental Quality, “Michigan brownfields are consid- incentives are available to assist the redevelopment. ered properties that are contaminated, blighted or Brownfield redevelopment authorities can provide ac- functionally obsolete. Brownfield sites can be found cess to financial incentives from multiple taxing juris- in cities with long histories of heavy industry and dictions that help the community focus development large-scale manufacturing activity and also in small in support of local master and other relevant plans. towns and rural areas in Michigan.”ii Smaller communities that do not have the resources or expertise to establish their own brownfield authority can be included under a county or township brownfield authority. They can also join with other -ju risdictions to form a brownfield authority that covers several local units of government.

Redevelopment authorities can approve a brownfield plan for the purpose of brownfield tax increment financing on an eligible property. An eligible property is defined as a property that was or is used for commercial, industrial, public, or residential purposes.

Photo by Flo McCormack by Photo The property is eligible if it is: a “facility” (contaminated site) as defined under Michigan’s law and was In keeping with the efforts at the federal level to ad- or is used for commercial, industrial or residential dress barriers related to redevelopment of brownfield purposes. If the property is in a Qualified Local Gov- sites, the Michigan Legislature passed the Brownfield ernmental Unit or owned by a land bank authority, an Redevelopment Financing Act in September 1996. eligible property can also be one that is functionally This statue authorized the creation of local brownfield obsolete, or blighted.iv redevelopment authorities and provided a number of financial incentives in an effort to level the field be- If a county or multi-jurisdictional brownfield author- tween a brownfield site and a greenfield site. ity is considering approval of a brownfield plan that includes tax capture, the local unit of government im- The Legislature also changed Michigan law to protect pacted by the tax capture must also approve the plan. new property owners from contamination they did not cause. To qualify for this protection, the new own- All incremental property taxes that come from the in- er or operator of a contaminated site must complete a creased value of an eligible property, including taxes Baseline Environmental Assessment using the federal levied for school operating purposes can be captured. standards for “All Appropriate Inquiry”iii within the The schools must be notified, but are held harmless timeframe allowed under the law. through the state education fund.

Meeting the standards for “All Appropriate Inquiry” Captured taxes can be used to pay for activities re- is pretty straightforward, easily completed by compe- lated to assessing and mitigating contamination on tent environmental consultants. Often, they consist of a property, reasonable costs of environmental insur- the minimum investigation required by lending insti- ance and for the costs associated with development of tutions in the loan approval process the brownfield and cleanup plans.

34 BROWNFIELD REDEVELOPMENT IN MICHIGAN The Forgotten Element of Community Planning By Flo McCormack, Director of Special Projects, Michigan Association of Counties Comprehensive Communities that want to use brownfield tax increment financing should consider whether they want Community Planning to collect all eligible taxes, or limit tax collection to only local taxes. They should also consider what ac- Communities must include hindsight and foresight in tivities will be reimbursed under the brownfield plan planning efforts. Knowing how a property has been through brownfield tax increment financing. used in the past and how that use might affect its reuse is essential to successful redevelopment. The decision is an important one because it will determine the number of approvals needed. For example, Addressing brownfield issues that seem to be in con- the Michigan Department of Environmental Qual- flict with community plans will enable a community ity (MDEQ) must approve plans that include lead or to identify and establish strategies that resolve the asbestos abatement as part of a necessary response conflicts. Brownfield sites, whether they are contami- activity. The Michigan Economic Growth Authority nated or not, can be considered for all of the uses typi- must approve the plan if the property is contaminat- cally covered by the community planning process. ed, blighted or functionally obsolete and demolition iPublic Law 107-118 (H.R. 2869) - "Small Business Liability Re- is proposed but not necessary for cleanup of contami- lief and Brownfields Revitalization Act" signed into law January nation. 11, 2002. http://epa.gov/brownfields/overview/glossary.htm An authority proposing to approve a brownfield plan iiMichigan Department of Environmental Quality, Land Re- and use school taxes to pay for cleanup activities will development, http://www.michigan.gov/deq/0,1607,7-135- also require MDEQ approval for tax capture. Careful 3311_4110---,00.html consideration of eligible activities, tax capture and ap- iiiMichigan Department of Environmental Quality, Part 201 Cit- provals needed should begin as early as possible in the izen’s Guide, Baseline Environmental Assessments, also 40 CRF planning process to guide redevelopment. 312, or the American society for Testing Methods (ASTM) Phase I Environmental Assessment process [1527-05]. Properties owned by a land bank authority in Michi- iv gan are also eligible for all of the incentives for rede- “Qualified local governmental unit” means either a county or a city, village, or township that contains an eligible distressed areas velopment of a brownfield site. Michigan counties as defined under the state housing development authority act of and the city of Detroit are authorized to transfer tax 1966, 1966 PA 346, MCL 125.1411. reverted properties to their established land bank authority. About the Writer This authority has greater latitude in property dispo- Flo has been with the Michigan Association of Coun- sition and can work closely with a local brownfield ties (MAC) since 2005. Prior to that time she was in redevelopment authority to maximize incentives for the private sector as an environmental consultant and redevelopment. The land bank authority, through an MAC was one of her clients. The association asked her approved brownfield redevelopment plan, can also to help identify ways in which the association could apply brownfield tax increment financing to infra- bring more value to its members. After designing a structure improvements (e.g., sidewalks, streets and Grant Services Program, she was asked to join MAC roads, parking facilities, bridges, sewers and treat- as the program director. Before that, she worked in ment plants, utilities, demolition, site preparation, the public sector as the Environmental Administra- and more.) tor for Wayne County managing several grant and permitting programs. She also worked for the State of Michigan in the Departments of Commerce, Natural Resources, Environmental Quality and as central staff to the Michigan Legislature. She has Bachelor and Masters Degrees from the University of Michigan.

35 Restorative Development Regulations By Kaizer Rangwala, AICP, CEcD, CNU-A

We have overbuilt and strip mined the arable land Restorative Development with sprawling subdivisions, office parks, commercial strips, and shopping malls. In the wake of fiscal, cli- Regulations mate, and energy crises, none of these development Sustainability is a low standard. Storm Cunningham patterns are doing well. Much of what we have built in his book ReWealth says we should restore. He ex- cannot be sustained or recycled -- their future at best plains this with an example: if you ask someone about is suspect. The current development pattern is not vi- their marriage and they tell you it is “sustainable” -- able because it has created misallocation of resources, you are likely to feel sorry for the person. Instead, if inequities, and an uncaring populace that is destroy- the answer were the marriage is restoring and revital- ing the very nature that makes our existence possible. izing daily -- that is a step in the right direction.i The sprawling single use subdivisions, zoning separation, and professional specializations have fragment- Sustainability is a start, but we have a long way ahead if ed the complex interrelated aspects of urbanism. The we are going the restore the human habitat. The good different parts of urbanism that worked together in news is that restoring places will create meaningful harmony, when separated have begun to fail in disso- jobs, revenues for public sector, healthy economy and nance. The Modernists stripped architectural details sense of civilized purpose. Conscientious corpora- that were intended to provide human interest and tions and government at all levels are interested in scale to our buildings. The International Style freed incorporating the latest green and sustainable inno- the buildings from local design and building tradi- vation. Cities and counties are looking to incorporate tions. Our inability to design neighborhoods and buildings that can relate with humans and nature has sustainability features in their development are lean- resulted in a public mistrust towards any growth. ing on technological innovation. Steve Mouzon calls this “gizmo green” which is an attempt to green at the Nature operates in a circular closed-looped metabo- edges where they are most visible, without making lism, where there is no waste. Every output is also an adjustments to the core structural inefficiencies.ii input which replenishes the whole system. The circu- The focus of this article is to discuss the seldom lar metabolism reduces consumption and pollution talked about but inherent restorative and conserva- encourages recycling and maximizes renewables. To tion benefits of contextual urbanism and the regula- meet the growing needs of an increasingly urban and tory framework needed to deliver urbanism. developed world, we will need to study the ecology of natural systems and evolve from the linear to a circular metabolic system in our planning, coding, and building efforts. Our economy, cities, and buildings Linear vs Looped will need to shift from consumption to conservation where we make fewer resources last longer.

The Industrial revolution was a major turning point in our connection with nature. The efficient assem- bly line system flowed energy and resources through Urbanism the urban system with less regard for their origin and even lesser regard for the destination of the wastes. At 49%, buildings consume a large percentage of en- Fossils and raw materials are extracted, processed ergy and are responsible for 47% of carbon emissions. into consumer products and the wastes and gases are The transportation sector consumes 28% of energy discharged into landfill and the atmosphere, where it and emits 33% of carbon emissions.iii Efficient build- can no longer be reused. This linear system consumes ings within compact, diverse, and connected commu- more resources and produces waste and pollution at nities encourage walking, biking and transit use, re- much higher rates. The linear machine aesthetic has ducing energy consumption, trips and air pollution. also affected our buildings and cities.

36 Restorative Development Regulations By Kaizer Rangwala, AICP, CEcD, CNU-A

People who live in walkable communities are more The conventional zoning codes proscribe develop- physically active and healthy. They live in smaller ment standards. There is no lack of effort in calling spaces because the outdoor public realm is rich. They out all the things that the codes should not allow. also consume less and produce less trash. Urbanism What conventional zoning codes fail to do is to pre- creates identity and preserves natural resources. scribe what should be allowed. Because the standards are abstract and vague they fail to conceptualize and A UC Berkeley report by Joanna Malaczynski con- inspire the sum of individual projects to add up to a cludes that urbanism in Central Hercules over the desirable place. next 30 year period will reduce daily VMT by 25 miles saving consumers nearly half a billion dollars in gaso- On the other hand, sustainability like form-based line.iv Peter Calthorpe in his book Urbanism and Cli- codes is based on a specific vision of the local place. mate Change compares a 30% energy savings from a FBCs begin by obsessively observing the place: what green home in sprawl to a townhome in a village that works and what feels right for the climate zone, re- will conserve 58% less energy and a condo in the city gionally available materials, construction techniques, will save 73% energy savings. “Traditional urbanism, local culture, and traditions. Traditional building de- even without green technology, is better than green signs are durable and they age well -- usually conserve sprawl,” says Calthorpe.v energy because they show respect to sun, wind, and local climate. Simple traditional building design fea- Development regulations need to be reexamined for tures such as party wall separation, well-positioned their contributions to VMT and greenhouse gases. and operable windows and high ceilings offer better Particularly, the old zoning and subdivision tools solar, lighting and ventilation than solar cells, ener- created in response to a linear, consumption driven gyefficient bulbs or air conditioning devices. The time industrialized society will need to be replaced with a tested preferences of traditional architecture com- comprehensive framework that will balance the time- bined with urbanism increase our chances of conserv- tested principles of urbanism with the conservation ing energy, materials, and money and consistently technological innovations. Simply tagging on high delivers what Mouzon calls “lovable places.” performance buildings and infrastructure standards to a conventional zoning and subdivision platform misses out on the larger benefits of having a diverse population engaged in diverse activities within a walk- Restore with Nature able and human scaled public environment shaped by buildings, streets and open spaces. If a marriage is not sustainable, divorce is an option. Our fate cannot be separated from this planet. We have to make the difficult choices and repair our bond Why Form-Based Codes (FBCs)? with nature. Our affair with the resource and pollution heavy linear based society must end. As stewards FBCs offer a comprehensive and integrated frame- of the built and natural environments, planners must work that combines the individual elements of urban- be the first to require resources to operate within a ism — the buildings, streets, and open space — into closed loop system. a cohesive and memorable place. The full spectrum of land-use standards such as planning, zoning, sub- Given good information and a choice, most commu- division, public works, and safety standards operate nities embrace urbanism which is inherently sustain- in unison, rather than allowing these systems to clash able. And such design will decrease VMT and CO2 with one another. FBCs operate at different locations, emissions and increase individual physical activity scales and intensities of urbanism, allowing a seam- and health. FBCs regulate high quality walkable ur- less framework to integrate transportation choices banism but are also an inherently effective way to in- that will reduce trips and preserve the region’s envi- tegrate sustainability features based on type and char- ronment. acter of the community. Form-Based Codes (FBCs)

37 Restorative Development Regulations By Kaizer Rangwala, AICP, CEcD, CNU-A

In Flagstaff, AZ, the rural to urban transect provides a regional framework to contextually incorporate high pre- formance building and infrastructure solutions within a range of settlement types. The solar acces overlay on the regulating plan examines and adopts a palate of appropriate approaches to harness solar energy. Hydrology is calibrated to the differnt areas of transect: surface infiltration with vegetative swales in T1-T3 and subsurface urban channels in T4-T6. Rainwater harvesting and wastewater is collected in rain barels in T2-T3 and cisterns in T3-T4. produce high quality compact, mixed-use, and walk- iiMouzon Stephen, The Original Green, UNlocking able urbanism that use less resources and generates the Mystery of True Sustainability, The Guild Foun- fewer VMT and greenhouse gases. dation Press, Miami, 2010. iiiArchitecture 2030, www.architecture2030.org. ivParolek Dan, et al, FBCI Webinar on Integrating i Cunningham Storm, ReWealth: Stake Your Claim in More Sustainable Design Into Fom-Based Codes. the $2 Trillion Development Trend That’s Renewing vCalthorpe Peter, Urbanism in the Age of Climate, the World, McGraw-Hill, 2008. Island Press, 2010.

38 Alternative Energy for Economic Development Implementation of Biomass, Hydro and Solar Power By Alison Bates

increase their profit margins, and places interested in Alternative Energy for utilizing their locational assets, marketing their place Economic Development as amiable to alternative energy, and attract firms. Introduction This paper has been authored by Alison Bates of Camoin Associates and Advanced Energy Economics. Places both urban and rural are working to imple- For an electronic copy of this and other white papers ment green energy technologies to stimulate eco- from Camoin Associates and Advanced Energy Eco- nomic development. The construction of alternative nomics go to www.camoinassociates.com and www. energy facilities are on the rise, and as more of these advancedenergyeconomics.com green power generators are built and operated, planners and economic development professionals have the opportunity to learn from those existing facilities. Biomass Facilities This paper will investigate six case studies wherein Biomass facilities use “materials--such as wood, lawn green energy facilities have stimulated local and re- and garden clippings, agricultural waste, leaves, tree gional economic growth. Here we will investigate spe- pruning as well as non-recyclable paper--to produce cific cases where communities have invested in bio- heat or electricity”i . The raw organic materials that are mass, hydroelectric, and solar inputs to lower energy the inputs for biomass typically come from the waste costs and provide residents with renewable energy, of other processes such as the output from wood and and where businesses have converted to alternative lumber processing, or from naturally overabundant energies to lower production costs and lower market materials such as leaves and corn stalks. “Biomass is clearing price. The focus of this paper will be to glean currently the largest domestic source of renewable en- best practices from successful cases so that communi- ergy providing 2.8% of total U.S. energy consumption. ties across the nation can gain a deeper understand- Wood is the largest feedstock accounting for 70% of ing of the key considerations and steps necessary in U.S. biomass consumption for energy”ii . This percent- selecting the appropriate green energy facilities. This age of U.S energy share is projected to grow, and the paper will look to these case studies to investigate how U.S Energy Information Administration estimates communities can capitalize on locational advantages that biomass will comprise 54% of all renewable en- and specific strategies to foster economic develop- ergy usage by 2030iii . The opportunities for commu- ment through the use of green energy. nities to use biomass energy are high, provided those communities are within close proximity to dense organic inputs with the capacity to diversify their inputs, Economic developers can use these case studies to have access to transportation networks to bring the understand the level of public and private coopera- requisite tonnage daily, have sufficient storage capac- tion that is possible to address alternative energy con- ity, and benefit from supporting policies such as pro- cerns. Of course, unless the economic development ducer credits and receptive host communities. community can put environmental goals into economic terms that can be monetized and analyzed in cost savings for companies and communities, many environmental sustainability projects will not be car- Middlebury College – Vermont ried to fruition. It is the responsibility of economic developers to be able to communicate to public and In 2009, the private institution of Middlebury College private sector clients how undertaking specific alter- in Vermont installed a biomass gasification facility on native energy initiatives will result in tangible and campus iv. The $12 million dollar biomass plant is a long term economic benefits. The case studies includ- signature part of the college’s commitment to becom- ed here are intended to illustrate how economic de- ing carbon neutral by 2016. “As of December, 2009, velopers can assess and communicate the cost savings the plant has successfully and reliably provided the and economic benefits to businesses seeking to College with heat from woodchips through a broker,

39 Alternative Energy for Economic Development Implementation of Biomass, Hydro and Solar Power By Alison Bates

Cousineau Forest Products”v. The College’s inten- While this example is of a college that took the initia- tion is for the plant is to become the primary heating tive to build such a facility, municipalities and corpo- and cooling source. The plant runs on wood pellets rate entities can also utilize waste from nearby wood that are harvested within 75 miles of the college. The processing operations to create and sustain biomass addition of the biomass plant is expected to cut the facilities. These facilities are well suited for areas such school’s carbon dioxide emissions by 40% (12,500 as the northeast, the Midwest, and the Pacific North- metric tons). In order to achieve this reduction, the west. The Middlebury project helped pave the way for plant requires 20-35 tons of wood chips to be shipped other projects. Colby College in Waterville Maine is into campus each day. The existing contract with currently in the construction phase of a similar bio- Cousineau Forest Products specifies that the campus mass facilityx. The creation of energy from biomass is will be supplied with 20,000 tons of wood inputs per a ‘weight-losing’ process; where the cost of transport- year. As of now however, there are no procurement ing the raw materials to process into energy is greater standards outlined in this agreement, and the school than the cost of distributing the final product. Moving is working to devise standards that are socially, en- tons of wood and wood products to become energy vironmentally and economically sustainable. The in- necessitates a close, dense supply of organic materials. clusion of such procurement standards will likely in- Transporting raw materials from far outside an area crease the cost of inputs, however this increase will will decrease the potential to reach market clearing be however, this increase will be mitigated by the cost price, and so this energy source is best suited to loca- savings from reduced oil consumptionvi. The majority tions that can capitalize on either naturally occurring of these wood chips are waste produced as a byprod- raw materials, or a consistent output of organic waste uct of nearby logging and milling operations. materials.

The facility is the largest investment to date made by the university to reduce emissions. The concept was supported by an independent feasibility study Sierra Pacific Industries - which showed the long term savings that would be Washington generated by the plant. “At $1.50 a gallon for #6 oil and $37/ton for woodchips the internal rate of return Biomass facilities are also a useful tool for local manu- is 8.75% and the payback period is approximately 12 facturers to cooperate with other area businesses and vii years” . As the price of oil increases, the cost savings local energy authorities to share and recycle waste for of biomass increases. Switching to biomass from oil is fuel. This symbiosis decreases energy costs for manu- expected to save the College approximately $840,000 facturers, provides sustainable energy to local resi- each year in heating and cooling costs. Each year, this dents, creates eco-industrial linkages, while also re- savings figure is projected to increase by 3%. Addi- ducing land fill waste. One such example is the Sierra tional regional economic benefits include the infu- Pacific Industries facility in Aberdeen, Washington. sion of capital into the local economy through the Sierra Pacific is a functioning sawmill that now has purchase of waste wood chips, and the job creation an 18-megawatt power plant on site and transmission associated with collecting, processing, and transport- lines that pump energy to local consumers through ing those chips to the campus. The effects together are the use of wood byproducts. The mill has been op- expected to inject $800,000 into the local economy erational since 2003 and is now one of the primary each year viii. suppliers to the Grays Harbor Utility District. The plant has long been using sawdust and left over wood Middlebury is able to undertake such a project with to power its own operations, but now the plant has the support of private university funds and because of enough of this energy to sell back to the regional pow- the school’s proximity to lumber and wood processing er authority. facilities. Indeed The locational assets of dense forests are central to the success of the biomass facility ix.

40 Alternative Energy for Economic Development Implementation of Biomass, Hydro and Solar Power By Alison Bates

The current agreement with the Grays Harbor Public tions. Capturing energy from falling water produces- Utility District (PUD) mandates that the mill supply virtually no carbon emissionsxiv. No solid waste is the area with a minimum of 5 MWh of power each generated, and there is no risk of toxic spillage or con- year for the next 12 yearsxi. This steady supply of al- tamination. The cost of maintaining these facilities is ternative energy allows the PUD to fulfill its state generally low after the initial cost of construction and, legislative requirement of procuring a percentage as the following examples will show, there is a great of renewable energy each year. “While the deal calls opportunity to convert the nation’s 80,000 existing for 5 megawatts initially, at a cost of $56.33 a mega- dams into hydroelectric generation sites. The estab- watt, the PUD eventually plans to purchase up to 15 lishment or conversion of a hydroelectric dam is in megawatts of generating capacity in the future, or itself an economic development investment because enough power to supply more than 15,000 homes”xii. “hydropower is one of the least expensive sources The plant consumes roughly 80,000 pounds of waste of electricity and areas with good sources of hydro- wood remnants each hour. All of this electricity is be- power tend to attract industries with large needs ing produced from materials that previously were col- for electricity”xv. The spin-off effects of establishing lected and sent to landfills. The recycling of this waste hydroelectric facilities suggest that this alternative into energy also satisfies local green energy procure- energy source has the capacity to attract large scale ment standards which mandate that a percentage of manufacturing establishments into close proximity of energy be provided by alternative sources. Using such the facility and has the potential for substantial job a local source reduces the PUD’s cost of acquiring al- creation at hydroelectric generator sites. ternative energy from farther away locations, which would increase transport and transmission costs and thereby reduce market clearing price. The partnership between Sierra Pacific and the Grays Harbor PUDS Ohio River - Ohio, Kentucky, “cuts the PUD's capital costs to acquire green power elsewhere, such as what Lovely said is the estimated Michigan, Virginia, West Virginia

$77 million it ultimately would have cost the dis- xvi trict for the proposed Radar Ridge wind energy pro- American Municipal Power (AMP) is constructing ject currently under environmental review in Pacific one of the nation’s largest hydropower generating fa- County”xiii. cilities with five stations along the Ohio River. These sites will convert existing dams into alternative en- Sierra Pacific Industries is an example of a function- ergy facilities that will provide the local region with ing eco-industrial facility that utilizes green energy an abundant supply of affordable energy. The facilities practices within their day to day operations, and also are slated to go online in 2013 and will cost a total of xvii engages in practices that provide renewable energy to $416 million dollars . The benefits of the hydro dams the local population. The amount of savings depends will be far reaching and power from “the [project] will upon the energy that can be generated on site and eventually be sold to municipal electric systems in 79 communities in Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Virginia sold to the surrounding area, as well as depends upon xviii global oil prices. This symbiosis decreases energy and West Virginia” . When all five dams along the costs for manufacturers, provides sustainable energy Ohio have been converted to functioning hydroelec- to local residents and creates eco-industrial linkages. tric generators, the facilities will reduce carbon emissions by 2 million metric tons and “will supply more than 350-megawatts of renewable energy into the Hydropower Facilities region”xix each year.

Hydropower facilities are a sustainable and cost effec- Job creation resulting from this large scale project will tive way to provide electric power to local popula occur in three areas; 1) temporary construction jobs, 2) permanent facility operating jobs, and 3) regional

41 Alternative Energy for Economic Development Implementation of Biomass, Hydro and Solar Power By Alison Bates regional manufacturing jobs. Each of the project sites Boulder Micro-Hydro will create between 200 and 400 temporary construc- Colorado tion jobs and there will be approximately 10-12 permanent employees operating each of the plantsxx. Creating large dams can negatively affect the local Voith Siemens Hydro is now under contract with ecosystem and thus oftentimes big dams are met with AMP to manufacture turbine components locally in significant public opposition. However, hydropower York, Pennsylvania and is exploring the feasibility generation does not need to exist solely on the scale of opening additional manufacturing operations in of the Ohio River project. ‘Micro-hydro’ facilities can Ohio. The order intake for Voith Siemens Hydro re- be important to smaller rural communities and can be sulting from this project is expected to be $300 mil- used to promote economic development. Beginning lion dollars , and is expected to have additional in- in 1985, Boulder Colorado installed eight hydroelec- direct job creation impacts on the regional economy tric generators in the city’s municipal water system. by creating new demand for suppliers and tertiary The power capacity of all eight generators combined is industries. roughly 20.1 MWhxxiv, enough to power 7,500 home- sxxv or roughly 11 percent of the electricity needed The AMP dams are an example of a large scale hydro by the city’s 96,000 residents”xxvi. The installation and project that is possible due to cooperation between up-front investment costs totaled approximately $12 federal, state, and municipal entities, and due to the million and, as of 2009, the City is deriving revenue abundance of water and the ability to capitalize on of $20.2 million dollarsxxvii from the generators. Once an existing lock system. Capturing energy from wa- generated, the hydropower is sold to the private Xcel ter that is already falling at height differentials along Company. The City is benefiting from this alternative the Ohio River significantly lowers the upfront costs energy investment both financially and environmen- and makes hydropower economically feasible. The tally. “Boulder’s hydropower project is estimated to potential for other communities to similarly tap into have displaced the need to burn 170,000 tons of coal existing dams, whether they are on large rivers or on since the first generator went online”xxviii. small tributaries, is substantial. Currently, “just 3 percent of the nation’s more than 82,000 dams generate Recently the City of Boulder received $1.18 million electricity”xxii. One barrier to implementing hydro dollars in Federal Recovery and Reinvestment Funds. power from existing dams is the cost of conversion. These funds were added to $4 million of the City’s Secured Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBs) are money to renovate one of the generators; an invest- one way to reduce the upfront costs of implementa- ment anticipated to generate $8 million dollars of tion. The Ohio River project has received a total of electricity over its lifespanxxix. In addition to the prof- $22.6 million in CREBs to datexxiii. Federal, state, its derived from electricity generation, the Boulder fa- and municipal cooperation is imperative in the estab- cilities also create project development, deployment, lishment of large scale hydroelectric facilities because operations and maintenance jobs. these projects often directly impact many states simultaneously. As is the case with the Ohio River, the river itself is the border between the five states benefitting The Boulder micro-hydro case study highlights two from the generated power. Cooperative policies and issues facing all communities that utilize alternative inter-governmental support to revitalize these exist- energy through cooperation with private companies ing dams is central to the success of such a large scale to deliver the generated electricity. Firstly, the issue alternative energy project. of who should receive the Renewable Energy Credits from the federal government must be mutually agreed upon. In this instance, the City of Boulder received 50% of the credits, and the Xcel Company receives 50%. This arrangement was agreed upon after a

42 Alternative Energy for Economic Development Implementation of Biomass, Hydro and Solar Power By Alison Bates a lengthy debate and costly litigation and negotiations to residential and commercial rooftops to generate are underway for a new contract between the City and energy. “Estimates of the rooftop area suitable for in- Xcel. “Xcel has indicated they are unwilling to con- stallation of PV systems have been performed state- tinue the current contract status of 50% city/ 50% Xcel by-state forthe whole United States”xxxii. The results ownership of the RECs”xxx. Secondly, the project was show that 22% of all residential rooftops, and 65% of not successful at creating local manufacturing jobs. all commercial rooftops could support PV panelsxxxiii. Currently, most of the infrastructure comes from China, Spain and England, and while Boulder sought to purchase domestic equipment, the supply of such was insufficient. Without capitalizing on the manu- Ivanpah Solar Energy Generating facturing job potential, these facilities are not creating as many permanent jobs as they could. This current System reality must be included in a community’s decision to California either build or renovate small scale hydro facilities. Plans are underway between Brightsource Energy Inc, a California based solar thermal power plant develop- er, and the California Energy Commission to site the Solar Power Facilities world’s largest CSP facility in the Mojave Desert. The Ivanpah Solar Energy Generating System (ISEGS) will Harnessing energy from sunlight comes in two main consist of three separate plants generating a combined forms: direct and indirect. Direct solar energy con- 392 MW of electricity. The U.S Department of Energy version uses panels, or PhotoVoltaic Arrays (PV’s), has conditionally committed $1.37 billion to the pro- which are then mounted on the ground, or to building ject in the form of a conditional loan. The existence of based supports. Indirect solar energy conversion uses ISEGS alone will double the solar electricity output of Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) lenses or mirrors to the United Statesxxxiv. track the sun’s energy and to concentrate rays into a high intensity beam. CSP functions in a way similar This large scale project will have profound economic to using a magnifying glass to concentrate solar en- development impacts upon the local area. Short-term ergy. The concentrated energy is then used as a heat construction labor jobs are estimated to surpass 1,000 source in a conventional power facility. CSP must cap- workers. In the long-term, employment at the mas- ture large quantities of the suns energy, and are thus sive plant will generate over $650 million dollars in limited to warmer climates such as the southwestern earnings over the next thirty years of operationxxxv, U.S. Primary barriers to solar energy implementation and the project is estimated to generate $8.2 million are generation and transmission costs, and innate re- dollars in tax revenue for the County each yearxxxvi. In gional differences that preclude solar from being a an effort to reduce land consumption, ISEGS will use viable option in areas of the country. Solar power, in a unique design wherein solar panels are mounted to theory, has the capacity to provide a significant share poles that extend vertically rather than rest the pan- of the U.S energy demand. “Although solar intensity els horizontally on concrete slabs on the ground. The varies across the nation, the land-based solar resource completed project will cover approximately 5.3 miles provides a yearly average of more than 5 × 1022 J (13.9 of desert landxxxvii. Using desert land is economically million TWh) and thus exceeds, by several thousand- advantageous in the sense that opportunity costs for fold, present annual U.S. electrical energy demand, these areas are generally low. Additionally, solar facili- which totals 1.4 × 1019 J (~4,000 TWh). Hence, at ties typically require less land to generate electricity even modest conversion efficiency, solar energy is ca- than do hydroelectric facilities or coal plants. Lower pable, in principle, of providing enormous amounts land use conflicts adds to the viability of solar energy of electricity without stress to the resource base”xxxi. as an economic alternative. However, it is important There is great potential to attach PV panels directly to note that dessert lands are often times protected

43 Alternative Energy for Economic Development Implementation of Biomass, Hydro and Solar Power By Alison Bates from development, as is much of the eastern Mojave, and so conservation policy conflicts may arise in the Tori Richard – Hawaii siting of CSP stationsxxxviii. Additionally, transmission stations must be sited to distribute the captured en- Clothing manufacturer Tori Richard is the first do- ergy effectively. mestic manufacturing facility to use solar PV panels to generate nearly all of its electricity. The Honolulu- based clothing manufacturer installed 676 PV panels Once captured, the energy would be converted into xli electricity that would be transmitted through the onto its roof in 2008 . The upfront investment for the Southern California Grid through a series of grid up- installation was $1.1 million dollars, and the panels now provide the facility with 94% of its requisite elec- grades. The electricity would then be sold to area resi- xlii dents through both Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and tricity . The solar panels combined have a capacity Southern California Edison Co. Current estimates ap- of 154 kWh. When compared with the company’s electricity needs, generating energy from solar panels proximate that the generated electricity would power xliii 140,000 area homesxxxix. Another interesting feature will reduce overhead costs by $84,000 per year . The of ISEGS is that the plant will operate a closed loop monthly electric bill now goes mostly to Hawaiian water recycling system to reduce water consumption Electric Co. who runs the PV driven generation. The by 95% that of other solar thermal facilities . This tech- company candidly shares that their motivation for nology is incredibly important to the viability of CSP seeking alternative energy was economically driven, solar facilities as places with high concentrations of and that the conversion process was meticulously designed to have a marked return on investment. “Each solar energy area likely to be those without access to xliv high quantities of water. Recycling water throughout phase of the project had at least a three-year ROI” . the operations of the plant will greatly reduce input costs and reduce the market clearing price. Tori Richard was able to make this conversion due to heavy state and federal tax incentives for solar instal- ISEGS is possible primarily due to the area’s natural lation. These subsidies allowed the company to un- assets of direct sunlight, ample space, and also due dertake a three phased system of energy upgrades, the final stage being the installation of the solar pan- to substantial federal support. Without the $1.37 bil- els. Before adding the panels, the company replaced lion dollars from the U.S Department of Energy, this all lighting, and did everything they could to reduce project would not likely be seen through to fruition. their overall electricity usage. This electricity reduc- As mentioned above, the areas of the country that are tion would allow solar to provide a larger share of the suited for CSP solar energy are limited. To implement company’s total usage. “PV should always be the last this technology, an area must have abundant direct phase, because you want to minimize the size of the sunlight in an area large enough to place large panels. PV system and you do that by lowering your usage”xlv. If this is a remote area, transmission infrastructure is Additionally, the company was able to finance the necessary, and upgrades to the existing power grid project by leasing the system from the Bank of Ha- would be mandated to process the new energy input. waii, where the green energy incentive credits were Not every place in the country interested in CSP needs included in the capitalized lease costxlvi. This strategy to create a structure on the scale of Ivanpah, how- allowed the company to avoid the up-front financial ever, there are lessons that areas need to glean from burden. the practices of this facility. Access to potable water is important, but Ivanpah shows there are technologies This conversion to solar energy created both tem- available to reduce water consumption, which has the porary installation jobs and the opportunity for the long term economic benefit of lowering input costs. company to create permanent jobs by utilizing capital For the areas of the country for which this is a good formerly spent on energy. When commercial entities fit, CSP can provide substantial economic benefits in decrease their input costs, they free up dollars that can terms of lower energy costs, tax revenue, and job crea- be used to hire new workers, and of course these new tion to the community receiving the generated energy. employees create lasting economic benefits to the

44 Alternative Energy for Economic Development Implementation of Biomass, Hydro and Solar Power By Alison Bates

area economy. Also, from a municipal, regional, or iv “Biomass gasification is the process by which low-value bio- even state perspective, assisting a company in such material, such as corn stalks or cotton gin trash, is partially com- a large scale upgrade that provides notable cost sav- busted in the absence of air to produce carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H). The gases extracted from the biomaterial are ings further ‘roots’ that company in the area, helping often called producer gas, low BTU gas, or synfuel. This gas can, ensure that the company does not leave in search of in turn, be fed into a gas turbine to produce electricity” Utiliz- cheaper land or alluring tax incentives. Since many ing Agricultural BioMass in Energy: Production and Economic companies are ‘foot-loose,’ that is, can viably exist al- Development. Clifford, Fedle B.; Hanson, Jeffrey L.; Bervides, most anywhere, practices that make it more attractive Mario; Simonton, James; Lyford, Conrad. Texas Tech University. to remain in place, and that promote business reten- December 2008. P. 29. vBiomass Procurement at Middlebury College: Assessments and tion and expansion are vital to local economies. The Recommendations. Environmental Studies Senior Seminar. Fall upfront costs of providing solar installation incentives 2009. P. 1. have a long term public financial benefit of incentiviz- viA report by the college’s environmental science department ing manufacturing facilities to remain in the building states that since “the switch from oil to biomass has generated outfitted with solar panels. In the event that the com- significant savings for the College, we propose that the College pany does relocate, filling the now vacant building could afford a more expensive, but more sustainable biomass chip.” Biomass Procurement at Middlebury College: Assess- will be easier due to the built in lower energy costs. ments and Recommendations. Environmental Studies Senior Seminar. Fall 2009. P. 2. All of the aforementioned case studies are intended to viiMiddlebury.com Sustainability. http://www.middlebury. help professionals understand the potential for using edu/sustainability/energy-climate/biomass/faq. Last accessed 10/26/2010. alternative energies as a driver of economic develop- viii ment. If paired with the right geographical location, Ibid. ixMore than 78% of Vermont is forested. Biomass Procurement and by bringing the proper public and private institu- at Middlebury College: Assessments and Recommendations. tions on board, alternative energy usage in the U.S. Environmental Studies Senior Seminar. Fall 2009. P. 5. can be viewed not only as an environmentally sound xhttp://www.colby.edu/news_events/press_release/biomasscon- struct.cfm technology, but as a financially advantageous devel- xiAberdeen Lumber Mill Supplies Biomass Electricity: From a opment. For alternative energies, place matters in a Distance, the Sierra Pacific Industries Sawmill Looks Like Any very substantive way, and so the assets and opportuni- Other Large Forest Manufacturing Operation. Bruscas, Angelo. ties for each location must be measured alongside the August 4, 2010. The Seattle Times. http://seattletimes.nwsource. proper alternative energy. The greatest return on in- com/html/localnews/2012530987_apwabiomasslumbermill- 1stldwritethru.html. Last accessed 10/25/2010. vestment will come when placed-based solutions that xiiIbid. involve businesses, local colleges and universities, and xiiiIbid. government interact with one another to bring sus- xivWater Energy FAQ. LennTech: Water Treatment Solutions. tainable innovation to communities through the use http://lenntech.com/water-energy-FAQ.html. Last accessed No- of alternative energies. vember 4, 2010. xvRenewable Energy Sources in the United States. NationalAt- las.gov. http://www.nationalatlas.gov/articles/people/a_energy. html#one. Last accessed November 4, 2010. xvi“AMP is the nonprofit wholesale power supplier and services provider to 129 member municipal electric systems in Kentucky, ______Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia”. i Cal Recycle. Biomass Diversion Credit. http://www.calrecycle. Project Development: From Concept to Construction: Steps to Developing a Hydro Project. Meier, Phil; Blaszczyk, Paul; Har- ca.gov/lgcentral/basics/Biomass.htm. Last accessed 10/25/2010. ris, Craig; and Gilbert, Kirby. Hydroworld.com. http://www. iiGovernment Economic Development Initiatives for BioMass hydroworld.com/index/display/article-display/1449359119/arti- Power Projects. 2007 Fredrikson and Byron, P.A. http://www. cles/hydro-review/volume-29/issue-3/articles/project-develop- fredlaw.com/bios/attorneys/taylortodd/BioMass.pdf. Last ac- ment.html. Last accessed November 3, 2010. cessed 10/26/2010. xviiCannelton Locks and Dam: Power of Ohio River to be har- iii Ibid. nessed to create green energy. Newton, Katie. U.S. Army Corp. of Engineers: Louisville District. http://www.lrl.usace.army.mil/

45 Alternative Energy for Economic Development Implementation of Biomass, Hydro and Solar Power By Alison Bates

xviii Powerhouse Construction to Begin on Hydroelectric Plant. xxxiElectricity from Renewable Sources: Status, Prospects, and IstockAnalyst. August 29, 2010. http://www.istockanalyst. Impediments. National Academy of Sciences, National Acad- com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/4449437. Last accessed emy of Engineering, National Research Council. National Acad- 11/1/2010. xixCannelton Locks and Dam: Power of Ohio River to be har- emies Press, Washington D.C. P. 4 nessed to create green energy. Newton, Katie. U.S. Army Corp. xxxiiIbid. P. 49 of Engineers: Louisville District. http://www.lrl.usace.army.mil/ xxxiiiIbid. diwms/news.asp?id=127. Last accessed November 3, 2010. xxxivClimate Progress. Brightsource To Build Largest Concen- xx Powerhouse Construction to Begin on Hydroelectric Plant. trating Solar Power Plant. August 8, 2010. http://climatepro- IstockAnalyst. August 29, 2010. http://www.istockanalyst. gress.org/2010/08/08/brightsource-to-build-largest-concentrat- com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/4449437. Last accessed 11/1/2010. ing-solar-power-plant/. Last accessed December 12, 2010. xxiVoith Siemens Hydro Receives $300M Order for Ohio River xxxvIbid. Projects. June 24, 2010. SustainableBusiness.com. http://www. xxxviBrightSource Energy Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/16264. System. Bureau of Land Management. http://www.blm.gov/pg- Last accessed November 3, 2010. data/etc/medialib/blm/wo/MINERALS__REALTY__AND_RE- xxiiAMP breaks ground on Ohio River hydro plant. August 7, SOURCE_PROTECTION_/energy/solar_and_wind.Par.78074. 2010. Hydroworld.com. http://www.hydroworld.com/index/ display/article-display/6453074438/articles/hrhrw/hydroindus- File.dat/factIvanpahSEGS.pdf. Last accessed 12/10/10 trynews/newdevelopment/amp-breaks_ground.html. Last ac- xxxviiIvanpah Solar Electric Generating System. The California cessed November 3, 2010. Energy Commission. http://www.energy.ca.gov/sitingcases/ xxiii Project Development: Hydro Development: A New Day. Hy- ivanpah/index.html. Last accessed 12/09/10. droworld.com. http://www.hydroworld.com/index/display/arti- xxxviiiThe Ivanpah Solar Facility is sited in the Western Mojave. cle-display/361642/articles/hydro-review/volume-27/issue-2/ xxxixClimate Progress. Brightsource To Build Largest Concen- feature-articles/project-development-hydro-development-a- new-day.html. Last accessed November 3, 2010. trating Solar Power Plant. August 8, 2010. http://climatepro- xxivHydroelectricity. City of Boulder Colorado. http://www. gress.org/2010/08/08/brightsource-to-build-largest-concentrat- bouldercolorado.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=v ing-solar-power-plant/. Last accessed December 12, 2010. iew&id=4994&Itemid=1189. Last accessed November 2, 2010. xlIvanpah Solar Electric Generating System. Brightsource En- xxv Ibid. ergy Co. http://ivanpahsolar.com/. Last accessed 12/9/10. xxviCase Study: The Benefits of Small Hydro in Boulder, Colo- xliSunetric Commercial Case Study: Tori Richard LTD. Sunet- rado. April 12th, 2009. ChelseGreen: The Politics and Practice of Sustainable Living. http://www.chelseagreen.com/content/ ric. http://www.sunetric.com/_assets/Documents/ToriRichard. case-study-the-benefits-of-small-hydro-in-boulder-colorado/. pdf. P.1. Last accessed 12/8/2010. Last accessed November 2, 2010. xliiIbid. xxvii Hydroelectricity. City of Boulder Colorado. http://www. xliiiHawaii Business: SmallBiz Energy Makeover Going Green bouldercolorado.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=v Results In Major Savings. Enay, Shara. http://www.hawaiibusi- iew&id=4994&Itemid=1189. Last accessed November 2, 2010. ness.com/SmallBiz/October-2010/SmallBiz-Energy-Makeover/ xxviiiCase Study: The Benefits of Small Hydro in Boulder, Colo- rado. April 12th, 2009. ChelseGreen: The Politics and Practice index.php?cparticle=2&siarticle=1. Last accessed 12/8/2010. of Sustainable Living. http://www.chelseagreen.com/content/ xlivIbid. case-study-the-benefits-of-small-hydro-in-boulder-colorado/. xlvIbid. Last accessed November 2, 2010. xlviIbid. xxixHydroelectricity. City of Boulder Colorado. http://www. bouldercolorado.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=v iew&id=4994&Itemid=1189. Last accessed November 2, 2010. xxxBoulder’s Long-Term Energy Strategy, Renewable Energy Credits and the Xcel Franchise. Boulder City Council Study Session. April 13, 2010. http://www.bouldercolorado.gov/files/ About the Writer City%20Manager/other_cm-cc_communications/Energy_Fu- ture/Renewable_Energy_Credits.pdf. P.34. Last accessed No- Alison Bates is an Economic Development Specialist with vember 9, 2010. Camoin Associates, Inc. and Advanced Energy Economics; a Di- vision of Camoin Associates New York.

Urban Planning and Economic Development News Magazine

“Morning sunrise at North Hoyle “Alternative Energy” provided by Klara (2 of 2)” contributed by profes- Pieper. Klara is a photographer based in sional photographer Aaron Crowe, Oberndorf am Germany. You can view of Denbighshire, UK. The photo is more of Klara’s work at http://www. of the North Hoyle off shore wind flickr.com/photos/23453626@N05 or farm, Liverpool Bay, Irish sea. write to: To view more of Aaron Crowes [email protected] work or to contact Arron, write to: [email protected] “ Solar Array” courtesy of Ronald G. Hanson of Michigan. Photo of the Board of Water and Light (BWL) Cedar Street solar ar- “Parking Day Bogota-unfolded” and ray located in Lansing, Michigan. other works used provded by Carlos F Pardo. Carols is a phogotapher from Bogota Columbia. You can view more of Carlos work at www.despacio.org “Lafayette Greens” and other photos of Lafayeete Green project provided Beth Hagen- buch, ASLA.

“Dutch Bycicle” (top left) and “French Bycicle” (botton left) provided by pro- “Viva Eiffel” and other photos con- fessional photographer Maltsev An- tributed by Pamela G. Shinn, BS URP drey from Almere Netherlands. You . To view more of Ms Shinn’s work at can view many of Maltsef’s works at http:// http://www.flickr.com/pho- http://www.flickr.photos/ryzhik/ tos/28770937@N06/

“Bike Shed” was contributed by “Sodons Energy Solutions photographer Terry Farrant of Hooper Ave Soloar pro- Canada. ject & CR2” provided by Robert Sodon of Atlantic Highlands, NJ. For more information visit: http://www.sodonsenergysolutions.com/

“Bike Storage” was contributed by Niko Paul Bovenberg from Amsterdam Netherlands. Niko is a teacher and also a writer for Zichtlignen, an on line publication at http://www.zichtlignen. nl/content.asp?.path=t8nuni7x