Linking Brownfields Redevelopment and Greenfields Protection for Sustainable Development Great Lakes Commission Argus II Building 400 Fourth Street Ann Arbor, MI 48103-4816 June 2001 Linking Brownfields Redevelopment and Greenfields Protection for Sustainable Development Table of Contents Foreword ................................................................................................................. 1 Acknowledgments ..................................................................................................... 2 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 3 I. Development and Farmland Conversion in the Great Lakes Region ............................ 5 A. Overview ................................................................................................................... 5 B. Metropolitan Populations Changes ................................................................................ 6 C. Development and Agricultural Land ............................................................................. 6 II. Brownfields in the Great Lakes Region .................................................................... 10 A. Overview ................................................................................................................... 10 B. Barriers in Brief ........................................................................................................... 10 C. State and Provincial Policies to Reduce Barriers ............................................................. 13 D. Summary Perspective .................................................................................................. 19 III. Community Involvement in Brownfields Decisionmaking .......................................... 20 A. Overview of Community Involvement ........................................................................... 20 B. The Milwaukee and Detroit Workshops ........................................................................ 20 C. Workshop Findings ..................................................................................................... 21 D. Public Participation Requirements in Brownfields Programs Among the Great Lakes States ................................................................................................ 22 IV. Greenfields in the Great Lakes Region .................................................................. 26 A. Overview ................................................................................................................... 26 B. Barriers to Greenfields Protection .................................................................................. 26 C. State/Provincial Policies to Protect Greenfields ............................................................... 30 D. Private Sector Initiatives to Protect Greenfields ............................................................... 41 V. New Policy Directions in Brownfields Redevelopment and Greenfields Protection ........ 44 A. Brownfields Cleanup vs. Containment: Exposure Controls and RCRA Reforms .................. 44 B. Tracking Brownfields Successes .................................................................................... 45 C. Public Sector Funding: Catalyst or Bailout? .................................................................... 47 D. Brownfields and Sustainability ...................................................................................... 47 E. Green Infrastructure and What to Do With Brownfields Nobody Wants ............................ 48 F. Partnerships and Intermediaries .................................................................................... 50 ii G. Transfer of Development Rights .................................................................................... 53 H. Comprehensive Farmland Protection ............................................................................. 56 I. Brownfields, Greenfields and Planning .......................................................................... 58 J. Revenue Sharing ......................................................................................................... 63 Case Studies • A Development Dilemma––Where Should Large Projects Go? ........................................... 52 • Chicago Collar Counties Address Growth Pressures .......................................................... 57 • Great Lakes States Advance Planning/Smart Growth ......................................................... 61 • Ohio’s Conservation and Revitalization Fund ................................................................... 65 Strategic Actions for Brownfields Redevelopment and Greenfields Protection ................... 66 A. Brownfields-Greenfields Linkages .................................................................................. 66 B. Greenfields Protection ................................................................................................... 71 C. Brownfields/Urban Revitalization ................................................................................... 73 BRIDGES Project Advisory Committee ........................................................................ 78 Tables 1. Developed Nonfederal Land between 1982-1997 .......................................................... 5 2. Farmland Changes and Population Growth in Selected Great Lakes Metropolitan Areas .... 9 3. Liability Exemptions/Protections .................................................................................... 15 4. Cleanup Related Grants and Loans ............................................................................... 16 5. Redevelopment-Related Grants and Loans ..................................................................... 16 6. Great Lakes States’ Farm Real Estate Values 1996 and 2000 ............................................ 27 7. Change in Prime Farmland, 1982-1997 ......................................................................... 28 8. Great Lakes States’ Agricultural District Programs ........................................................... 36 9. Number of Acres Enrolled in Federal Farmland Protection Programs Among Great Lakes States ....................................................................................................... 38 10. Brownfields Partnerships .............................................................................................. 50 11. Jurisdictions in Great Lakes States with TDR Programs .................................................... 54 Figures 1. Net Farmland Loss in Great Lakes States 1982-1997 ....................................................... 8 2. Net Farmland Loss in the U.S. Great Lakes Basin 1982-1997 ........................................... 8 3. Percentage of Total City Land in Brownfields ................................................................. 10 Matrices 1. Great Lakes State and Provincial Brownfields Redevelopment Policy Matrix ..................... 25 2. Great Lakes State and Provincial Farmland Protection Policy Matrix ................................. 43 iii Linking Brownfields Redevelopment and Greenfields Protection for Sustainable Development Foreword The Great Lakes are the largest system of fresh surface water on earth. They bring to mind breathtaking vistas, magnificent beaches and plentiful fishing. The Great Lakes also support prominent cities and places of commerce along their shores and anchor a region of agricultural productivity and economic opportunity. These majestic bodies of water and the land portion of the Great Lakes ecosystem that surrounds them are affected by the continuing growth of metropolitan areas and the virtually uncontrolled sprawl of low-density residential areas. The presence of brownfields and the loss of productive agricultural lands and open space rank high among the detrimental consequences of these trends. Many central city areas have deteriorated, leaving idled contaminated sites and related socio-economic problems in their wake. Meanwhile, new development migrates to outlying greenfields, with commen- surate loss of agricultural lands and open space. In this report prepared by the Great Lakes Commission, the National Wildlife Federation and the Council of Great Lakes Industries, we illustrate opportunities to address these trends in an integrated fashion that can stimulate productive change. With the support of the C.S. Mott Foundation, the primary goal of our effort has been to promote and link brownfields redevelopment and greenfields protection efforts in the interest of advancing sustainable development. We are pleased to add our research findings to the body of work that supports the recommendations from the President’s Council on Sustainable Development (“Sustainable America,” 1996). Paramount among those principles of sustain- able development is that environmental progress will depend on individual, institutional and corporate responsibility, commitment and stewardship. We agree. The project undertaken in preparing this report models this type of collabo- ration on a regional level. A series of strategic actions are the focal point for moving the findings from concept to practice. We encourage you to read this report and take up your responsibility to a sustainable future for the Great Lakes region. Michael J. Donahue Mark Van Putten George H. Kuper President and CEO President and CEO President and CEO Great Lakes Commission National Wildlife Federation