Re: SUGGESTIONS FOR THE EPA BROWNFIELDS '98 CONFERENCE?

["Theodore J. Henry" <thenry@umaryland.edu>]

On Fri, 3 Apr 1998, Warren Goldstein-Gelb wrote:

> cpro-brownfields@igc.org wrote:
> > 
> > ...but bear in mind that the community
> > involvement issues are not terribly interesting or relevant to the
> > developer community.  The big problems are in finding good sites,
> > convincing owners to let them be developed, and structuring deals.
> > 
> 

Okay, I see this is the quote of the day to comment on so I thought I
would add a sentence or two. I have recently helped the community
(called the Clean-up Coalition) produce comments on one of the first sites
to be addressed under Maryland's Brownfield's Law.  I should note that, as
the State looks for direction on what clean-up goals and compromise are
acceptable or appropriate, they will in part look to community
comments.  Therefore, the extent and quality of comments on a
Response Action Plan for a potential site for redevelopment will directly
affect the amount of work needed to be done by the land owner and/or
potential developer in order to move the project forward.  Certainly, I
would think that as the developer tries to project time and costs
(viability) of the project, that person would want to know what is
important to the community, since certain types of clean-up compromises or
development plans will receive far greater opposition than others.

They may not be interested, but they should be.

Sincerely

Ted Henry, MS
Community Health Assessment & Public Participation (CHAPP) Center
Program in Toxicology
University of Maryland
(410) 706-1767
thenry@umaryland.edu