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Two years ago, I started a dialogue on how I felt the CERCLA reporting obligations were allowing property owners to hide historic contamination and facilitating the creation of new brownfields. I have taken the next step and published my thesis in the current issue of Sustainable Development Law and Policy, a law review published by American University's Washington School of Law.
I hope some of you enjoy reading this and perhaps some of the regulators who receive this listserve give serious consideration to the menu of recommendations.
For others. this article could help episodes of insomnia you may be suffering from.....
Larry
Schnapf Law Offices
55 East 87th Street, Ste. 8B
New York, NY 10128
212-756-2205 (p)
646-468-8483 (c)
Larry@SchnapfLaw.com
http://www.SchnapfLaw.com/
Named to Chambers USA 2009-10 Client Guide of America?s Leading Lawyers for Business.
AV? Preeminent Rating from Martindale-Hubbell
Listed in 2010 New York Super Lawyers-Metro Edition
-----Original Message-----
From: Robert Joehnck [mailto:joehnck@usamedia.tv]
Sent: Friday, February 4, 2011 01:25 PM
To: brownfields@lists.cpeo.org
Subject: Re: [CPEO-BIF] Brownfields Digest, Vol 78, Issue 3
Mr. Siegel: Thanks for your note on redevelopment agencies and their impact on California's budget issues. The L.A. times did a series of articles last year that devastatingly demonstrate the overall worthlessness of redevelopment agencies in California, and their failure to "create" jobs or even follow the Legislature's mandates to provide lower-income housing. As counsel for several such agencies in the past and as a city attorney in various jurisdictions housing those agencies, I think it is clearly safe to generalize that redevelopment agencies are used exclusively as a means of subsidizing large development projects, generally those that will generate sales or property taxes in a particular jurisdiction, and for almost no other purpose. The mis-allocation of sales and property taxes is already a beggar-your-neighbor proposition that is only exacerbated by redevelopment. If the need for redevelopment agencies to function is truly to remove "blight" or to correct planning deficiencies of the past, authority to use eminent domain for those purposes probably already exists, but can be made more statutorily explicit if necessary. The funding for that can be provided by developers if they are ultimately to be conveyed the property in question. The property in question can be sold to the developers at "cost" to the redevelopment agency. Presently, valuations for sale are based on the "intended use under the redevelopment plan" and that amount may be far less than the redevelopment agency paid for the land, relocation, associated "public improvements", etc. Robert Joehnck -----Original Message----- From: brownfields-bounces@lists.cpeo.org [mailto:brownfields-bounces@lists.cpeo.org] On Behalf Of brownfields-request@lists.cpeo.org Sent: Friday, February 04, 2011 10:05 AM To: brownfields@lists.cpeo.org Subject: Brownfields Digest, Vol 78, Issue 3 Send Brownfields mailing list submissions to brownfields@lists.cpeo.org To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.cpeo.org/listinfo.cgi/brownfields-cpeo.org or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to brownfields-request@lists.cpeo.org You can reach the person managing the list at brownfields-owner@lists.cpeo.org When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of Brownfields digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Mountain View's Shoreline tax-increment financing (Lenny Siegel) 2. Next Alternatives Battery plant, Battle Creek, Michigan (Lenny Siegel) 3. Mill at South River site, Waynesboro, Virginia (Lenny Siegel) 4. "Community Board 12 [Manhattan] responds to proposed brownfield clean up" (Lenny Siegel) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Thu, 03 Feb 2011 18:03:05 -0800 From: Lenny Siegel To: Brownfields Internet Forum Subject: [CPEO-BIF] Mountain View's Shoreline tax-increment financing Message-ID: <4D4B5E59.60006@cpeo.org> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed Most of the people I know who work on brownfields reacted strongly against California Governor Jerry Brown's plan to cut back the state's redevelopment agencies. To be sure, in many instance tax-increment financing by those agencies enables valuable redevelopment projects that would otherwise be infeasible. However, there are other situations where I believe the costs of such diversions of local tax money outweigh their value. One such instance is in my own community, Mountain View, California, where the redevelopment district containing Google's world headquarters is overfunded while local schools are scraping to maintain their programs. I haven't been involved in the campaign described in this article, but to me it illustrates the need to find balance between redevelopment funding and support for entities from which they "borrow" tax money. Lenny Parents seek larger slice of Shoreline taxes Issue goes before City Council next Tuesday by Daniel Debolt Mountain View Voice (CA) February 2, 2011 In one of its most challenging discussions in recent memory, the City Council on Tuesday will talk about the possibility of relinquishing to local schools a larger share of property taxes from North Bayshore companies, including Google. A group of parents have organized a formidable campaign, called "Share Shoreline," to retrieve the funds, which they say are unfairly withheld in a 40-year-old tax district known as the Shoreline Community. City officials say they are sympathetic to the parent's concerns and are carefully considering a solution. Nevertheless, the City Council chambers is expected to be packed on Tuesday at 5 p.m. with school parents recruited by the campaign's Facebook page, the shareshoreline.org website and pitches to local Parent Teacher Associations and school site councils. ... For the entire article, see http://www.mv-voice.com/news/show_story.php?id=3894&e=y -- Lenny Siegel Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight a project of the Pacific Studies Center 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041 Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545 Fax: 650/961-8918 http://www.cpeo.org ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Thu, 03 Feb 2011 18:49:39 -0800 From: Lenny Siegel To: Brownfields Internet Forum Subject: [CPEO-BIF] Next Alternatives Battery plant, Battle Creek, Michigan Message-ID: <4D4B6943.8070003@cpeo.org> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed City OKs incentives for Elm Street project Battle Creek hopes to lure more than 100 jobs Barrett Newkirk Battle Creek Enquirer (MI) February 2, 2011 The city of Battle Creek has approved a plan to encourage a company to bring more than 100 jobs to the city. The City Commission on Tuesday approved a new brownfield development plan for a site at Elm Street and East Michigan Avenue southeast of downtown for Next Alternatives Inc. The Arizona-based company wants to create about 117 jobs at the Battle Creek site. The workers would assist in the production of lithium-ion battery packs used in electric vehicles. The Elm Street site has served as a lumber yard, sign shop and oil storage site. An environmental assessment determined the property was not suitable for residential use. It is, however, eligible for a brownfield tax credit. ... For the entire article, see http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20110202/NEWS01/102020306/City-OK s-incentives-for-Elm-Street-project -- Lenny Siegel Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight a project of the Pacific Studies Center 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041 Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545 Fax: 650/961-8918 http://www.cpeo.org ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Thu, 03 Feb 2011 19:06:28 -0800 From: Lenny Siegel To: Brownfields Internet Forum Subject: [CPEO-BIF] Mill at South River site, Waynesboro, Virginia Message-ID: <4D4B6D34.5080105@cpeo.org> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed The Mill at South River Property Clean-up Complete The site of a former fabric plant in Waynesboro is one step closer to taking on a new purpose. Todd Corillo WHSV TV-3 News (Harrisonburg, VA) February 2, 2011 Waynesboro, VA - The site of a former fabric plant in Waynesboro is one step closer to taking on a new purpose. The Mill at South River is now clear of any potential environmental hazards and ready for development. The cleanup at the property started in 2005 and cost $5.5 million. It was part of the first phase in a plan that developers say will turn the site into a mixed-use development of businesses, offices and homes. ... For the entire story, see http://www.whsv.com/news/headlines/The_Mill_at_South_River_Property_Clean-up _Complete_115138569.html?ref=569 -- Lenny Siegel Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight a project of the Pacific Studies Center 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041 Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545 Fax: 650/961-8918 http://www.cpeo.org ------------------------------ Message: 4 Date: Thu, 03 Feb 2011 20:37:59 -0800 From: Lenny Siegel To: Brownfields Internet Forum Subject: [CPEO-BIF] "Community Board 12 [Manhattan] responds to proposed brownfield clean up" Message-ID: <4D4B82A7.7000106@cpeo.org> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed Community Board 12 responds to proposed brownfield clean up on Broadway at Nagle Ave. Manhattan Times (NY) February 1, 2011 EDITOR'S NOTE: The following is a summary of a letter CB12 sent to the N.Y. State Department of Environmental Conservation on Jan. 25, 2011 concerning environmental issues at a site that was a former gas station that is being considered for development. Dear Mr. Sadique Ahmed, Project Manager, N.Y. State Department of Environmental Conservation From what we know about the condition of 4566 Broadway, it is clear that this is a very serious situation, and it is our hope that the supplemental investigation will produce the information necessary to make a determination on the level of threat that the brownfield site poses to this community. We offer the following comments with that objective in mind: ... For the entire article (summary of letter), see http://www.manhattantimesnews.com/2011/community-board-12-responds-to-propos ed-brownfield-clean-up-on-broadway-at-nagle-ave.html -- Lenny Siegel Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight a project of the Pacific Studies Center 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041 Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545 Fax: 650/961-8918 http://www.cpeo.org ------------------------------ _______________________________________________ Brownfields mailing list Brownfields@lists.cpeo.org http://lists.cpeo.org/listinfo.cgi/brownfields-cpeo.org End of Brownfields Digest, Vol 78, Issue 3 ****************************************** _______________________________________________ Brownfields mailing list Brownfields@lists.cpeo.org http://lists.cpeo.org/listinfo.cgi/brownfields-cpeo.org
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