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A brownfield site may be designated in need of redevelopment under the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law (LRHL). Indeed, the redevelopment process may offer the best way to clean up and reclaim brownfields as economically productive and useful properties. Using the redevelopment process, a redevelopment plan can be prepared that links the redevelopment of the brownfield into a broader, more comprehensive planning strategy for the site and the surrounding area.
By its very nature, a brownfield site usually will meet one or more of the statutory criteria in the LRHL for designating a property in need of redevelopment. Specifically, a brownfield site with vacant commercial or industrial buildings meets the "b" criteria. If the site has been vacant for ten years or more because of contaminated soil, it meets the "c" criteria. A brownfield site will meet the "d" criteria if the contamination is related to the building and improvements on the site and threatens the health, safety, and welfare of the community. It will meet the "e" criteria if the contamination has made the site economically stagnant or unproductive.
However, the fact that a site is a brownfield does not automatically qualify it in need of redevelopment. The analysis must go one step further and show how the contamination results in conditions that are consistent with one or more of the statutory criteria. Alternatively, a brownfield site may be designated in need of redevelopment for reasons other than environmental contamination. For example, an older industrial brownfield site may exhibit an obsolete design or layout that qualifies it in need of redevelopment pursuant to the "d" criteria. The site also may have deteriorated, substandard, and unsafe buildings that qualify it in need of redevelopment pursuant to the "a" criteria.
How does a brownfield site fit into a community's overall redevelopment strategy? The answer will depend on the nature and extent of the contamination, the location of the brownfield site, and its relationship to surrounding land uses. It will further depend on whether the contamination limits a developer's ability to use or adapt existing structures for new uses.
As with many land use development decisions, economics and risk assessment will dictate the development community's interest in the site. The greater a municipality's ability to lower the costs of acquisition, investigation, and cleanup of the site, the more appealing the property will be to potential redevelopers. Most importantly, the lower the risk a developer will be sued for prior contamination for which they are not responsible, the more likely they are to consider redeveloping a brownfield property.
The redevelopment plan also provides developers with a clear understanding of the municipality's vision for the future use of a brownfield site. If this vision was established through community participation, potential developers also will have a higher comfort level, knowing that there is community support for the project. This is particularly important in brownfield situations, where residents have heightened concerns over the potential health impact of developing on environmentally contaminated sites. While success can never be guaranteed, the use of redevelopment in concert with other state and federal assistance programs will help lead to a successful brownfield redevelopment project.
Finally, a municipality that uses the redevelopment process signals to potential redevelopers that it is committed to the redevelopment of a targeted site and is putting the full force and weight of its authority behind the project, an authority that potentially includes the use of eminent domain to acquire needed properties. It also emphasizes that the project is consistent with the State Development and Redevelopment Plan's smart growth policies that emphasize the redevelopment of existing underutilized properties, rather than the promotion of new sprawl development. This may be useful in obtaining state assistance for the project.