Restricts industrial development agency financing of industrial and commercial projects unless located at brownfield sites

Section 2 amends subdivision 5 and 6 of §692 of the General Municipal Law, with reference to providing that a class 1 brownfield site within a municipality is itself an urban development action area and that a class 1 brownfield project in such municipality is itself an urban development action area project.

Section 3 defines an urban development action area class 1 brownfield site as any site on, within, at, or adjacent to abandoned, vacated, idle or under used industrial or commercial facilities where use, reuse, improvement, expansion development or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination including sites investigated or remediated or both pursuant to §27-1313 or title 5 of article 56 of the Environmental Conservation Law of New York State or title 42, Chapter 103 of the U.S. Code. It also defines an urban development action area class 1 brownfield project as a project located on such a site within or partly with and partly without the municipality for industrial or commercial purposes where such activity will help to retain or create employment opportunities within the municipality.

Section 4 of the bill adds a new §696-e to the General Municipal Law, relating to financial assistance to urban development action area brownfield projects in which it permits an urban development action class 1 brownfield project to be entitled to all the benefits set forth in §966 of the General Municipal Law, in the case of economic development zone equivalent areas.

Section 5 of the bill amends §854 of the General Municipal Law, by defining class 1 Brownfield sites as stated above and class 2 brownfield sites as such sites that are class 1 brownfields sites except where there is no actual or perceived contamination and class 1 brownfield project meaning any industrial or commercial project on class 2 brownfield sites.

Section 6 of the bill amends §859-a of the General Municipal Law, by adding a new subdivision 1-a requiring that if a project assisted by and IDA is not an enhancement or enlargement on an existing project and is not located in either class 1 or class 2 brownfield site, then the agency must set out in its resolution adopted pursuant to subdivision 1 of §859-a of the General Municipal Law, the reasons why the project was not located on such a site and the cost to the community, if any, of infrastructure addition, repair or replacement by reason of the location of the project.

Section 7 of the bill amends the General Municipal Law, by adding a new §859-c to such law which section gives class 1 brownfield projects first priority and class 2 brownfields projects second priority over and above all other projects as to service of applications and for funding available from an agency in any fiscal year and allows the projects to receive financial assistance which deviates a more favorable way for the applicant of such projects than is consistent with the uniform tax exemption policy of the agency. It also provides that a class 1 brownfield project shall be entitled to all the benefits set forth in §966 of the General Municipal Law, in the case of economic development zone equivalent areas and that class 2 brownfields projects shall be entitled to 1/3 of such benefits.

The section also requires that in the annual report the IDA must file pursuant to §859 of the General Municipal Law, that the agency must file a detailed report of its activities to help fund and assist class 1 or class 2 brownfield sites. The section further requires the commissioner of the Department of Economic Development to include the report of these activities he will submit pursuant to §859 of the General Municipal Law. The section further requires that such information be forwarded to the New York State Bond Allocation Policy Advisory Panel which along with the commissioner of Economic Development may take into account in making a decision on bond allocation.

Justification

The redevelopment of brownfields is one of the greatest needs for the municipalities of this state and country and must be encouraged on the federal, state and local levels of government. At a time when the tax base of many communities is swiftly eroding and the state is being called upon to provide more and more aid to support the municipal and educational needs of those communities and when not only social justice, but federal welfare reform requires the state and local governments to assist in finding more employment opportunities for the unemployed, the need for those opportunities to be located close to where the majority of unemployed persons reside is also a matter of great state concern. Likewise, the proliferation, expansion and intrusion of commercial and industrial projects into the greenfields of the state brings about a diminution of our farm lands and creates additional environmental problems for the community at hand and the state at large, is a matter of great state concern, and should be discouraged.

IDA's and urban development agencies are creatures of state law designed to carry out state policy assisting in developing the economy of the jurisdiction of their location and overall economy of the state. Because of their mission they are generally in the forefront of industrial and commercial development in their respective jurisdiction. We should utilize these authorities to assist the state in carrying out state policy in the redevelopment of brownfields and the protection of greenfields. This bill will accomplish that mission. In addition, both IDA's and the urban renewal agencies must be given more incentives to assist them in the development in these areas of the brownfield projects. We have already had experience with the economic development zone equivalent area incentives and it seems it would be expeditious and efficient to merely give those various incentives to the developers of those sites on a project by project basis without the need of creating other zone mechanisms.

Fiscal implications

None to the State.

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately.