Relates to the brownfield opportunity area program

Section 1 gives the word "brownfield" the same meaning as "brownfield site."

Section 2 eliminates the grant program for "pre-nomination" study for brownfield opportunity areas, beginning July 1, 2017.

Section 3 makes several changes regarding assistance for nominations for designation of brownfield opportunity areas: An applicant no longer has to demonstrate support from owners of brownfield sites if the applicant can show that such support has been sought, After July 1, 2017, an applicant will no longer be required to enter into a contract with the Department of State before receiving assistance. Instead, the applicant will submit a work plan and grant money may be awarded once the Department of State has approved the plan. The Department of State is given 90 days to either approve or reject, with a notice of deficiency, a work plan submitted by an applicant.

Section 4 makes two changes to the designation process: It requires the secretary of state to make a determination as to whether a nomination meets the requirements for designation within 90 of receipt of a completed nomination; and it provides for an alternative means of designation. A municipality will be allowed to designate a brownfield opportunity area by incorporating a brownfield opportunity area plan into the municipal comprehensive plan, following a finding by the planning department that the nomination is consistent with the requirements of the brownfields opportunity planning law. The Secretary of State would have 30 days to veto the designation upon a finding by the Secretary that the nomination is not consistent with the requirements of the law.

Section 5 makes changes to the grant program for site assessments, primarily by expanding the grant program to include post designation implementation activities, including: demolition, asbestos removal, financial analysis, infrastructure improvement, design, landscaping, environmental assessment and enhancement or addition of public amenities. Similar to nomination grants, site assessment and implementation grants will be disbursed upon the secretary's approval of a work plan, rather than after the negotiation of a contract. The Secretary is given 60 days to either approve the work plan or provide a notice of deficiency

Section 6 requires the Secretary of State to establish criteria and timeframes for amendments to brownfield opportunity areas or plans.

Section 7 amends the requirements for assistance to include assistance for implementation activities.

Section 8 requires the Secretary to establish conformance criteria by December 31, 2015. The statute was amended by the 2015 budget to require the Secretary of State to establish criteria for brownfield opportunity area conformance determinations for purposes of the brownfield redevelopment tax credits.

Section 9 requires the secretary, by December 31, 2017, to establish criteria for determining consistency with the statute for purposes of designation.

Section 3 provides that this act shall take effect immediately

Justification

The Brownfield Opportunity Area (known informally as BOA) program provides money to local governments and community-based organizations, through the Department of State, to create area-wide plans around neighborhoods with multiple brownfields. Once the Secretary of State has approved a BOA plan and officially designated a community as a BOA, redevelopment projects within the community are eligible for an enhanced tax credit - 5% of development costs - under the State's Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP), and consideration for "preference and priority" for other government financial assistance.

The BOA program has been crucial to the success of many transformative revitalization efforts across the state. Communities preparing for BOA designation have used their grants to gather information and commission studies that developers and municipalities have used in assessing feasibility. These have included marketing studies, environmental surveys and analyses, infrastructure studies, and other information gathering that helps attract development. The BOA program also offers potential developers community buy-in, signaling positive civic engagement and a cooperative attitude on the part of the host neighborhood.

For all its success and promise for blighted communities, the BOA program has also been the source of much frustration due to significant built-in administrative obstacles that stand in the way of optimal benefit. The major impediments to success have been delays in contracting and excessive and duplicative steps in the grant process. Another frustration is that funding ends after a BOA is designated, without any assistance for actual implementation of the BOA plan.

The bill addresses these issues in the following ways:

The contract between the DOS and an applicant is replaced with a less formal and more streamlined approval process, whereby the applicant produces a work plan for DOS approval, much the way the Department of Environmental Conservation works with applicants in producing a roadmap for the cleanup of contaminated sites.

The "pre-nomination" application and assistance step is eliminated_ Experience has shown that the work undertaken for a pre-nomination is not useful, given the rigor of the nomination requirements, and adds both unnecessary delay and cost to the program. And, with the history of delay in the awarding of grants, the pre-nomination step has added years to a community's efforts to achieve designation, with no additional benefit.

Given the large number of participants in the program (currently upwards of 120 communities), it has taken years for the first BOA designations to be awarded. To help break the logjam and relieve the DOS of some of the work load associated with designation, and to provide applicants with a self-help opportunity, the bill provides an alternative means of designation. A BOA can be designated by a municipality if its planning department finds that the nomination meets the requirements for designation and the municipality then formally incorporates the BOA into its comprehensive plan. To assure legitimacy, the Secretary of State will have the power to void a municipally designated BOA for lack of consistency.

The bill gives the Secretary of State specific times in which to respond to submissions, either with an approval or a notice of deficiency: 90 days for a nomination assistance approval, 60 days for a site assessment or implementation assistance approval, 90 days for a designation following completion of a nomination, and 30 days for a veto of a municipally granted designation.

Much of the success of the program can be measured by revitalization progress that was made possible by activities funded by the nomination assistance program. Cash-strapped municipalities have found this pre-development work to be extremely valuable in attracting investment, but without the BOA program it would not be affordable. Under the current program, all funding, except for site assessment assistance, ends upon designation. The bill would add a new funding cycle, essentially replacing the superfluous pre-nomination grants, which would allow BOA communities to do more pre-development work after a BOA has been designated, allowing for the targeting of particular types of development in pursuit of the BOA plan and vision.

Prior legislative history

New bill.

Fiscal implications for state and local governments

None.

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately.