|
WCEL
> Issues > Urban Growth and
Development > Smart Bylaws Guide > Part
6 > Redevelop Brownfields & Greyfields
Smart Bylaws Guide – Redevelop Brownfields & Greyfields
Brownfields (unused industrial lands that may or may not be
contaminated, or that have been remediated) and greyfields (aging
strip malls and shopping centres) often pose challenging land use
planning and redevelopment problems for local governments.
Vacant land signals urban decline, lost economic opportunity and
holes in the social and land use fabric of a neighbourhood.
Municipalities often feel powerless to assist landowners to create
new industrial ventures or redevelop these sites.
However, brown and greyfields provide large-scale opportunities
for growth in serviced areas because they are often sizeable tracts
of land in near-urban locations. Municipalities can use comprehensive
development zoning to plan for mixed-use developments in these locations that can include housing,
office and retail, civic uses and light industrial. Old industrial
lands can also be revitalized using smart growth principles, most
notably by integrating the green infrastructure into the site and
supporting transit and other transportation modes, to accommodate
new industrial uses. Several municipalities in BC are
seeking to transform old industrial sites into areas of eco-industrial
networks. In the US, several strip malls have been
revitalized by adding residential units above the commercial ground
floor units and reorienting the streetscape to make it
pedestrian-friendly.
Taking advantage of these large scale changes in land uses is an
important economic development strategy. While most municipal staff
and councillors do not believe they have the financial capacity to
stimulate redevelopment of brown and greyfields, the long-term
municipal revenue from new mixed-use commercial, residential and
industrial projects will recoup the initial municipal program costs
of initiating the redevelopment process.
Two recent developments assist municipal councils and staff to
stimulate the redevelopment of brown and greyfield. The
Federal Government established the Green Municipal Enabling Fund
(administered by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities) in 2000
to provide grants of up to $100,000 for community brownfield
inventories and assessments to develop policy options. The Maplewood
Project in the District of North Vancouver received funding from
this program. The second opportunity flows from section 226 of
the Community Charter. Municipalities may designate Revitalization
Tax Exemption Areas for which they can create a program that
offers tax exemptions for up to ten years on the construction of
new improvements or the alteration of existing improvements. The
municipality may create smart growth guidelines and conditions that
must be met in order for a property to quality for the
revitalization tax exemption.
Examples of Successful Brownfields Redevelopments Include:
Koo’s
Corner in Vancouver - redevelopment of an automotive repair shop
in a single family neighbourhood into six units. On the corner lot,
the developer added on to an existing structure using several green
building features.
Selkirk
Waterfront in Victoria - 24-acre redevelopment of an old mill
site in Victoria that includes industrial, commercial, office,
retail, school and residential uses.
Cooksville
Quarry in Mississauga, Ontario - 75-hectare former brick
manufacturing plant that was transformed into a high- and
low-density mixed-use development.
See other
Case
Studies from Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland.
Examples of Municipal Brownfields Initiatives Include:
The District
of North Vancouver’s Maplewood Project is integrating
eco-industrial networking with sustainable community design.
The District held a design charrette to collect the best ideas for
an eco-industrial network park as the redevelopment strategy for its
aged industrial waterfront lands.
Vancouver’s redevelopment of the False Creek Basin/Burrard
Inlet (False
Creek Policy Guidelines and Southeast
False Creek Sustainable Community) and Coal
Harbour brownfields into high density mixed-use
areas. The City concluded that heavy industrial uses
were no longer appropriate land uses adjacent to its downtown given
Vancouver’s economic restructuring from an industrial to
post-industrial city. After extensive study, the City adopted
several policy frameworks to guide future development.
The City
of Victoria's Dockside Green Redevelopment Project has won
numerous awards for its innovative designs and standards. The
redevelopment project is aiming to achieve a LEED Platinum rating -
the first LEED Platinum sustainable community in North
America. See also the City's
website describing the project.
City of
Hamilton’s Environmental Remediation and Site Enhancement (ERASE)
Community Improvement Plan that outlines a comprehensive set of
programs to encourage and promote brownfield redevelopment in the
1375-hectare (3400-acre) older industrial area of the city. The
Plan aims to “erase” brownfields by providing financial
incentives to clean them up and stimulate economically viable land
uses. The incentives include Redevelopment Grants,
Environmental Study Grants and grants-in-lieu of planning and
development fees through tax increment financing, as well as
assistance with marketing, and municipal property acquisition, and
partnerships for investing. See also Hamilton’s
Brownfield
Redevelopment Program information.
For More Information
Publications
Organizations
- About Remediation.com
– a Canada-wide education/outreach service on brownfields
redevelopment and site remediation. While providing primarily
Ontario-based information, the site content provides a comprehensive
overview of issues for different sectors, and includes descriptions
of municipal case studies and programs.
- Canadian
Brownfields Network – a national network for brownfield
practitioners and stakeholders.
- BC
Chapter of the National Brownfield Association
- B.C.
Brownfield Renewal Strategy (BC Ministry of Agriculture and
Lands, Crown Land Restoration Branch)
Thanks to Sarah Robin who provided substantial research
assistance in the preparation of this section of the Smart Bylaws
Guide.
|
