Urban sprawl major roadblock to developing sustainable communities

in photo at right:
The room is packed for a discussion on sustainable development.
Photo by David Hathcox.

Urban and suburban sprawl are a major problem in building sustainable communities.

That was the consensus reached at "Sustainable Communities: Alternatives to Sprawl," presided over by NACo Past President Randy Franke, at the Annual Conference.

The building of sustainable communities is one of President Randy Johnson's Presidential Initiatives, which will be carried out in large measure by the Joint Center for Sustainable Communities. The Joint Center is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Conference of Mayors and NACo to provide information and technical assistance services to local governments.

Franke was joined on stage by the president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) Mayor Paul Helmke, the vice chair of NACo's Sustainability Leadership Team, and Wayne County (Mich.) Commissioner Edna Bell; and the featured speaker, Randall Arendt, nationally renowned for his work on farmland preservation and conservation issues.

Helmke began the session by linking brownfields as a major contributor to urban sprawl and said redevelopment of brownfields is a major component of building sustainable communities. Brownfields are abandoned industrial sites, often within city limits, that are potentially contaminated with hazardous material. This uncertainty with possible contamination of the site and cleanup liability questions leave many investors wary of developing in such property. They often opt to develop "greenfields," generally undeveloped sites.

The nation's "throw-away mentality" results in a preponderance of greenfield development.

"We recycle glass and aluminum, but we don't recycle our land," Helmke stated. The undesirable effect of this mentality is the creation of brownfields or "dead zones." With "an estimated 400,000 to 600,000 brownfields nationwide," the redevelopment of these sites is a key component toward building sustainable communities and halting the spread of sprawl.

Bell has nearly 40,000 brownfield sites in Wayne County, most of which are associated with closed automobile manufacturing facilities. In an effort to identify barriers and develop solutions to the redevelopment of these sites, Wayne County and the City of Detroit and created a Sustainable Development Roundtable.

The roundtable, Bill explained, represents a collaborative effort by the county and city to find solutions. There is representation on the roundtable from elected officials, citizens, businesses, the legal community and other individuals representing every sector of the community.

Initially there were concerns related to establishing a new entity, such as:

• Would power be taken away from the decision makers?
• Who would sit at the roundtable?
• Was there a process in place to ensure a fair and equitable representation?

The roundtable has established the committees to move forward on removing barriers to brownfields redevelopment.

The Clean-up Committee reviews the effectiveness of the new Michigan Environmental Act (Part 201) and looks at additional opportunities for streamlining the regulatory process. One of the co-chairs is a Michigan Department of Environmental Quality staff member with firsthand knowledge of the program, thereby assuring that the committee's recommendations are responsive to the issues faced by many people grappling with redevelopment.

The Incentives and Disincentives Committee works on tax reversion and condemnation process issues linked to long delays in assembling property for redevelopment projects. While condemnation is used successfully in major projects, it has not typically been used in smaller projects due to issues of cost and time. The goal is to identify short- and long-term ways to reduce the cost and time required while protecting the rights of property owners.

• The Streamlining Government Committee is reviewing existing and proposed efforts to assist potential developers interested in redevelopment in older urban areas.
• The Marketing Committee is developing a comprehensive strategy for Southwest Detroit.
• The Stakeholders Committee is working to define a meaningful way for citizens to participate in the decision making that impacts their neighborhoods.

In the end, the roundtable and its efforts have worked because of the diversity of its members, consensus-based decisions as a rule, and the financial and other types of assistance received as a result of being an Empowerment Zone.

Mayor Helmke concluded his remarks by noting how federal government can help. He asked county officials to partner with cities to push for a multi-agency approach to brownfields redevelopment along with a federal tax incentive.

"You can usually use less than what you are currently using, consume less, including land," remarked Arendt, the last speaker. Arendt, a nationally renowned consultant on alternative methods for protecting farmland and open space, echoed Helmke's earlier remarks. Arendt encouraged the audience to practice using "build-out" maps to show what will happen if developers follow current zoning ordinances. This exercise will show leaders, as well as citizens, the future before it happens.

(For more information on this session, call Nick Keller co-director of the Joint Center at 202/942-4224.)