BROWNFIELDS (BF) CASE STUDY: NORTH BIRMINGHAM

U.S. EPA and City of Birmingham Presentation Southeast Brownfields Conference, Jacksonville, FL; 10/18/16

BROWNFIELDS CASE STUDY FOR N. BIRMINGHAM (FROM SPRING 2015 TO PRESENT)

Understand Community Landscape and Promote Education on Brownfields

Informal Brownfields Survey and Formal

Brownfields Inventory

Form Brownfields Task Force

Community Tour and Prioritize Brownfields

Prepare and Submit Brownfields Grant Proposal Achieve Grant Award

Next Steps: Grant Activities (i.e., Conduct Assessments,

Identify sites for Cleanup &

Redevelopment)

UNDERSTAND COMMUNITY LANDSCAPE

Challenges Before Launching Brownfields Initiative • City had not had an EPA Brownfields grant since 1997.

• Community never conducted a brownfields survey or inventory before.

• Targeted community met classical environmental justice demographics. Of a 8,560 population, 93.7% minority; poverty rate of 35.1%; public assistance (SNAP) rate of 33%; unemployment rate of 23.2%; 67.6% not in labor force; median HH income of $18,097.

• Significant economic disruption within community, resulting in significant loss of community jobs and tax base.

• Community situated in close proximity to: light/heavy industrial properties (34% of total acreage); vacant properties (53% of total acreage); deteriorated parcels (24.6%) and dilapidated parcels (8.9%).

Targeted Area Aerial: North Birmingham, AL

Land Use Map: Framework Plan

Land Ownership Map: Framework Plan

UNDERSTAND COMMUNITY LANDSCAPE Positive Momentum Before Launching Brownfields Initiative • The City of Birmingham adopted its first Citywide Comprehensive Plan in over 50 years

• The North Birmingham Community Coalition (NBCC) formed and prepared the ‘Revitalization Action Plan’ (1/2015). The Coalition includes four neighborhoods and resource partners.

• In conjunction with the City of Birmingham, RPCG worked to complete two critical documents for the North Birmingham Community Framework Plan: Existing Conditions report (9/2014) and Final Framework Plan (3/2015).

UNDERSTAND COMMUNITY LANDSCAPE Positive Momentum Before Launching Brownfields Initiative (cont.) • The City of Birmingham began its implementation of its nationally acclaimed neighborhood

stabilization plan entitled R.I.S.E. (Remove Blight, Increase Values, Strengthen Neighborhoods, and Empowering Residents)

• The City of Birmingham established the first land bank in a municipality in Alabama (6/2014)

• The City of Birmingham adopts the 2009 International Property Maintenance Code (2014)

• City Officials secured various funding to benefit North Birmingham (Maclin Park, Bridge project, Critical Repair Program, and the Legal Services program)

UNDERSTAND COMMUNITY LANDSCAPE Positive Momentum Before Launching Brownfields Initiative (cont.)

• North Birmingham selected by EPA as 1 of 50 national “Making a Visible Difference in Communities” projects (3/2014).

• EPA created an Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice (IWG) to serve North Birmingham. The Economic Development Subgroup led brownfields efforts (8/2014).

BROWNFIELDS SURVEY COMPONENTS • EPA dedicated time with long-term community members to identify and

catalogue all suspected brownfields (Spring 2015).

• For the survey, took photos of BFs, did simple research on City property database (e.g., acreage).

• Presented findings to broader audiences, to make the case for the next steps (i.e., formal inventory, Brownfields Task Force).

• Observed strategically located individual BFs or BF corridors. For example, noted relationships to high traffic volume, or expanded transportation route (e.g., planned Finley Boulevard Extension), or BF concentrations.

TARGETED AREA FOR BROWNFIELDS INITIAL SURVEY*:

* These potential Brownfields will be further researched and verified

OBSERVATIONS – BROWNFIELDS SURVEY

• At least 76 Brownfields were observed in the four neighborhoods in the N. Birmingham area (May 2015).

• The BF’s included: former industrial, retail, greyfields, vacant schools, gas stations, mechanic shops, and church properties.

• The majority of the properties were in Collegeville and North Birmingham neighborhoods (72).

• The remaining properties were scattered in the Harriman Park and Fairmont neighborhoods (4); some were along the main streets.

Example Map of Brownfields Concentrations: COLLEGEVILLE

IMAGES FROM SURVEY

IMAGES FROM SURVEY (CONT.)

FORMAL BROWNFIELDS INVENTORY

• Using the prior survey, created a formal BF inventory by retracing the previous survey and exploring for new BF’s. Catalogued BF by using notes, camera and GIS handheld Global Positioning System (GPS) device. Field effort took about 5 hours.

• Formal report with 85 BF sites captured property photography, location, acreage, latitude/longitude and property owners.

• Produced by RPC-GB working with EPA staff in Fall 2015.

BASIC EDUCATION ON BROWNFIELDS • Conducted outreach with the NBCC, the IWG Subgroup on Economic Development members, and greater Birmingham (Spring to Fall 2015).

• Topics included: BF Survey findings, what Brownfields (BF) are, EPA brownfields grants and tools. Emphasized BF’s represent opportunities (i.e., private investment follows public investment; leverage local jobs; increase residential property values; enhance local property tax and tax revenues from businesses).

• Later in September 2015, three (3) BF “101” workshops were held with over 120 attendees.

LEVERAGE PARTNERS AND FORM BROWNFIELDS TASK FORCE

• EPA funded an independent facilitator to help form and seat a diverse local BF Task Force (BTF) for North Birmingham. Objective was to seek consensus on priority BF corridors/properties and gather input to prepare a successful EPA Brownfields grant proposal (due December 2015).

• One pre-meeting and 3 meetings were held. Diverse members included: BBA, developers, local/state/federal agencies, community members, NGOs, UAB, elected officials, etc.

BF TOUR AND PRIORITIZE BF’S BY BF TASK FORCE

• BF Task Force conducted BF tour with 3 vans and + 20 persons

• Upon returning, members broke into groups and prioritized BF sites in North Birmingham using a site criteria evaluation worksheet.

PREPARE AND SUBMIT BROWNFIELDS GRANT PROPOSAL

• The City hired a ‘seasoned’ BF grant-writer after a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) published in the newspaper.

• Cardno Environmental was hired and began a 6 week effort to comply with EPA grant guidelines for an assessment grant to benefit N. Birmingham.

• Over 21 letters of support were attached to the proposal. The detailed BF grant proposal was a collaborative effort with many partners.

EPA GRANT AWARDS ACHIEVED • In spring of 2016, the Greater Birmingham area learned it attained three (3) EPA BF grants, worth $800k. The City of Birmingham was awarded a $400k EPA BF Assessment grant to benefit the MVD area of N. Birmingham, also the City of Tarrant ($200k Cleanup grant), and Lawson State College ($200k Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training grant) were awarded funding. All awardees (or their consultants) participated in either the North Birmingham BF Task Force or the in-depth BF-sponsored workshops.

NEXT STEPS: • Conduct Grant Activities (i.e., Assessments), prioritize identified sites that require cleanup

or are ready to market for redevelopment.

• Achieve concrete and tangible results: replace vacant properties with redeveloped commercial businesses that will provide jobs.

Before: 1200 Reverend Abraham Woods Jr Boulevard, Birmingham (1990’s)

After: Social Security Administration Building; $133.5M Development

(2008)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

• Working with EPA on the initial BF Survey, the local citizens were: Thurman Thomas, Chester Wallace, and Jones Monday

• City of Birmingham’s Community Development, Economic Development, Planning Departments and Elected Officials

• Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham (RPC-GB) • U.S. EPA Headquarters - Conflict Prevention and Resolution Center • U.S. EPA Resource Conservation and Restoration Division (RCRD) • All participants on Brownfields Task Force for N. Birmingham and

the IWG Subgroup on Economic Development • SRA International Inc.

CLOSING AND Q & A