Author: Alex Dodds

Speak out to renew the federal Brownfields Tax Incentive

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Developers working to clean-up and redevelop brownfields could soon lose a major federal aid – unless advocates work together to save it.

Originally signed into law in 1997 and extended through December 31, 2011, Section 198’s Brownfields Tax Incentive is a tax deduction intended to encourage the cleanup and revitalization of brownfield properties. Under the incentive environmental cleanup costs are fully deductible in the year incurred, rather than capitalized and spread over time. Improvements in 2006 expanded the Incentive to include petroleum cleanup.

The incentive is scheduled to expire at the end of the year, but there’s a chance to save it. The National Brownfields Coalition is asking Congress to extend the Incentive as part of the Family and Business Tax Cut Certainty Act of 2012, more commonly known as the “tax extenders” bill.

Join the call to make brownfields cleanup easier: send a letter to your members of Congress today.

The Incentive is already helping towns put contaminated land back in to productive reuse. In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for example, the Incentive helped make possible the redevelopment of a former industrial site in the city’s historic Martin Luther King Drive Business Improvement District. The site is now home to new commercial and residential space, and has greatly added momentum to efforts within the Business Improvement District.

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Diverse development helps neighborhoods in greater DC and beyond

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Washington, DC’s Yards Park in the Capital Riverfront neighborhood. Photo via Flickr.

Office renters, apartment seekers and shoppers are all vital parts of creating a great, economically resilient neighborhood. What development strategies attract these people? As Christopher B. Leinberger’s new research explains, walkable streets and transit choices are increasingly important in Washington DC and across the country.

Leinberger, President of LOCUS and Research Professor at The George Washington University School of Business, sat down with the Washington Post recently to discuss his most recent research, “The WalkUP Wake-Up Call,” and the future of development in the Washington DC region.

LOCUS

A new online home for the National Complete Streets Coalition

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Back in May we announced that our close ally and coalition partner the National Complete Streets Coalition was to become an official program of Smart Growth America. After a summer of working on the details of this transition, we are proud to announce a new online home for the Coalition at www.smartgrowthamerica.org/complete-streets.

Complete Streets

New research highlights rising demand for homes and businesses in walkable neighborhoods

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A new report from The George Washington University’s Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis, in partnership with LOCUS: Responsible Real Estate Developers and Investors and ULI Washington, reveals how walkable urban places and projects will drive tomorrow’s real estate industry and the U.S. economy, and outlines what actions are needed to take advantage of these market trends.

The report was released at an event yesterday in Washington, DC. Governor Parris Glendening, President of Smart Growth America’s Leadership Institute, gave the kickoff keynote of the day-long event. Glendening discussed the megatrends shaping the real estate market today, including changing demographics, new demand among consumers and emerging economic factors. These trends are all influencing the real estate market, Glendening explained, and are shaping how developers think about the built environment and economic development.

LOCUS

Opposition to old United Nations resolution moves from the fringe to the GOP platform

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“UN Flag.” Photo by Philippe Teuwen, via Flickr.

All eyes are on the Republican Party’s national convention in Tampa this week, with voters and pundits gauging presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s performance. But amid the bright spotlight of the stage and the specter of Tropical Storm Isaac, the GOP also released its platform for the coming years.

The platform’s language includes reference to the “U.N. Agenda 21,” a non-binding resolution signed by the in 1992 that has become a catch-all boogeyman for conservative fears about changing development and new currents in American society. In a post published today, the New York Times’ Leslie Kaufman explains what this has to do with local planning efforts:

Although it is nonbinding and has no force of law in the United States, it has increasingly become a point of passionate concern to a circle of Republican activists who argue that the resolution is part of a United Nations plot to deny Americans their property rights…Most of those pushing the Agenda 21 theory have been largely on the margins of their own party. But the inclusion of language for Agenda 21 in the Republican Party platform could mark a turning point, said Tom Madrecki, a spokesman for Smart Growth America, an advocacy group that works to limit sprawl.

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Learn how your community can grow smarter with technical assistance from Smart Growth America

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A view of downtown Oklahoma City, OK by Flickr user Becky McCray. Smart Growth America came to Oklahoma City in April to provide technical assistance.

On Tuesday, Smart Growth America and the Tennessee Department of Transportation released Removing Barriers to Smarter Transportation Investments, a report that provides detailed analysis and specific recommendations to help Tennessee invest more smartly and efficiently in its transportation and infrastructure needs.

The report was created as part of Smart Growth America’s technical assistance, which is available to towns, counties and states interested in learning how to apply smart growth strategies to their own growth or planning. Policy analyses, public investment recommendations and hands-on workshops are among the many services included in our technical assistance.

Technical assistance

TDOT Commissioner John Schroer on building an even better transportation system in Tennessee

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Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner John Schroer is part of the dedicated team working to make Tennessee’s transportation system more efficient and a better value for Tennessee taxpayers. As part of our new analysis, Removing Barriers to Smarter Transportation Investments, released in partnership with the Tennessee DOT, Commissioner Schroer writes an open letter to Tennesseans on how and why the department is working to improve its services. From the report:

Dear Fellow Tennesseans:

It is critical that our state continues to provide better services and infrastructure to our citizens and businesses, and more importantly in a financially responsible manner. I also recognize that the services provided by our transportation system are absolutely critical to sustaining and growing our state’s economy. It is therefore essential that all of us plan, build and operate our transportation system in a manner that balances the needs of rural and urban areas, businesses and communities, and preserves our way of life.

While we are all concerned about maintaining the current infrastructure at an acceptable level, we must also wisely use our limited funding sources to provide a transportation system that is efficient, dependable and safe for all users of the system. TDOT is focused on a planning a statewide, multimodal transportation system that enables both rural and urban communities to grow and prosper taking into account business needs, access to jobs, access to freight ports and airports, needs of transit riders, bicyclists, pedestrians, tourism and quality of life.

Technical assistance

Video: Strong communities and strong economies have choices

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Smart Growth America’s Roger Millar recently sat down with our coalition partner the Sonoran Institute for a video about choices in development. As one of several developers, architects, elected officials, realtors, conservationists, and community leaders in the video, Millar discusses why choices matter when it comes to building thriving communities in today’s economy.

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Senator Schumer calls on Congress to extend tax credits for brownfield redevelopment

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Senator Charles Schumer has called on Congress to extend the EPA’s Brownfields Tax Credit. Image via Flickr user ProPublica.

Just last week, the New York Times chronicled the difficulties of creating new development on former gas station sites. Now, New York Senator Charles Schumer is asking Congress to support property owners, municipalities and developers who want to clean up these difficult pieces of land and get them back into productive use.

“Scores of gas stations sit vacant and abandoned across upstate New York, acting as detriments to downtown development and potentially serious hazards to human environmental health,” Schumer was quoted by the Buffalo News. “Gas stations can look like small fixer-uppers above ground, but may have lots of problems beneath.”

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Charlotte, Tampa to showcase smart growth features at this year's political conventions

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The Tampa Bay Times Forum in Tampa Bay, FL, overlooking the Tampa Riverwalk, will host this year’s Republican National Convention. Photo by Flickr user Judy Malley.

Republicans and Democrats alike will be enjoying the benefits of smart growth strategies later this summer as both parties prepare for their respective conventions.

The Republican National Convention will take place in late August at the Tampa Bay Times Forum, a 670,000 sq. ft. arena that’s normally home to the Tampa Bay Lightning. The arena overlooks the scenic Hillsborough River and the Tampa Riverwalk, a 2.6-mile riverfront walkway that connects the Forum with restaurants, shops and parks in the area.

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