Press Release: Ottawa County launches new program to battle brownfields and blight

Ottawa County, Michigan sent this bulletin at 07/08/2019 10:49 AM EDT

For Immediate Release

Ottawa County launches new program to battle brownfields and blight

West Olive, MI – Ottawa County is economically diverse, with strong tourism, agriculture, and manufacturing industries. But the industrial history upon which we built our thriving economy left a legacy of not only economic strength, but contaminated or underutilized properties in need of revitalization. Even today, there are tool and die shops, dry cleaning businesses, and gas stations, to name a few, that may be leave behind contamination once those operations cease. Contaminated, underutilized, or blighted properties like these all qualify as “brownfields”, and that means developers may be saddled with extra costs if they want to site their project on brownfield property.

The Ottawa County Board of Commissioners recognizes that burden, and recently approved the creation of a new, unique, and locally driven financial tool to help defray those costs. Dubbed the Brownfield Incentive Program, or BIP, the fund was established to help incentivize the redevelopment of brownfield properties with local funding. The fund, managed by the Ottawa County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority (OCBRA), consists of certain revenues generated under the Brownfield Redevelopment Act, and from an Urban Cooperation Agreement with the Ottawa County Land Bank Authority, which provided funding for the BIP because of their shared goal of revitalizing vacant and underutilized land in Ottawa County.

Typically, using grants or loans from the United States Environmental Protection Agency or the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, or utilizing tax increment financing under an approved Brownfield Plan, are methods by which developers offset the costs of brownfield redevelopment. However, grants are difficult to secure consistently, and loan funding is limited. It is for this reason the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners approved the creation of the BIP. While Ottawa County is fortunate not to have the extensive issues with blight and contaminated properties that many large municipalities do, it is still best to take a proactive and aggressive approach to redeveloping brownfield properties.

The benefits of incentivizing the redevelopment of brownfield properties are many, including:

Returning problematic properties to the tax rolls
Attracting developers to brownfields, creating jobs and investment.
Increasing the value of nearby properties
Reducing sprawl by reusing properties with existing infrastructure

The County’s locally-driven BIP also seeks projects that could provide even more benefits. Projects can potentially receive “bonus points” on their application if they help address locally important social or economic issues such as the affordable housing deficit, dwindling groundwater resources, or inclusivity. According to Ryan Kilpatrick, Executive Director of Housing Next, “County leaders should be commended for not only creating this innovative program, but also recognizing how the program can benefit and support our organization’s ongoing efforts to increase the number of affordable housing units in the County. Effective planning is collaborative - it cannot be viewed through just the lens of housing, just the lens of farmland, or whatever your singular lens might be.” Housing Next is an Ottawa County collaborative effort focused on solving the affordable housing problems in Ottawa County.

Ottawa County boasts eight local and one countywide Brownfield Redevelopment Authority that can provide access to all of the financial tools mentioned here. The OCBRA works cooperatively with all cities, villages, and townships in the County. For more information about the brownfield redevelopment or the Brownfield Incentive Program, contact the OCBRA at 616.738.4852, plan@miottawa.org, or by visiting www.miottawa.org/brownfields.

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Media Contact:

Becky Huttenga | Economic Development Coordinator | bhuttenga@miottawa.org | 616-738-4852

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Ottawa County is located on Lake Michigan’s spectacular freshwater coastline where nature is cherished and protected. More than the lakeshore, you’ll find the people of Ottawa County friendly yet driven, working hard to succeed in charming downtown small businesses, at manufacturing hubs with global impact and on acres passed down from generations. We embrace creativity and believe that diversity makes us stronger. We resolve that our public services must be high-quality and cost-effective. We are innovative and never wait for someone to solve our problems for us. We are friendly neighbors chipping in, lending a hand and making sure you know Ottawa County is where you belong.

The Ottawa County Board of Commissioners meets the second and fourth Tuesdays each month at 1:30PM. The public is welcome and encouraged to participate. Meetings are held in the Board Room located at 12220 Fillmore Street, West Olive, Michigan.

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