| FCM: |
Tell us about your brownfield project. Was the property owned by your municipality or by the private sector? Whose decision was it to take it on?
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| D. Finbow: |
The property was privately owned and occupied by an auto service station and gas station. The town bought the property to facilitate the new town hall project. Before buying it, we did an environmental review and found some contamination, but not to the extent discovered when the former service station was demolished and the underground storage tanks were removed. The town council decided to proceed with the project despite the extent of the soil contamination.
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| FCM: |
How did you remediate the site?
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| D. Finbow: |
The contaminated soil was removed and bioremediated at the town’s solid waste management site. |
| FCM: |
What were the innovative aspects of your project that make it stand out? |
| D. Finbow: |
The most innovative aspects of our project were extensive public consultation — including visioning sessions, a design charrette, and electronic voting on developed concepts — and the sustainability principles we adopted in redeveloping a brownfield site with an energy-efficient, LEED® Gold certified municipal centre. It’s a whole new approach to urbanism for us. |
| FCM: |
How long did it take from the beginning of the project to actually see it reach the development phase? |
| D. Finbow: |
Approximately four years.
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| FCM: |
What did your municipality have to gain by taking action on this site? |
| D. Finbow: |
With this project, we wanted to demonstrate leadership in sustainability and set the tone for the type of development we envision for our community. We were able to revitalize a designated site in the downtown Thornbury Business Improvement Area, provide accessible municipal services to residents, and avoid greenfield development.
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| FCM: |
Have you put any incentives, grants or programs into place to motivate brownfield development in your area? |
| D. Finbow: |
The town is in the process of finalizing our community improvement plan or CIP. Once the CIP is approved by council, the tools will be in place to allow council to consider development charges or tax relief or both for brownfield and revitalization projects.
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| FCM: |
It is often said that a team approach is needed to redevelop a contaminated site. In your experience, who are the primary stakeholders that need to be on board? |
| D. Finbow: |
Yes, a team approach was critical to the success of this project. As a small community, we had to assess everyone’s needs and take an integrated approach to get everyone on board … residents, public and private stakeholders, and municipal leaders who will stand up to the challenges.
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| FCM: |
What role, if any, did your economic development team play in moving the project forward? |
| D. Finbow: |
The economic benefits of redeveloping this piece of land were a key consideration for the town, as was the potential for this project to inspire other redevelopment projects in the downtown area.
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| FCM: |
From issues of liability to lack of funding and risk, brownfield sites present development challenges that are virtually non-existent with greenfield sites. How did your municipality and the developer look beyond these barriers and see the light at the end of the tunnel? |
| D. Finbow: |
The town recognized early on that this site would not be redeveloped unless we took the lead. The project aligned with the goals of our developing sustainability plan, The Blue Mountains Sustainable Path, and allowed us to demonstrate our commitment to being great stewards of the earth and land that we are responsible for, to be leaders in everything we do and to support economic development opportunities wherever possible.
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| FCM: |
Were there any funding partnerships or financing structures that made this project possible? If so, can you explain? |
| D. Finbow: |
Yes. This project received federal and provincial grant funding from the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund, and loan and grant funding from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Green Municipal Fund.
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| FCM: |
What lessons did you learn in redeveloping the site? How did these lessons influence other activities offered within your community? |
| D. Finbow: |
The most important lesson we learned was to engage the community early and often. Gaining public support for the project, learning from their insights and vision, and keeping them informed was fundamental to the project’s success. We’re applying what we’ve learned to all our communication efforts.
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| FCM: |
What motivates you to work on this challenging but rewarding issue?
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| D. Finbow: |
To do the right thing, to learn from the process, and to be proud of what we can achieve!
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| FCM: |
What can mayors and councillors do to support brownfield redevelopment in their communities?
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| D. Finbow: |
Champion the cause, seek out partnerships and embrace the tools that are available to municipalities, such as the members of the community themselves, financial grants, low-interest rate loans and, if applicable, community improvement plans. Accept that there will be differences in opinion within the community no matter what, especially if they are not informed, involved or engaged. Make sure that everyone involved delivers the same clear and concise message on how the project will benefit the community on all levels. |
