Council consideration of Resolution 26-32 supporting the City of Coos Bay Brownfields Inventory & Redevelopment Readiness Initiative and authorizing the City to apply to the Oregon Business Development Department (“Business Oregon”) for $25,000 in Brownfields Redevelopment Fund grant assistance to complete a citywide brownfields inventory.
If it pleases Council, adopt Resolution 26-32 authorizing application to Business Oregon for $25,000 in Brownfields Redevelopment Fund grant assistance to support a Brownfield Inventory project and committing the required $2,500 City match contribution.
Coos Bay's long industrial and maritime history has played an important role in the economic development of Oregon's South Coast. Historical uses throughout the community have included timber processing, rail infrastructure, fuel storage, manufacturing, marine industrial operations, and other commercial activities. As is common in older industrial communities, some properties may have actual or perceived environmental conditions that create uncertainty regarding redevelopment and future investment.
The City currently does not have a comprehensive brownfields inventory. Without a coordinated inventory, potentially impacted properties are generally addressed individually as redevelopment opportunities arise. The proposed Brownfields Inventory & Redevelopment Readiness Initiative would give the City a more proactive approach by identifying potential brownfield properties and connecting environmental due diligence with future redevelopment opportunities.
The project would focus on commercial, industrial, waterfront, and other redevelopment opportunity sites where known or perceived environmental contamination may complicate redevelopment, investment, property reuse, infrastructure improvements, housing development, or economic revitalization. Work would include development of a GIS-supported inventory database, review of available environmental and historical property information, establishment of prioritization criteria, and identification of sites with redevelopment potential.
Importantly, the inventory itself does not designate a property as contaminated and does not involve environmental sampling or cleanup. Rather, it is a planning tool intended to identify properties where additional environmental due diligence may be warranted and to better position the City and willing property owners to pursue future resources. The current application expressly provides that environmental-media sampling will not occur as part of this project.
Following completion of the inventory, the City intends to rank and prioritize candidate properties for potential Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments, conduct outreach to willing property owners, and pursue EPA Brownfields Assessment funding and other state and federal resources. The City could then coordinate with property owners, DEQ, Business Oregon, EPA, developers, the Coos Bay Urban Renewal Agency, and other partners to advance appropriate sites from identification to assessment, cleanup planning, and ultimately productive reuse.
Potential redevelopment opportunities may include commercial and industrial reuse, mixed-use development, housing, industrial reinvestment, waterfront revitalization, infrastructure improvements, and other community-serving projects. The City does not anticipate acquiring or directly redeveloping most properties identified through the inventory; rather, the inventory is intended to reduce uncertainty and create a pathway for property owners and redevelopment partners to address environmental barriers when opportunities arise.
Business Oregon's Brownfields Redevelopment Fund provides assistance for eligible brownfield planning, assessment, and cleanup activities. The City has prepared an application requesting $25,000 toward completion of the inventory. Adoption of Resolution 26-32 would formally demonstrate the City Council's support for both the grant application and the City's undertaking of the Brownfields Inventory & Redevelopment Readiness Initiative.
The City is requesting $25,000 in Business Oregon Brownfields Redevelopment Fund grant assistance. The application identifies a required $2,500 City contribution, resulting in an estimated funded project cost of $27,500. Staff time associated with ranking and prioritizing inventoried properties may also be provided as an in-kind City contribution as part of implementation. If grant funding is awarded, staff will bring a grant award acceptance and appropriation resolution for review and adoption.