Restoring Prosperity

Save HUD’s Brownfields Programs!

mdangelo — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:38:30 +0000

The HUD Brownfields Economic Development Initiative (BEDI) and the HUD 108 loan guarantee program are used to clean up and redevelop brownfields and blighted properties. BEDI provides funds for demolition, site preparation, and building rehabilitation on contaminated sites and HUD 108 allows communities to finance major redevelopment projects by borrowing against future CDBG entitlements.

The President’s budget zeroed out both of these programs. During the appropriations process, the House bill restored funding for the programs, providing $25 million for BEDI and $6 million for HUD 108, but the Senate version also zeroed out both programs. The HUD brownfields program fills a unique niche in funding difficult blighted and contaminated sites. It would be a mistake to eliminate these important tools.

The differences between the House and Senate bills will be worked out in conference committee. Please help us reach out to conferees and ask them to support the House funding levels for these programs! Download our talking points for more information about HUD’s brownfields programs and to find our if your Congress members are on the list of conferees.

Don’t Miss Reclaiming Vacant Properties

mdangelo — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 20:00:05 +0000

The National Vacant Properties Campaign’s second national conference, Reclaiming Vacant Properties: Building Leadership to Restore Communities, will help leaders with diverse backgrounds – residents, community development practitioners, elected officials, the financial community, safety professionals, academics, real estate professionals, and many others – to make our neighborhoods stronger and healthier.

The conference, cosponsored by the Louisville Metro Government and the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, will be held June 1-3 in Louisville, Kentucky. An all-star cast of invited speakers includes Carol Coletta of CEOs for Cities, Marc H. Morial of the Urban League, Bruce Rasher of CB Richard Ellis, Inc., Dan Kildee of the Genesee County Land Bank, and Louisville’s own Mayor Abramson.

If you register before April 30, you’ll save $100. More than 600 people attended the first conference in 2007. Don’t miss the opportunity to network and share knowledge with those who have been working to create opportunity from abandonment!

Four More Policy Packages for State Advocates Released

mdangelo — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 19:01:02 +0000

Smart Growth America has released four more policy packages for state advocates, on tax increment financing for brownfields, fix-it-first for water and sewer infrastructure, using Low Income Housing Tax Credits to create and preserve transit-accessible affordable housing, and performance-based transportation measures. Each package includes an overview of the policy, key features of successful legislation, advice on political strategy and communications, sample legislative language, and a fill-in fact sheet for advocates to distribute to state officials. Download the packages today and use them in your state!

Download the entire Brownfields Policy Package.
Download the fill-in Brownfields Fact Sheet and customize to fit your state.

Download the entire Fix-it-First Policy Package.
Download the fill-in Fix-it-First Fact Sheet and customize to fit your state.

Download the entire LIHTC Policy Package.
Download the fill-in LIHTC Fact Sheet and customize to fit your state.

Download the entire Transportation Policy Package.

Restoring Prosperity Partners Submit Recommendations to Congress

mdangelo — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 22:09:30 +0000

A coalition of groups supporting the revitalization of older industrial cities submitted recommendations to Congress for inclusion in a stimulus package proposed by President-elect Obama. Groups signed on to a letter that provided suggestions for stimulus spending in three areas: housing, transportation and infrastructure, and economic and workforce development. Read the text of that letter here.

President-Elect Obama to Create Office of Urban Policy

mdangelo — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 19:58:57 +0000

The President-elect’s transition co-chair, Valerie Jarrett, has confirmed the new administration’s commitment to creating an Office of Urban Policy, designed to coordinate the federal government’s policies affecting U.S. cities. Obama had originally announced his plans for the new office on the campaign trail in June before the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Additionally, President-elect Obama has promised to take other measures to assist U.S. cities, including increasing Community Development Block Grant funds. The new administration has not yet selected a Chief of Urban Policy, but the mayor of Miami, Manny Diaz, has indicated that he is under consideration for the post.

New York Announces Brownfields Smart Growth Initiative

mdangelo — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 19:57:01 +0000

New York’s Department of State announced on November 17th a new Brownfields Smart Growth Spotlight Communities initiative, designed to link communities currently enrolled in the state’s Brownfield Opportunity Areas program with the Governor’s Smart Growth cabinet resources in order to promote economic revitalization as well as environmental protection of troubled areas. By integrating the Smart Growth cabinet with these existing programs, the state hopes to reinforce its existing commitment to sustainable smart growth and redevelopment. For more information, see the New York Department of State’s website.

New Jersey Passes Homeless Trust Fund Bill

mdangelo — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 19:55:24 +0000

In late October, the New Jersey Assembly approved legislation (A.3101) that would allow individual counties in the state to create their own Homelessness Trust Funds with dedicated state funding. These funds would provide qualifying community organizations and county programs with additional capital for homelessness prevention and affordable housing projects. The bill sets targets for reductions in homelessness and timetables for drawing up county and state strategic plans. For more information on the New Jersey Homeless Trust Fund bill and similar programs, visit the Ending Homelessness in New Jersey website.

Historic Preservation Tax Credits Awarded in Ohio

mdangelo — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 19:53:40 +0000

Ohio’s Historic Preservation Tax Credit program, part of a larger economic stimulus plan implemented in June, provides incentives for property owners to rehabilitate historic buildings. The owners receive tax credit awards for 25 percent of all expenditures that qualify as part of the renovation process. The Lieutenant Governor’s office recently announced 48 tax credit awards for 2010 in an October press release. To learn more about passing this type of legislation in your state, see the Restoring Prosperity policy package on state Historic Preservation Tax Credits. Also, for more information on this and other Ohio-related developments, visit the website of our campaign partner, Greater Ohio.

PA Legislature Passes Blighted Property Bill

mdangelo — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 19:52:20 +0000

The Pennsylvania state legislature has approved a bill designed to give communities greater power to bring abandoned properties in line with community codes and standards. The Abandoned and Blighted Property Conservatorship Act (House Bill 2188) would allow courts to appoint conservators with the power to rehabilitate and restore qualifying blighted properties–those that have been abandoned, are in violation of community codes, and have not been on the market for a specified time period, among other requirements. Ordinarily, communities would have to track down the owner of a neglected property and administer a court order in order to enforce community codes, a process that can be difficult to complete. The Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania worked for the act’s passage and has more information on its website. The bill awaits final approval from Governor Ed Rendell before becoming law.

PennDOT Launching “Smart Transportation” Initiative

mdangelo — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 20:29:06 +0000

Pennsylvania’s Department of Transportation has started integrating “Smart Transportation” principles into its operations as part of a new initiative. The Smart Transportation Initiative emphasizes reducing sprawl, allocating money to high-yield and high value projects, investing in existing infrastructure, and revitalizing communities by linking them to a variety of transit options. PennDOT aims to link up with local governments in order to influence land use to complement these goals. Restoring Prosperity partner 10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania was able to shape a key component of the new initiative, the Pennsylvania Community Transportation Initiative (PCTI), which offers funding for projects that promote local multi-modal development, existing infrastructure enhancements, and other smart transportation principles.