Successful redevelopment and risk management in Emeryville ... Emeryville Article in... · R. Arulanantham 2 & L. Feldman3 1 City of Emeryville, USA 1 California Environmental Protection

Successful redevelopment and risk management in Emeryville, California

I. Dayrit1, R. Arulanantham2 & L. Feldman3 1 City of Emeryville, USA 1 California Environmental Protection Agency, Regional Water Quality

Control Board, USA J Geomatrix Consultants USA

Abstract Emeryville, California is a small city in the San Francisco Bay Area that faced the challenge of redeveloping partially abandoned and underutilized industrial properties, while protecting environmental and public health. In the early 1970's, it suffered from high crime and unemployment rates, high vacancies of non­residential properties, and perceived extensive groundwater contamination. Guided by a Community Task Force and Technical Advisory Team, Emeryville implemented a program that significantly reduced the uncertainties to brownfields redevelopment, while enhancing environmental protection. The strategies that the city employed include an area-wide groundwater management program, fmancial assistance for site assessment and remediation, Internet-based GIS applications for dissemination of environmental, planning, real estate and institutional control infonnation, and adaptive reuse of industrial buildings. In using these strategies in concert, Emeryville redeveloped key projects that served as economic catalysts, IDCiuding infrastructure and transit-oriented developments, retail and entertainment callers and multi-family and mixed-income housing.

76 Brownfield Sites: Assessmem. Rehabilitation and Development

Leadership and stakeholder participation were key ingredients in formulating and refining these strategies. The City Council carefully considered contributions from residents, businesses, lenders, developers and city staff. Coordination and technical assistance with the regulatory agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), California EPA Department of Toxic Substances Control and Regional Water Quality Control Board, were vital in designing the program

Emeryville's program is considered a model for brownfields redevelopment and has been internationally recognized, including a Bangemann Challenge Award (now the Stockholm Challenge) in 1999, and Phoenix Awards in 1999 and 2001.

References [1] City of Emeryville, Project Status Report, November 1998 [2] Geomatrix Consultants, Inc. (Geomatrix), Conceptual Groundwater Model,

Emeryville Brownfields Pilot Project, Emeryville, California, March 30, 1998. [3] Geomatrix, Final Groundwater Report, City of Emeryville, Emeryville, California, July 26, 2001.

[4] California Regional Water Quality Control Board, San Francisco Bay Region, 2001, East Bay Plain Groundwater Basin Beneficial Use Evaluation Report, Final Report, April21, 2001.

[5] Dayrit, I. and Geomatrix Consultants, Area-wide Approaches to Groundwater Contamination - Emeryville, California, Proceedings of Brownfields 2001 in Chicago, Illinois, The Engineers' Society ofWestem Pennsylvania, 2001 [6] U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, The Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative: Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund Administrative Manual, Washington D.C., 1998

[7] Dayrit, I., Expanding Use of GIS for Planning, Redevelopment and Institutional Controls, Proceedings of Brownfields 2001 in Chicago, Illinois The Engineers' Society of Western Pennsylvania, 2001 [8] Dayrit, I. and Charpentier, S, Residential Adaptive Reuse - Case Studies, Proceedings ofBrownfields 2001 in Chicago, Illinois, The Engineers' Society of Western Pennsylvania, 2001