Our brownfield sites – the holes in our downtown.

“Brownfield” is a term used by the urban planning industry to describe land which may possibly have been contaminated with hazardous waste or pollution.  Many are former gas stations. Such properties are shunned by developers even if there is no evidence of pollution.  Environmental regulations require an owner who wishes to develop a former gas station to spend enormous amounts of money studying, testing and remediating these sites, even if no contamination is found.  However, there seems to be no penalty to letting them sit and  leak.  Such is the logic of the good people at MOE.

Like many small municipalities in Ontario, Napanee has a variety of Brownfields, mostly former gas stations which are a blight on our downtown.

Ontario does have a brownfield program which contributes modest amounts towards cleanup. So do many municipalities including Kingston.  Napane council is aware of the problem and there’s no shortage of good intentions.  See Greater Napanee News April 9, 2014. But Napanee has no brownfield program.  Would the increased taxes generated by development of these sites offset modest initial contributions from the taxpayers?  Would a policy to waive development charges on brownfield sites help? There’s ample precedent in Napanee for quietly waiving development charges elsewhere. See Development charges and impost fees.

117-125 Dundas E.

It’s for sale too. It would make a great public parking lot for up to 60 cars with minimal remediation.

And the holes in our hamlets… 

Site of former gas station & general store in Adolphustown. The building burned long ago and no taxes have been paid since. Tax sale proceedings were completed with no offers equal to the arrears. Have the arrears been written off or do they continue to accumulate in the unpaid taxes ledger?  Has anyone proposed listing it for sale?  If not, should they?

416 Dundas W. Click here for link to Ontario’s environmental site registry.

And one that was remediated.

The new Health Care Centre on Dundas W is built on the site of a former Imperial Oil service station.