Download Merrimack Valley Regional Brownfields Assessment Program Site

MERRIMACK VALLEY BROWNFIELDS
ASSESSMENT PROGRAM
Evaluation, Prioritization, and Selection of Candidate Sites
Part A: Narrative
Property Status

Is the site municipally owned? If not, will site access, control, and/or ownership transfer pose
an impediment to timely assessment and successful future redevelopment?
Community Support

Is the project fully supported by all affected parties in the community?
Equitable Distribution of Funds/Contamination Complexity

Will the site, if too large or its contamination too widespread, consume a disproportionate
amount of the available EPA grant funding, thereby drastically limiting the number of sites
that can be assessed region wide?
Redevelopment Potential





Proximity to Central Business Center – Is the site an important element of a community’s
central business center, and is its current status a blighting influence on area business?
Infrastructure – Is the site served by municipal sewer and water? Is it accessible to major
roads and public transit facilities/service?
Strategic or Community Development Plan – Is restoration and redevelopment of the site
part of a community’s strategic plan for the area?
Economic Development Potential – Will the site, upon assessment and cleanup, stimulate
economic investment and job creation?
Marketability – Has the site generated developer interest for remediation and subsequent
reuse for long term sustainable development?
Environmental Justice Issues/Neighborhood Revitalization

Is the site proximate to sensitive populations (including minority or lower income
neighborhoods), and does it pose a blighting influence or health risks? Does it hinder
economic reinvestment, housing, and recreational opportunities in the neighborhood?
Environmental/Ecological Sensitivity

Does the site pose a risk to sensitive natural resources, such as public and private drinking
water supplies, swimming areas, wetlands, rare or endangered species habitat?
Open Space & Recreation Potential

Does the site, upon redevelopment, offer public access, open space, or recreation
opportunities (e.g., trail linkage)?
Regional Benefit

Will the benefits of the project extend beyond the immediate area to the rest of the
municipality and region as a whole, or is it strictly a neighborhood project?
Part B: Quantitative Analysis
Ranking Criteria
Value
Status
Ownership
1
3
5
1
3
5
1
3
5
Size
Zoning
Privately owned
Transfer in progress from private to public
Publicly owned
<1 acre
1-3 acres
>3 acres
Non-commercial/industrial/residential
Residential
Commercial/industrial
Site Preparation for Redevelopment
Demolition Needed
Infrastructure Needed
1
3
5
1
3
5
Yes
Unknown
No
Yes
Unknown
No
Neighborhood
Minority Neighborhood
Income
1
3
5
1
3
5
<10% minority Census Tract
10% - 25% minority in Census Tract
>25% minority in Census Tract
<5% in Census Tract below poverty
5% - 15% in Census Tract below poverty
>15% in Census Tract below poverty
Marketability
Assessed Value Per Acre
Access
1
3
5
1
5
<$250,000
$250,000 - $500,000
>$500,000
>0.5 miles from highway/transit center
<0.5 miles from highway/transit center
Project Support
Development Plan
Tangible Action Taken
0
5
0
3
5
Funding Committed (other than
Merrimack Valley Brownfields
Assessment Program)
0
3
5
No plan
Plan exists
No action taken beyond plan
Tangible action taken by the town with some
community support
Tangible action taken by the town with full
community support
No other funding committed
Public or private funding committed
Both public and private funding committed