Brownfield site redevelopment planning, liability, risk assessment and risk management : a City of Winnipeg case study

Abstract

Brownfields are abandoned, idle or under-utilized industrial and commercial lands where redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived contamination. They can perpetuate pockets of decay throughout the urban footprint. Along with negative physical impacts, they pose economic and environmental threats, complicating their management and redevelopment. Canadian municipal planning departments have only recently begun to address a variety of brownfield planning issues. he City of Winnipeg, in particular, wants to better understand the liabilities it faces, as a brownfield site owner. Winnipeg was the subject city for this study of brownfield redevelopment planning issues. By literature review, interview and survey methods, a policy argument for brownfield redevelopment planning is presented. Environmental, economic and legal liabilities are defined. Lender liability and bank practices are reviewed. Environmental risk assessment and risk management issues are critiqued. Risk-ranking tools applicable to brownfield redevelopment planning are suggested. The review of Manitoba and Winnipeg policies and statutes, as well as reference to several Canadian brownfield cases, frames the program and procedural recommendations designed for the City of Winnipeg. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)