Housing Orgs Testify for Smart Growth Legislation

WASHINGTON, DC-Multi-housing organizations took to the Senate floor yesterday before the Committee on Environment and Public Works to testify in support of augmenting brownfields legislation and of providing federal incentives for smart land use planning. Among those offering testimony on the bills–the The Brownfield Site Redevelopment Assistance Act (S. 1079), and the Community Character Act (S. 975)–were speakers representing the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB), and the National Multi Housing Council/National Apartment Association (NMHC/NAA).

Both proposed bills are enhancements of environmental legislation signed in January called the Brownfields Revitalization and Environmental Restoration Act, which calls $1.24 billion over a five-year period to clean up abandoned contaminated sites. The new brownfields bill calls for $300 million over a five-year period for a program to help restore brownfield sites to fruitful use. “S.1079 may further the ability of local communities to redevelop brownfield sites and return them to productive use,” said NAHB president F. Gary Garczynski. “Grants provided under S. 1079 have the potential to complement the United States Environmental Protection Agency brownfields grant program recently enacted in the new brownfields law.”