BROWNFIELD PLANS
The purpose of a Brownfield Plan (Plan) is to create a funding mechanism (Tax Increment Financing) through which the Kalamazoo County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority (KCBRA) can provide Baseline Environmental Assessment activities, Due Care activities and other eligible response activities at certain eligible properties in the county. Plans are developed and adopted pursuant to Michigan’s Brownfield Redevelopment Financing Act. For each project site, a general description of the eligible activities to be paid for with tax increment financing is included. Projections are made regarding the investments planned for each site and the resulting future taxable value. These projections include assumptions about costs, property assessments and the tax increment created by the redevelopment. The Plan describes the estimated tax increment and the effect to each taxing jurisdiction. It also provides a projected reimbursement plan.
Properties that are eligible for enrollment in a Plan include properties that are contaminated, abandoned and/or under-utilized and meet the definition of a “facility, blighted, functionally obsolete, or historic resource.” The KCBRA has established an application and evaluation process to evaluate and consider individual properties for enrollment in a Plan. The KCBRA and the Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners must approve all Plans. Prior to capturing school taxes (Act 381 Workplan) for eligible activities, approval by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and/or the Michigan Economic Growth Authority is required.