Clatsop County has received a $500,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency and will be working with ColPac as the grantee project manager and Stantec as the consultant project manager to reach out to local communities and review land that may be vacant or underutilized due to concerns about contamination.
The grant will help transform properties to affordable housing or businesses, creating healthier communities and a stronger economy.
Along with funding environmental assessments to guide cleanup planning, the grant also supports planning toward resale and redevelopment of the properties.
As the economy in Clatsop County continues to grow in size and diversity the severe lack of affordable housing continues to be a barrier to support the necessary workforce. Real estate along the Pacific coast is expensive and leads to deficiencies of available affordable housing and even homelessness for low-income workers.
A brownfield is an idle property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.
The County is looking to work with private and public land owners to repurpose vacant and underutilized real estate that would provide economic development opportunities in addition to housing options for our workforce and low-income populations.
The goal of the work to be completed with this grant is to understand environmental liabilities associated with key sites, and to energize existing community-driven reuse strategies that incorporate workforce housing development. Beyond our County's economic development and housing goals, we look to utilize the grant to maintain and improve the natural environment that makes Clatsop County a beautiful area in which to live and work.
We all will. Work conducted under this agreement will benefit residents, business owners, and stakeholders in and near Clatsop County, Oregon.
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800 Exchange Street, Suite 410
Astoria, OR 97103
United States