02-02-2015, 01:41 PM
(02-02-2015, 01:34 PM)ookpik Wrote: If it's owned privately then someone has been paying property tax on it. They also continue to be liable for any pollution remediation before they can put the lot to use or sell it. So why wait? If cleanup is needed it's not going to get cheaper in the future.
Moreover if the concern is ground pollution then doesn't the city have some responsibility for putting pressure on the owner to do it now rather than continue with the risk that this pollution gets into the water system?
I'm asking about Union and Belmont because it's been vacant for so long. The same applies to the Husky although at this time we don't know if the lot owner has an definite plans.
Taxes over empty land are low as best as I understand. Pollution remediation would likely exceed their sales cost, so usually they wait for some brownfield remediation incentive such as the Barrel Yards, where it was reported that the subsoil belongs to a shell corporation with no assets other than the land itself because of fears about what one day may be uncovered.
The solution would be to have all environmentally sensitive industries buy into a ground remediation insurance pool whose premiums should reflect how safe are their practices. This way going bankrupt wouldn't be a way out of soil remediation and it could be initiated by the city itself.