In Office | Topics and Trends For Municipal Leaders | New York Issue No. 3

IN OFFICE

ISSUE NO. 3

Topics and Trends for Municipal Leaders

meeting minutes

New Regulations Shaping Our Projects Preparing to “Raise the Age”

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Article 10 - Defining the Process for Permitting Large Scale Renewable Energy Projects

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Start a Renaissance in Your Community

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Part 360 Rules the Dirt Pile

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What to Expect From Your Municipal Engineer

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In Office LaBella Associates |

Summer 2018

Juvenile Facilities Will Be in Demand As Counties Prepare to Implement “Raise the Age” As a result of the recommendations of the Commission on Youth, Public Safety and Justice, which was established by the Governor of New York in 2014, the age of juvenile jurisdiction will be raised to age 17 on October 1, 2018 and will again be raised to age 18 on October 1, 2019 for most offenses.

NEWS IMPACTING OUR OFFICE AND YOURS It’s a bit strange to be writing articles about new government regulations in order to inform our public sector clients about their impact - after all, no one is closer to government than those actually occupying a public office.

But we know how challenging it is to monitor new regulations, especially if it relates to situations and circumstances not encountered every day. That’s where our last article comes into play: what can you expect from your consulting Town Engineer? The expertise that comes from seeing it all, every day.

With each issue of In Office we present our experience, our expertise, and our forecasting on the topics and trends that affect municipal projects.

Let us know if there’s a topic we can explore for you by contacting us at inoffice@labellapc.com.

The objective of this legislation is to reduce recidivism and prepare youth to become productive adults.

The new legislation will require that 16 and 17-year old offenders be placed in detention housing for juveniles instead of adult jails or prisons thereby deterring some of the negative impacts (higher suicide rates and increased recidivism) associated with adult punitive measures and lengthy sentences. This program will benefit youth offenders with diversion and preventative services designed specifically for adolescents.

Two major challenges with which counties will be faced will be budgeting of additional expenses, such as staffing and transportation, and locating sufficient bed space for the housing of youth offenders at secure detention facilities.

New York State is promoting 100% reimbursement to counties for extra costs associated with the implementation of this legislation if the county is compliant with the state tax cap and if the county is able to prove financial hardship.

The prospect of neighboring counties collaborating to form a regional plan has also been suggested by the state and is currently being considered by several counties in their effort to be proactive and possibly benefit from state funding.

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Permitting

Under Article 10, the decision to approve or disapprove the project rests primarily in the State’s hands through a “Siting Board” organized by the NYS Department of Public Service (members include 5 State Agency officials and 2 local appointees). The process is run very much like a legal proceeding and overseen by three Administrative Law Judges, almost like a trial without the court room.

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Under SEQRA, a municipality like a Town oversees the review process and decides whether the project should be approved or not. The process would likely feel more familiar to residents and unfolds in a manner similar to many other Town Board decision-making processes.

Article 10 prescribes a new approval process for large scale renewable energy projects that alters the role of the town board.

So what exactly is Article 10?

Article 10 is a section of the New York State Public Service Law dealing with the generation of electric energy, including solar and wind energy. It stipulates that projects that generate 25 megawatts or more of electricity (roughly the amount to meet the average power needs of 22,500 households) will be governed by the Article 10 approval process rather than the State

Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) process. It is a relatively new regulation, passed in 2011.

Recently, 12 solar energy projects have been proposed and are in the initial stages of the Article 10 process. Of the 15 wind energy projects which have been navigating through Article 10 since 2012, only one has been approved so far.

LaBella is currently involved with three of the wind energy projects in earlier stages: two in the PreApplication stage and one in the Application stage.

Wind or solar energy projects generating less than 25 megawatts are still regulated under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA).

While both processes include opportunities for municipal and public input, there are big differences in procedure:

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Article 10 Says Sayonara to SEQRA For Large Scale Wind and Solar Projects

If it seems like there has been a noticeable uptick in the number of wind and solar energy projects being proposed lately, you are right! There has been an increased interest in renewable energy in New York State as a result of goals established by Governor Cuomo to meet 50% of the State’s energy needs by the year 2030 using renewable resources, such as solar and wind energy.

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LaBella has been a leader in understanding the Article 10 process. We know how confusing it can be to navigate through ever-changing rules and regulations and have been successful in helping municipalities and their communities understand the intricacies of Article 10. For more information on the new regulations, contact us today!

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In Office LaBella Associates |

Summer 2018

Feature

Strategizing for Community Revitalization Enticing development requires more than sporadic conceptual design renderings, public announcements, and press releases. Learn how to build sustained momentum.

Do you live in a community with a downtown or business district that is falling short from reaching its full potential? Are there strategic sites in your community that are sitting vacant or underutilized that, if redeveloped, could be catalysts for community-wide revitalization?

If you answered yes to either one of those questions, you are not alone. Many communities have experienced disinvestment and a lack of interest from developers.

Outmigration and disinvestment have led to deterioration in downtowns, industrial sites, and neighborhoods.

To address these concerns, many communities develop detailed recommendations to address the

deterioration, but ultimately have limited success with revitalization.

Some communities try to entice development through conceptual design renderings, press releases, and public announcements, but despite this effort, many projects never come to fruition. So how should communities initiate a community revitalization strategy that works?

Strategic Plans Strategic planning is the first and most critical step in a community’s long-term revitalization effort. Economic development takes time, patience and commitment. Good strategic plans should include projects that can happen over time and maintain momentum.

Economic development takes time, patience and commitment.

Good strategic plans should include projects that can happen over time and maintain momentum.

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Community revitalization is a journey and creating a strategic plan helps your community generate new investments, jobs and pride in the place your residents call home.

4. Recommendations and priority projects should be guided by the plan’s vision while addressing key issues, opportunities and community preferences.

What is Included in a Strategic Plan?

The first three components often happen concurrently and iteratively because each informs the other. Recommendations on actions and projects only happen after the community has the information, input, and direction from the inventory, community engagement and vision/goal setting sessions.

Strategic Plans include four key components: 1. An inventory & analysis of demographics, land characteristics and economic data. This information helps a community understand the key issues and opportunities that provide a basis for realistic recommendations.

2. Community engagement includes public and stakeholder input which ensures community buy-in, provides direction for the strategy, and helps to avoid or mitigate opposition to projects identified in the plan.

3. The strategic plan’s vision, goals and strategies are typically developed by a steering committee and provide a framework to evaluate potential actions or projects.

Community buy-in provides direction for the strategy, and helps to avoid or mitigate opposition to projects identified in the plan.

Why Strategic Planning Works Strategic Plans work for several key reasons: •

Priorities matter – Communities often have multiple economic development issues to address. Strategic plans help communities prioritize those which are most important and will have the greatest impact on the community’s long term revitalization.

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Resources are limited – Strategic plans are tailored for each community and are based on resources (staff, budget, level of volunteers, etc.) available in the community.

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Numbers don’t lie – An economic and market analysis is a key component of a strategic plan to identify realistic uses and the scale of those uses (square foot units) that a community can support.

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Community support – Strategic plans, and especially projects identified in those plans, have a much better chance of being implemented if the community is engaged during their development.

Ed Flynn, Director of Planning at LaBella, recommends that communities focus on developing strategic plans for downtown, neighborhood, or communitywide revitalization. LaBella’s planning team knows strategic planning works. Over the last decade we have helped 17 communities with strategic plans implement 112 downtown building renovations with an investment of more than $10 million. These projects have been supported by almost $5 million in grant funds that LaBella has obtained on behalf of their clients.

Who Should be Involved in Developing the Plan?

Plan development weighs heavily on your own community. The Continued on page 7...

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In Office LaBella Associates |

Summer 2018

Environmental & Waste

Let Us Fill You In On New Part 360 Regulations New regulations from the NYSDEC will have significant impacts to most projects. As with most new regulations, officials, consultants and contractors are working together to interpret the new rules. Here’s what we know so far.

It’s a given that most construction sites will generate some level of dirt and debris. Whether a project requires digging holes, adjusting grading, or leveling earth, chances are soil, rock, and other types of fill materials may be entering and exiting project sites.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation approved Part 360 Solid Waste Regulations in November 2017, and compliance was required starting in May of this year. The new regulations mean that fill materials will require testing and classification before they can be removed from a site in an approved manner.

Under the regulations, a qualified environmental professional will need to certify that the fill material has been evaluated and sampled in accordance with the Part 360 requirements.

This will include assessment of the physical and chemical characteristics of the fill. If it’s found to be contaminated, the fill will need to be disposed of at a solid waste facility as a regulated waste.

Part 360 identifies three classifications for fill, called pre-determined Beneficial Use Determinations (BUDs). The classification process is required even for clean, general fill.

Previously, if the fill appeared to be clean it could be reused

without restriction. Under the new regulations, a site’s history must be evaluated, and could be used as grounds to require analytical testing. Any quantity of physical contamination, like concrete, asphalt, or other construction or demolition debris will require the fill to be classified as restricted or limited use. This has become the major obstacle faced by municipalities and developers, especially in urban environments where a majority of fill materials encountered contain physical contamination (non-soil constituents) at some level.

LaBella’s team of Environmental experts have been in communication with the NYSDEC throughout the early implementation of the new rules. Our breadth of services means that we can test and certify our clients’ fill materials using in-house analysts without delay.

Interpretations of new regulations typically evolve, and the regulations related to fill material management are no exception. Given the recent changes, it is imperative to consider the new requirements during project planning and design as opposed to during construction. Projects that aren’t proactive in regards to these new regulations will suffer cost and schedule implications.

Under the new regulations, fill (dirt) with any quantity of physical contamination, like concrete, asphalt or other construction/demolition debris, will be classified as restricted or limited use.

Compliance was required starting in May of this year.

All fill materials will require testing and classification before they can be removed from a site in an approved manner.

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Strategizing for Community Revitalization continued from page 5

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Consensus – Consensus helps advance economic development projects, ensures community needs are met, and most importantly, provides future investors with direction on what the community wants.

public and key stakeholders should be consulted throughout the project.

Interactive public meetings, including • Priorities are defined – The priorities open houses and workshops, should defined in a strategic plan provide be held at the beginning of the project communities with a blueprint for to get initial input, and also at the action that can be implemented end of the project before the plan through funding in annual budgets is finalized. Stakeholders should be and multiple grant sources. interviewed either individually or in a focus group setting to understand Get Excited to Get Started issues and opportunities within the community.

As with most projects, starting the strategic planning process is often the What are the Benefits of a hardest step. If you live in a community Strategic Plan? where residents and businesses are interested in revitalization, leverage While there are many benefits of a their passion by developing a strategic plan the most important steering committee or a task force to include: address economic development! We • Funding – Strategic plans identify recommended that the group consists order of magnitude project costs, of residents, business persons, elected funding gaps, and provide the officials and any key staff involved in basic information needed for a economic development. grant application.

Contact us at inoffice@labellapc.com for more information.

Project News

LaBella Associates Receives Honorable Mention at the Western New York American Planners Association Awards Ceremony The City of Niagara Falls has been selected by the Western New York American Planning Association to receive Honorable Mention in the Comprehensive Planning category for the Niagara Waterfront Opportunity Area Plan completed by the planning team at LaBella Associates. The project, which was completed in early 2018, focused on two key concepts: transportation access and waterfront proximity.

The team prepared both the prenomination and nomination phase studies for an approximate 1,880 acre area consisting of more than 2,000 parcels of land that stretches along Buffalo Avenue and the Niagara River in the City of Niagara Falls.

Recommendations leverage the area’s improving economy and the state’s funding focus on assisting sustainable, transformative economic development projects to provide significant regional impacts in terms of jobs, investment and community development.

What to Expect From Your Municipal Engineer Mike Simon, CPESC, CPMSM, is a Senior Project Manager at LaBella Associates. He has served as an engineering and/or planning representative/consultant to over 25 municipalities throughout his career. We spoke with Mike about what you can expect from your municipal consulting engineer.

What kinds of services do consulting firms provide as the municipal engineer?

At LaBella, we provide a full service approach to municipal engineering and offer civil & transportation engineering, architecture, planning & grant assistance, buildings & power engineering, and environmental services. Municipalities can use as many or few of these services as they see fit. There is no formula for providing town engineering services. The LaBella philosophy is that we can provide as much or as little as your community may need.

How is having a consultant act as a municipal engineer different than having an internal staff?

Having a consultant act as the municipal engineer provides communities with more diversity of skilled engineers, architects, and planners, along with support staff and current technology tools to get the job done. Consulting Engineers tend to have repetitiveness on some projects and understand

common challenges that may come up. An internal engineer can usually provide some of the typical services, but may not have the time or staff to complete a project in addition to usual daily operations. A benefit of an internal engineer is that they can answer day to day questions from staff members and can meet with constituents in a timely manner.

Depending on the experience and needs of the internal engineer, the annual salary and benefits may exceed what an outside consultant would charge per year.

What are the trending issues that municipalities are dealing with today?

We are facing an “aging infrastructure” issue that continually needs to be addressed. Many communities are finding that roads, sanitary sewers, wastewater treatment plants, etc. that were built in the ‘60s & ‘70s are now in need of rehabilitation or reconstruction.

The biggest challenge is finding the funding for these projects.

With a planning department that can find grant money for these

projects, LaBella can help take a huge burden off the community/ tax payers.

Another trend that municipalities are dealing with is renewable energy resources like wind and solar power. Both of these bring pros and cons to a community and some municipalities are finding themselves in difficult situations since they do not have formally adopted codes to address the options. The legalities of approvals/denials can be very challenging and costly.

How can your municipal engineer help when it comes to the constantly changing regulations that impact your projects?

Our job is to keep you one step ahead of any newly adopted regulations that may impact your community. We will educate you on how these regulations may impact your project, any permits that may be required to stay in compliance, and assist you in facilitating any programs (like an MS4) that your municipality utilizes.

LEARN MORE: visit our website for more information

ph. (877) 626-6606

www.labellapc.com/municipal

inoffice@labellapc.com