Chadakoin Revitalization

The City of  Jamestown has recently made significant strides in reversing the decline of conditions along the Chadakoin River through the construction of a waterfront trail and the development of new commercial and public facilities. To help continue this positive trend, the City was awarded three separate New York State planning grants that are intended to help to enhance this revitalization along the River including:

• Local Waterfront Revitalization Program (LWRP) grant – Provides a framework to enhance the City’s connection with the River and creates a plan for the best use of this important amenity.

• Two Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) grants – Provides funding to create plans for the successful redevelopment of brownfield sites that will ultimately result in the revitalization of the Study Areas and the City itself.

The City elected to bundle the three grants into one project to provide a consistent approach to revitalization in an efficient manner. LaBella Associates assembled a team of experts to help the City of Jamestown achieve its goals for the three projects. Through our qualifications and proposed scope of work, the LaBella Team was recently awarded the City’s BOA/LWRP project.

Program Summary

The Brownfield Opportunity Areas Program, made possible by the Superfund/Brownfield law in October 2003, provides municipalities and community based organizations with assistance, up to 90 percent of the eligible project costs, to complete revitalization plans and implementation strategies for areas or communities affected by the presence of Brownfield sites, and site assessments for strategic Brownfield sites.

The Waterfront Revitalization of Coastal Areas and Inland Waterways Act offers local governments the opportunity to participate in the State’s Coastal Management Program (CMP), on a voluntary basis, by preparing and adopting local waterfront revitalization programs (LWRP) providing more detailed implementation of the State’s CMP through use of existing broad powers such as zoning and site plan review. An adopted and approved LWRP provides clear direction; technical assistance; State and federal consistency; and financial assistance to involved communities.