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n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m | J a n u a r y 2 0 2 0 | n e w h a v e n B I Z 33 Continued on Page 34 REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION Also, the law's wording has been changed to include a new exclusion from the definition of "establish- ment." An "establishment" does not include any business operation where more than 100 kilograms of hazardous waste was generated in any one month solely as a result of certain circumstances — such as one-time generation, or complete cessation of a business operation. Working for change e legislature currently has a working group, comprised of lawmakers, environmental and business professionals, which is discussing what additional changes should be made. State Sen. Joan Hartley (D-15) of Waterbury, chair of the Commerce Committee and a working group member, says everyone agrees on the need to clean up contaminated properties, but they also want prop- erties back on the tax rolls. "We are one of two states [with New Jersey] in the U.S. that have a Transfer Act, and that puts a bullseye on us when developers are looking at us," Hartley says. "It has been a huge disincentive. It has stymied our real-estate market." e commercial and industrial real estate community has given lawmakers numerous examples of how the act has impeded economic development, she says. "e original purpose was to protect buyers who might not have known a property's condition, and it has been a tool by DEEP to clean up properties," Hartley says. However, "What has happened is no buyer is going to walk into a sale with hidden expenses which would prohibit development." According to Hartley, potential buyers aren't touching properties due to uncertainty about how long they'll be under review. e working group is "trying to streamline, modernize and simplify the act," Hartley says. "ere are low-risk and no-risk properties that have been drawn in" under the Transfer Act, Hartley adds. "One person just stored some paint and can't sell her property. Potential buyers have had to come in and do expensive testing and remediation, and it turned out to be nothing. Sometimes the owners just board up their property because they don't want to deal with it." e working group will make recommendations to the Com- merce Committee, which will dra legislation and have public hearings in the upcoming legislative session. Seeking middle ground Michael Piscitelli, New Haven's interim economic development administrator, says it is a "really important moment for the state," as it tries to reach a middle ground between protecting the environ- ment and economic development. Environmental assessment and cleanup plans need to be affordable, he says. "Connecticut is one of the earliest manufacturing hubs in the country, and it will take quite a bit of effort for the state to address changes to help put these great sites back in use," Piscitelli says. "It needs to be a high priority. We hate to see mothballing of great properties." Helen Rosenberg, New Haven's economic development officer, has seen cases drag on for years. She says that reducing time, expense and uncertainty are key. "It has been a continual struggle to allow cleanup to happen in a timely manner without costs being out of control," Rosenberg says. "People end up walking away [from deals] because it is just too much." e state is oen too busy to handle all of the properties falling under the Transfer Act, according to Rosenberg. State funding to assist with en- vironmental cleanups would make more cleanups possible, she adds. Economic development officials in smaller communities like An- sonia are grappling with the same problems. e long-vacant and polluted Ansonia Copper & Brass site has garnered interest from developers over the years, including recently from an amusement chain, accord- ing to Sheila O'Malley, Ansonia's economic development director. e Ansonia parcel has much going for it, including its size and highway proximity —but it also has an estimated remediation price tag of $12 million, according to O'Malley. "e Transfer Act scares a lot of people away," O'Malley says. "If I am a developer, it means I am going to sink a lot of money into a cleanup." O'Malley would like the state to loosen up its regulations on the amount of cleanup required, as well as provide more options for finan- cial assistance. "Connecticut is so tiny, and you are le with nothing but Transfer Act sites," O'Malley says. "e re- strictions are so tight that it makes redevelopment cost prohibitive. Why make it difficult for a town or city to generate tax dollars and increase their grand list?" Frank Hird, vice president of the Society of Industrial and Office Re- altors (SIOR) Connecticut chapter, says many owners of these proper- ties may lease instead of selling to avoid triggering the Transfer Act. Sometimes these buildings are knocked down or abandoned — typically, they just sit there, empty, Hird says. When potential buyers call about a property now, their first question is: "Is that a part of the Transfer Act?" according to Hird. If he an- swers in the affirmative, he says he typically will hear "anks anyway," before the caller hangs up. "It used to be they would be asking about the price," Hird says. With the Transfer Act, "ey know it will take a long time and money." "If an individual owner can't afford to clean up a property, they end up sitting dormant, which is not a good answer for the state or the owner," Hird says. "If someone is faced with spending millions, they may choose to mothball the building, so it sits there and deterio- rates. And that happens more oen than it should." Chris Nicotra has dealt with properties impacted by the Transfer Act, including property once occupied by a dry cleaner. He notes that dry cleaners, automotive businesses, furniture stripping facilities, and producers of hazardous waste materials oen fall under the Transfer Act. As an investor, if a property ever had one of these uses, it "imme- diately puts the brakes on a deal," Nicotra says, because of unknown This long-vacant property at 781 Whalley Avenue in New Haven has become an eyesore and has attracted vandals.

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