Hawthorne says ‘no’ to brownfield

HAWTHORNE – The City of Hawthorne will no longer be exploring the possibility of accepting a brownfield designation for several areas throughout the city.

Initially the City Commission decided to wait until the interpretation of legislation from the state to make a ruling on potential brownfield sites. Following a change in the legislation, the recent proposal for a brownfield designation in Hawthorne was decided to not benefit the city after all.

“These things are hard to explain really; they are very complicated, but in the end it just would not have benefited Hawthorne,” said Mike Castine, a planner with the Alachua County Growth Management Department.

The city had been working with Orlando based PPM Consultants Inc., to possibly setup the brownfield program in Hawthorne. City Manager Ellen Vause worked with Charles Ray, the vice president in charge of the Government Initiatives/Brownfield Programs with PPM.

“I am still committed to working with Ellen and the City of Hawthorne to facilitate economic redevelopment,” Ray said.

Throughout the process, Ray and PPM looked to provide consulting to the city over areas that could receive the designation, as well as assist in writing a grant application to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

“I will recommend state brownfields designation again when a site in Hawthorne meets the requirements of the new designation rules,” Ray said.

For now Hawthorne will not be pursuing the possibility of the brownfield designation, however in the future the city may find it beneficial to once again consider the program.

“This is something that could come back around as an issue in several months, or several years,” said Castine. “But for now it just does not serve to benefit the city.”

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