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Michelle Donley hopes a federal grant available through the city of Grass Valley can help her to sell a former car dealership.
She and about 25 other residents attended a workshop hosted by the city this week about a $400,000 United States Environmental Protection Agency grant aimed at cleaning up contaminated properties for potential redevelopment.
The money would go toward analyzing properties such as Donley's — the former Donley Motors on Colfax Avenue and Henderson Street. That is the first step in creating a clean-up plan for the site.
After her husband Peter died in July 2008, Donley Motors went out of business; Michelle Donley hopes to sell the land, she said. The property is contaminated, but it may be more attractive to buyers if that were cleaned up, Donley said.
City officials applied for the EPA grant last year after environmental contamination was one of the factors blocking Miner Moe's pizzeria from opening on the 200 block of Colfax Avenue in 2007, said Community Development Director Joe Heckel.
Solvents left in the soil by a former dry cleaning business rendered it unusable, Heckel said. Miner Moe's subsequently moved to Nevada City — taking sales tax revenue with it.
“This property was a sad example of a property where the tail — the contaminants — was wagging the dog,” Heckel said. “We wanted to see how we can assist in cleaning this property up so something like this doesn't happen again.”
Officials plan to identify eight properties for clean-up plans. Properties like Donley's and the former Miner Moe's site would receive preference because they fall within one of the city's four redevelopment areas, Heckel said.
Each parcel sits along Highway 174, which along with South Auburn Street, the city's downtown and the area around the Idaho-Maryland Road-East Main Street intersection make up the city's redevelopment areas. Properties identified outside the redevelopment area would also receive some consideration for grant money, Heckel said.
The work of identifying and creating clean-up plans on the eight properties is expected to take about a year, Heckel said. Then, city officials can go back to the EPA for more money to clean up the sites, Heckel said.
To contact Staff Writer Kyle Magin, e-mail kmagin@theunion.com or call (530) 477-4239.
She and about 25 other residents attended a workshop hosted by the city this week about a $400,000 United States Environmental Protection Agency grant aimed at cleaning up contaminated properties for potential redevelopment.
The money would go toward analyzing properties such as Donley's — the former Donley Motors on Colfax Avenue and Henderson Street. That is the first step in creating a clean-up plan for the site.
After her husband Peter died in July 2008, Donley Motors went out of business; Michelle Donley hopes to sell the land, she said. The property is contaminated, but it may be more attractive to buyers if that were cleaned up, Donley said.
City officials applied for the EPA grant last year after environmental contamination was one of the factors blocking Miner Moe's pizzeria from opening on the 200 block of Colfax Avenue in 2007, said Community Development Director Joe Heckel.
Solvents left in the soil by a former dry cleaning business rendered it unusable, Heckel said. Miner Moe's subsequently moved to Nevada City — taking sales tax revenue with it.
“This property was a sad example of a property where the tail — the contaminants — was wagging the dog,” Heckel said. “We wanted to see how we can assist in cleaning this property up so something like this doesn't happen again.”
Officials plan to identify eight properties for clean-up plans. Properties like Donley's and the former Miner Moe's site would receive preference because they fall within one of the city's four redevelopment areas, Heckel said.
Each parcel sits along Highway 174, which along with South Auburn Street, the city's downtown and the area around the Idaho-Maryland Road-East Main Street intersection make up the city's redevelopment areas. Properties identified outside the redevelopment area would also receive some consideration for grant money, Heckel said.
The work of identifying and creating clean-up plans on the eight properties is expected to take about a year, Heckel said. Then, city officials can go back to the EPA for more money to clean up the sites, Heckel said.
To contact Staff Writer Kyle Magin, e-mail kmagin@theunion.com or call (530) 477-4239.
