Infill Development

Recognizing that building on underutilized sites in existing business and population centers can pose a number of problems to developers that building on open land does not (e.g., possible environmental contamination, meeting requirements for design conformity, or difficulty of land assembly), communities can identify priority sites for redevelopment and provide necessary background research on those sites to assist in their development. For example, easy public access to reliable transportation, tax liens, and other information on blighted or abandoned properties that have been identified through an abandoned land inventory, can assist developers and community groups in their infill development efforts. In this way, communities can proactively target development in key infill locations, which are most likely to have positive community benefits.

Municipalities can also use administrative measures to encourage infill development within identified areas by streamlining the permitting process and waiving requirements that make infill development difficult. For example, a municipality can waive road frontage requirements so as to allow site access via shared driveways.

Municipalities or community groups can purchase underperforming land so that it may be developed in attractive ways for community buildings, commercial space, affordable housing, or other needed community services. By developing these parcels in positive ways, communities can help to revitalize areas plagued by abandoned storefronts, houses, and vacant land and make the entire area more attractive to new investors. If the community does not have the capacity to develop such a project, it can acquire the land and sell it at a lower price to a nonprofit agency or a private developer committed to a community-enhancing project.