A Charlie Brownfield Post-Holiday Wish List
By Todd S. Davis, Esq.

As I flew from Cleveland to Chicago in late October for the annual meeting of the Brownfield News editorial board, I had a feeling I was in trouble. My flight was delayed by heavy rain in the Midwest. I arrived both a little late and a little soggy to the meeting, being held in the conference room of a skyscraper. The board of brownfield luminaries already was hotly debating what topics we should cover during 2006.

After listening intently for a while as my suit dried out, I think I said something like, “Why don’t we write an exposé about all the policy issues keeping the brownfield industry from getting to the next level.” Someone else chimed in, “Yeah, we can be brutally honest. No sugarcoating issues! It can be a wake up call to regulators, legislators, and government stakeholders around the country! It should be the lead cover story of 2006!”

As the room grew more and more excited about the idea, an intellectual bomb suddenly exploded. “You know, this story could actually spark some controversy. Nobody in the public sector likes to hear about the problems, they only tout the victories.”

So, when it came time to select the person who would write the All the President’s Men of the brownfield industry sometime over the holiday season, the vote went something like this, “Since it was Davis’ idea in the first place, I think he should write it!” It quickly became like an episode of “Survivor.” The tribe had spoken and there was no way to back out without risking my status as this week’s “head of household.” (Or am I mixing reality TV shows?)

In any event, I could think of nothing better to do with my free time between Thanksgiving and New Year’s than craft the seminal policy argument that, when widely adopted, will fundamentally and dramatically increase the velocity of catalytic brownfield redevelopments across the United States.