The City of Savannah Office of Sustainability is seeking residents to serve a two-year term on the new Brownfield Advisory Board. 

The City of Savannah’s Brownfield program is funded through a $1 million Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund Grant, which was awarded to the City in June 2023. The purpose of the program is to clean up environmental hazards and redevelop vacant sites into neighborhood assets. 

Program funds assess sites for contamination, conduct site-specific or area-wide redevelopment planning, and provide grants or below-market loans to developers to cover cleanup costs. 

A Brownfield is a vacant site that may be contaminated from its former use as a factory, dry cleaner, gas station, mechanic shop, hair salon, etc. or from the presence of lead and asbestos. 

Board members will be asked to commit to a two-year term, during which they will attend quarterly board meetings; review applications for site assessments, reuse planning, and cleanup loans; provide recommendations as to which sites the program should fund; and conduct eight hours of community engagement per quarter, including speaking at community meetings, passing out literature, and talking with neighbors to collect community input and keep residents informed of Brownfield work happening in their neighborhood. 

To serve on the board, applicants must be at least 18 years of age; be a resident of the City of Savannah; and live in a grant focus area, which includes Hudson Hill, West Savannah, Woodville between 37^th and Victory Dr., or between Habersham and Pennsylvania. 

A map of the grant focus areas as well as an application for the board can be found at savannahga.gov/brownfield. Residents who are interested must complete an application before April 15. Interested residents may contact Brownfield Program Manager Denise Cheeseman of the Office of Sustainability at [email protected] for more information.