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corridors out of general revenue funds (North Carolina Four major tools are available--either individually or in
General Statute 136-44.36A). combination--to achieve the goals of freight-compatible
Once a rail corridor has been banked, restoring active development. These are examined in the next four chapters
freight rail service may vary considerably and will depend on as follows:
the type and intensity of adjacent land holdings, the duration
of the abandonment, and the type of rail service being pro- 1. Long-range planning (Chapter 6),
posed. The main reasons it is important to preserve freight 2. Zoning and design (Chapter 7),
rail corridors and restrict placing the corridors into rail bank- 3. Mitigation (Chapter 8), and
ing are the issues of reversionary property right interests 4. Education and outreach (Chapter 9).
(where the railroad was acquired through easement and not
as a fee-simple purchase) and community reactions to the Although most of these tools are prospective in nature and
restoration of service. Research released in March 2011 on designed to avoid conflict, incompatible land uses already
abandoned rail corridors reviewed case law on the common exist close to many freight-transportation-related services and
law of property and reversionary interests that are held in conflict has resulted. In these cases, at least in the short run,
many of these corridors. Class action challenges to rail-trail measures such as design standards and mitigation approaches
conversions in the early 1990s began to be instigated because are a means to minimize conflicts.
landowners adjacent to railroads were unhappy that they Table 5-1 lists some of the specific freight corridor and
could not absorb the land back into their property holdings facility preservation and protection strategies under the four
(Morgan et al. 2011). In 1990, the U.S. Supreme Court deter- major tools that can be used to achieve better freight-compatible
mined that holding the railroad easement intact for future development. Table 5-1 is not an exhaustive list that covers
reactivation was within the scope of a legitimate railroad use every possible scenario. Rather, it is designed to provide
(Preseault v. United States 1996). examples of tools, policies, and strategies that have been found
The Staten Island Railroad case study in Appendix B to be effective in particular contexts.
documents the strategy used to preserve a corridor in Staten All of the tools described in this report and found in
Island for future freight use. Time is perhaps the most essential more detail on the EnvisionFreight website, http://www.
element in successfully preserving an abandoned corridor. EnvisionFreight.com, can be utilized by different stakeholders
Agencies that have advance knowledge of a rail operator's (for example, various levels of government and government
intent to abandon have an opportunity to put together the agencies, community interests, freight groups, developers) as
funding and make other arrangements necessary to transfer they plan to prevent, consider, and--in some instances--deal
ownership to a new party and thereby prevent the linear cor- with conflicts that arise because of proximity of incompatible
ridor from being subdivided. This is particularly true in cases types of land uses near freight facilities. The remainder of this
where a rail corridor is held in easement that is conditional chapter provides examples of how various stakeholders can
on its maintaining a transportation function. use the EnvisionFreight website.
For planners and elected officials, EnvisionFreight has been
Tools for Freight-Compatible
designed to help to
Development
· Understand how freight fits into the local, national, and
The goal of freight-compatible development is to preserve global economy;
existing freight facilities and corridors, effectively plan for · Understand the issues that arise from conflicts and how
future freight activities, and reduce impacts that occur they impact freight-transportation-related services and
because of the proximity of incompatible land uses around a community; and
freight corridors and facilities. Thus, the main objectives · Begin to consider the kinds of tools, scenarios, commu
of freight-compatible development are to (1) ensure that nication, and educational outreach that they might want
freight-transportation-related services are not affected use to improve their freight planning and preservation
by, or do not affect, other land uses placed close to freight capacity.
corridors or facilities; (2) reduce and minimize community For developers, EnvisionFreight aims to ensure that they
impacts that arise because of the proximity of sensitive land consider how freight activities may affect and intersect
uses, including residences, schools, hospitals, and emergency with residential and other sensitive types of land use they
services; and (3) incorporate the preservation and protec- may be planning. With a better understanding of these
tion of freight facilities and corridors as a forward-looking components, developers should be able to choose appro-
component of general planning and economic development priate sites and design and incorporate construction and
policies. mitigation components to reduce conflicts that may arise.
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Table 5-1. Tools for achieving freight-compatible development.
Long-Range Zoning and Design Mitigation Education and
Planning Outreach
State Enabling Acts Zoning Standards Buffer Areas Informal
Negotiations
Regional Visioning Buffer Areas Noise and
Vibration Public Involvement
Treatment
Comprehensive Overlay Districts
Plans Multijurisdictional
Track Treatment Agreements
Lot Orientation
Freight Facility
Inventories Yard Realignment Stakeholder
Property Design Round Tables and
Freight/Community
Official Maps Grade Crossing Committees
Construction Management
Standards
Purchase and
Advance Acquisition Port Gate
Soundproofing Management
Standards
Land Swaps
Environmental
Measures
Protective
Condemnation
Zoning Measures
Permit Development
Public Outreach
and Education
Access Rights
Relocation
For freight entities, EnvisionFreight is intended to provide various freight modes and impacts that arise because of
education and assistance regarding land-use planning and freight activity and proximity to incompatible land uses,
zoning processes. With a better understanding of these pro- and to show the types of tools that can be used to more
cesses, as well as tools that can be used to more effectively effectively plan for freight.
deal with freight in land-use planning and zoning, freight For state legislators and staff, EnvisionFreight is designed
entities can be more effective participants in such processes. to provide information and ideas for potential legislative
For individual citizens or community groups, the goal of changes that would facilitate better integration of freight
EnvisionFreight is to provide basic information about the and land-use planning.
