Monthly Archives: February 2024

San Francisco voters this March will consider a ballot proposition to make it more profitable to convert office spaces to housing by waiving transfer taxes. Governing | San Francisco’s Office Conversion Ballot Measure May Backfire

We’ve talked about the variety of ways tourist locations in Colorado are creating affordable housing to support their workforce needs. Let’s refresh. Vail has its VAILINDEED that protects homes in the community from becoming vacation homes, & in Buena Vista they are building modular housing for area workers. In Bee Cave, Texas, where the median home price […]

Private Property Rights groups in Kansas are pushing regulatory reforms to prohibit eminent domain for solar arrays and  to prohibit the use of eminent domain to build  transmission lines.  OK Energy Today | Solar farm fight goes before Kansas legislators

Dallas Morning News has a call out for personal or business experience with eminent domain.

Wildlife management now includes tracking wildlife by drone. Imagine tracking patterns of feral hogs in a way that is more cost efficient and effective. Wyoming Game and Fish Department is adding AI to the mix by using AI to comb through drone footage which they say increases the likelihood of accurate numbers of animals. Route […]

Charleston, SC is a case study in adding infill housing. That is sneaking in housing in bits of land here and there. It increases density & helps with walkability but does not help with housing affordability. though that argument is certainly popular among proponents of infill land use proposals. Governing | Infill Housing Has Its Benefits […]

New Mexico is trying to fix its housing crisis with HB 195 (2024 | NM) that sets up a $125M loan program for housing development. The revolving loan fund will be under the New Mexico Finance Authority for building, acquiring, and rehabilitating housing projects. The state needs at least 32,000 affordable housing units.  News from […]

Hawaii is considering legislation that would prohibit foreign ownership of any land in the state. During legislative testimony the following U.S. Constitutional arguments were made to oppose the legislation:  the bill unconstitutionally intrudes on the federal government’s exclusive control over foreign relations, and the bill may violate federal housing discrimination. Hawaii News Now | Crowds […]

IN South Dakota a bill would prohibit land ownership by people or companies with ties to China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia and Venezuela. The Agricultural community is neutral on the legislation with concerns over unintended consequences. Words matter when drafting legislation. KeloLand | 6 nations can’t own ag land in state with new bill

Building Codes may begin to be mended to include street segment, or neighborhood based, decarbonization code changes. We’ve seen the no gas, or no gas ranges, policies. Meet the new kid:  a utility organizes and manages the electrification of a group of building. ESG DIVE | Neighborhood-scale building decarbonization: 2 approaches