Author Archives: Tessa Zavala

Add Portland, Oregon to the list of cities making up for past uses of eminent domain that disproportionately impacted Black neighborhoods. What are the basics of the Portland Program?  $67 million initiative construction of 40 to 50 new single-family homes construction of at least another 300 apartments to rent create a hub for emerging small […]

HB 448 (2021 | TX) would allow property owners, whose land is treated by eminent domain by a private entity regulated by the Texas Railroad Commission (read: pipelines), to sue that pipeline if it violated the Landowner Bill of Rights or its spirit. What does this mean? If the company is using the Land Owner […]

Where: Monterey County California Who do you win this chance to use eminent domain? Win the vacant seat on the  Monterey Peninsula Water Management District.  How is  Monterey Peninsula Water Management District using eminent domain? Buying the water system of the Monterey Peninsula from its private owner, California American Water. How big of a deal […]

What do I need to know about Amazon’s program to fund affordable housing solutions near its offices in Virginia, Tennessee and Washington? Amazon is outing $2 Billion into the effort 20,000 affordable homes will be preserved or created in the Arlington, Va.; Nashville, Tenn.; and Seattle areas Funding options will be in the form of […]

COVID lockdowns were they compensable as a taking of property? The courts will decide. Legislatures will dance around it in 2021. Some states are utilizing COVID funds to reimburse small businesses that experienced Rioter/Looter damage. Property rights issues ran the gamut from the impact of Black Lives Matter in historical property acquisition, to how eminent domain is […]

South Padre Island, TX had set limits on the number of food truck permits at 12 and required permission from a restaurant owner. How did South Padre Island get there? Until 2016, the island banned food trucks. Then with local restaurant lobbying adopted the cap and approval requirement. Similar rules have been overturned in  San […]

Santa Fe New Mexico strengthened its short term rental rules this week. In the clarification the difference between short term rentals in commercial zoned property and residential zoned property are clear. What requirements are on commercially zoned short term rentals? No permit requirement. Registration only. No limit on number. How are residential zoned short term […]

The City: Knoxville, TN The proposal: $100M to address removing people from their property from the 1950s through 1970s under urban removal policies that displaced and marginalized residents, mostly Black Funding mechanism: City revenue + local, state and national grants How was eminent domain used during this time? The city utilized eminent domain to systematically tear down […]

The CARES Act saw California and Oregon use funds to purchase temporary housing in hotels for homeless. Oregon is moving beyond this, by spending $65 Million to purchase 20 underused hotels to provide housing for homeless. What is Oregon’s project called? Oregon’s Project Turnkey Who will operate the hotels turned homeless housing? nonprofit housing and […]

Examples of land use ordinances and the racial disparity impact: Multifamily structures ordinances. When all areas of a city are not treated equally for multifamily development, whiter areas see an increase in value and non-white areas see a decrease in single family property values Minimum square footage ordinances for single family homes disproportionately impacts Black […]