Welcome to the Future!
The mayor of West Haven, CT lost his primary race to a city council person.
Some say the surprising loss was due to a redevelopment project that utilized eminent domain.
What factors concerning the project using eminent domain were deemed harmful to the mayor’s campaign?
Lessons:
Schedule demolition…
Mesa, AZ wants to reduce blight. To do that, it created a redevelopment zones- East and West Redevelopment Areas.
Why redevelopment zones? The designations trigger access to tax breaks & other incentives to attract investment and infill development
What does Arizona law require to trigger blight tax incentives? That a redevelopment district must exhibit a predominance of blighted conditions
East Valley Tribune | Mesa creates redevelopment zones to reverse blight
Los Angeles will be hosting the 2028 Olympics and the Clippers need a new stadium. What is a state to do? Pretend we’re working in a cartel cocaine processing room and sampling our own product? Yes, in a way, by expediting the permiting process to build stadiums more quickly.
How is the bill expediting the process?
The Texas Supreme Court this week refused to take an appeal on the City of Austin billboard fee.
Lawyers, courts- their words are like teachers in a Peanuts cartoon. What does this mean?
What is this post-Harvey lawsuit about? The Harris County Flood Control District’s and City of Houston’s handling of “controlled release” of water from the county’s Addicks and Barker reservoirs on August 28, 2017
Who are the plaintiffs/class of plaintiffs? Residential property owners and commercial property owners
What’s the taking of land that is involved? The flooding led to a taking of properties by flooding.
What damages does the suit seek?
Large portions of city of Highland, Illinois is blighted, which translates to the city will create 3 business districts.
The economic benefit of the 3 business districts will be:
Emails, notes, and text messages document collusion between a city and a developer according to attorneys for home owners.
The emails, notes, and text messages reveal that city inspectors were sent in to enforce city code, and in lieu of issuing fines, home owners were given the choice of selling their land to a developer.
The emails, notes and text messages go on to reveal that boarded up homes will drive down prices. The city can use eminent domain to acquire the homes and then the…
In Jasper Alabama, the mayor and police chief are checking on available options when a black man asked city council if there is anything they can do.
The solutions: The Mayor is going to talk to the homeowner and the police chief is going to check to see if the federal government can do anything.
Issues that got thrown around in the mix- it looks bad (blight?), citizens don’t like the flag, and what about property enjoyment of neighbors?
This is legislation waiting to be written. Flag…
A blight study determined portions of “downtown” Muskogee, OKlahoma are blighted. The sstudy was requested by the city as a means to trigger economic development tools for redevelopment.
The local paper supports th fidning of blight in downtown.
Muskogee Phoenix | EDITORIALLY SPEAKING: ‘Blight’ study critical to downtown