Category Archives: Uncategorized

Recently the 2nd Circuit ruled in Brinkmann v. Town of Southold that taking property with the power of eminent domain, even if the taking’s pretext is for a passive park, a public park with no amenities, it is permitted. It was argued that the true/actual/real reason the land was taken was to prevent a big box hardware […]

Governor Noem has signed a package of private property protection bills that include: AgWeek | Noem signs ‘Landowner Bill of Rights’ but some landowners still have concerns

This week Texas Governor Greg Abbott tweeted that the 2025 Texas Legislature should address the impact of institutional investors in the residential housing market. The Real Deal | Gov Abbott says he’s coming for institutional homebuyers Dallas Morning News | Gov. Abbott takes aim at investors hounding single-family market

Baltimore is considering selling abandoned homes in their possession. The cost: $1. Purchasers have to commit to repairing and living in the homes. @bloombergbusiness

A town in Georgia converted an abandoned mall into the world’s largest indoor pickleball facility.  The two-level sports facility has 32 pickleball courts. @fastcompany

Add Arkansas to the list of states where school districts are using affordable housing to recruit teachers. Bentonville School District is working to build housing near schools for teachers. Historically offering affordable housing for teachers was a practice in the 1950s and 1960s. Route Fifty | School districts offer affordable teacher housing as recruitment tool

 Interesting impact of single family property investors in Florida: An analysis by  the Tampa Bay Times says that investment companies file for evictions at 2x or 3x the county’s overall eviction filing rate, which is mucking up the dockets. Similar findings in Georgia. Governing | Florida Real-Estate Investors Clog Courts and Are Quick to Evict

Did you know that Dallas has an ordinance that permitted the demolition of homes under 3000 square feet that were within a Landmark District. Who was impacted by the ordinance? Historic Black neighborhoods along with brown neighborhoods and low income neighborhoods. Last week, Dallas City Council decided maybe that ordnance isn’t such a good thing. […]

Florida Legislature has passed HB 103 (2024 | FL) to exempt from public disclosure information about county and city attorneys, and court clerks and their deputies. The reason why? To protect them and their families from death threats and stalking. Supporters say contentious issues like land use and eminent domain have given rise to threats […]

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