Building codes in North Carolina may cost the state up to $70 million in FEMA funds. FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant program uses a point system to assess potential projects. North Carolina automatically loses 5 points because it uses the 2015 International Building Code standards which the Legislature has not updated.
Urban tree planting
The US Forest Service budget for tree planting increased by a factor of 40. The budget is now $1.5 billion. Tree planting has been shown to lower heat in urban areas and prevent a significant number of heat related deaths. Look no further than to the large tree canopies of live oaks for urban cooling.
Route Fifty | The secret ingredient in Biden’s climate law? City trees.
Mineral Rights
Alaska is exploring hydrogen stored in Alaska’s metamorphic rock could fuel the state’s energy industry. Alaska is exploring energy options. The state’s fishing industry has lost $1.8 billion in 2022-203 due to changing environment.
Governing | Is Underground Hydrogen the Key to Alaska’s Clean Energy Future?
Renters + disaster recovery
A 2023 Brookings Institution Report shows that rents in areas increase 4-6% after a disaster. The rents continue to remain elevated for years after the disaster. After hurricanes Ian and Nicole in 2022, insurance rates for renters in Florida were 4 times the national average.
Route Fifty | How renters often get left behind in disaster recovery
Private property. Political signs.
Theft or vandalism of a legally placed political sign on private property is a crime in all 50 states. Findlaw
On the ballot: rent control
California voters will cast a ballot on Prop 33. Prop 33 would repeal of the state’s restrictions on local rent control. The pros/cons: “While rent control — caps on rent increases — provides relief to tenants, some economists suggest there are significant trade-offs: Rent control policies can lead to higher rents for uncontrolled units, reduce landlords’ incentive to maintain units, and dampen the creation of new rental housing — exacerbating affordable housing shortages.”
Governing | California’s Rent Control Ballot Measure Could Reverberate Across the U.S.
Parking garages to solve housing?
A proposal to convert unused or underused parking garages and lots into housing units says it can help solve the housing crisis. Los Angeles transformed an underused parking lot it owns into apartments for low-income or homeless seniors.
Route Fifty | Can parking garages alleviate the housing and homelessness crisis?
Pre-condemenation Access court case to watch
A court case before the Iowa Supreme Court is one to watch concerning pre condemnation access to land. The issue is whether “it is unconstitutional for a pipeline company to undertake land surveys and examinations before it is vested with eminent domain.” What would today’s U.S. Supreme Court do with this?
KCCI | Iowa Supreme Court hears landowner case against Summit pipeline surveys
Montana. Affordable Housing. The election.
This week we followed a series of articles about how Montana’s much hyped affordable housing legislation of year(s) past isn’t as amazing as they say. That reality is running full steam ahead into the election. You know the one, U.S. Senator Tester (D). Tester is making the case for the reality of housing in his state. He says “Montanans are tired of ultra-wealthy out-of-staters buying up multiple properties and jacking up housing prices across our state. They want solutions that will get the outrageous cost of housing under control – so I’m doing something about it. “
Missoula Current | TESTER: TAKING MONTANA IDEAS TO SENATE TO LOWER HOUSING COSTS
CNBC | Montana’s hot housing market heats up critical Senate race
Route Fifty | Democrats cast doubt on whether the ‘Montana Miracle’ is making housing affordable
Building Standards and Hurricane Helene
Some say that the actions of NC legislature made housing more affordable but also made homes more vulnerable to damage. It is said that legislators in the last 15 years rejected limits on “construction on steep slopes; blocked a rule requiring homes to be elevated above the height of an expected flood; weakened protections for wetlands, increasing the risk of dangerous storm water runoff; and slowed the adoption of updated building codes, making it harder for the state to qualify for federal climate-resilience grants.”
NYTimes | How the North Carolina Legislature Left Homes Vulnerable to Helene