InfoHive – Eminent Domain

What is happening? 20 million Americans live in mobile homes. That is more than all of public housing and federally subsidized rental housing combined.

Why is this important? Urban Planning inning Scholars are saying that mobile homes are a viable solution for affordable housing. “California Gov. Gavin Newsom has called for increasing state funding to preserve manufactured housing parks as affordable housing. The U.S. Department of Energy recently adopted more ambitious efficiency standards to reduce energy costs for residents of manufactured housing.”

How will this be important? “Private equity investors, pension funds and sovereign wealth funds are buying up manufactured housing parks, which they view as reliably profitable investments. ” Watch the pieces fit together.

Governing | Can Mobile Homes Help Solve Our Affordable Housing Dilemma?

What is happening? Parking fees $30+, restricted private beach access, and a lack of transit access to beaches is limiting beach access to open beaches

Why is this important? The regulations are limiting beach access for low income persons and reinforcing segregation and racial inequality. 

How will this be important? In 2022, lawmakers in Connecticut and Massachusetts tried unsuccessfully to pass legislation to make beaches in their states more accessible. Raised Bill 5254 (2022 |CT) barring local governments that receive state transportation aid from restricting parking near public beaches & Raised Bill 5361 (2022 | CT) would cap parking fees.

Governing | Beach Battles: Lawmakers Pushed to Increase Public Shoreline Access

What is happening? There is a 3.8 million home shortage to meet the U.S.’s housing needs. 47 states and Washington, D.C. are experiencing an increase in the “underproduction” of homes. 170 metro areas struggling with housing underproduction.

Why is this important? It is moving more people to live together, reducing the number of households.

How will this be important? The states most impacted are:

1. California, 978,000
2. Texas, 322,000 
3. Florida, 289,000 
4. New York, 234,000 
5. Washington, 140,000 
6. New Jersey, 137,000
7. Colorado, 127,000 
8. Arizona, 123,000 
9. Illinois, 120,000 
10. Georgia, 118,000 

Route Fifty | States With the Greatest Housing Shortages

What is happening? 1/4 of homes sold in 2021 were bought by investors. From January through May 2022, 22% of all homes were sold to investors.

Why is this important? This is said to drive up the cost of rent for suburban dwellers thereby adding to housing affordability issues.

How will this be important? Some states led in investor purchases and will impact affordability. Investors bought 1/3 of single-family homes sold in Georgia (33%) last year, with Arizona (31 %), Nevada (30%), California and Texas (both 29%).

Governing | Investors Bought a Quarter of Homes Sold Last Year, Driving Up Rents

What is happening? The US Supreme Court may take up a 5th Circuit case that asks whether there is a deadline for a local governmental entity to pay just compensation.

Why is this important? The 5th Circuit said there is nothing that prevents the local government from just not paying for a very long time & courts have no tools to offer recourse.

How will this be important? The fundamental issue is whether if parties reach an agreement on compensation, or a court reaches a finding on just compensation, is there an enforcement mechanism to ensure that property owners are paid just compensation.

PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI | ARIYAN, INCORPORATED, doing business as Discount Corner, et al. v. SEWERAGE & WATER BOARD OF NEW ORLEANS

What is happening? Federal funds are being allocated to help communities that were divided when eminent domain was used to build the interstate system, and did so by separating neighborhoods of color.

Why is this important? In Minnesota, Interstate 94 split in half the historic African American community of Rondo. This directly impacted 700 homes and 300 businesses, and in today’s property and business value of $157 million

How will this be important? The U.S. Department of Transportation, between the 1950s and 1970s, more than 475,000 homes were destroyed and more than one million people displaced during the construction of tens of thousands of miles of interstate highways

Denver 7 | Interstate-divided neighborhoods look to be made whole with federal funding

WCPO 9 | Interstate-divided neighborhoods look to be made whole with federal funding

What is happening? Rhode Island became the 50th state to allow for the sale of cottage foods.

Why is this important? It is being touted as a pathway to entrepreneurship 

How will this be important? Cottage foods, food trucks, access to unpasteurized milk… lots of access to food and food entrepreneurship issues

IJ.COM | Rhode Island Becomes Final State to Allow All Residents to Sell Cottage Foods

What is happening? Page County Iowa is selecting its Compensation Commission. In Iowa the Compensation Commission members are pulled from a list of 28 that includes 1/4 members that are owner or operators of ag property, 1/4 that are owners of city property, 1/4 that are licensed real estate persons or brokers, and 1/4 that are people with knowledge of property value such as bankers and auctioneers.

Why is this important? The members then view the land to be condemned and assess the damages.

How will this be important? Condemners and property owners then have 30 days to appeal the value.

KMA Land | Page County officials seek individuals for condemnation compensation commission

What is happening? Meet Putting Assets to Work Incubator. The brain child of a former Utah Congressman who previously served as mayor to Salt Lake City and noticed city and county property going unused.

Why is this important? The goal is to “help local governments identify underused public assets that could be ripe for private investment.”

How will this be important? The incubator is a collaboration between  the Sorenson Impact Center of the University of Utah’s business school, the Government Finance Officers Association, the consulting firm Urban3 and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

Route Fifty | Localities Look To an Untapped ‘Goldmine’ of Potential Revenue

What is happening? Cities are considering ways to stop institutional investors snapping up single family homes. In the 4th Quarter of 2021, “institutional investors spent approximately $50 billion to buy more than 80,000 homes—18.4% of all homes purchased in the U.S. and nearly 75% of them single-family homes.”

Why is this important? Access to affordable housing is common conversation to both the right and the left. In Atlanta, investors last year bought 32.7% of all homes for sale. “The number of new single-family homes built as rentals increased by 16% last year, according to the National Association of Home Builders.”

How will this be important? College Park, GA, a town with 75% of its residents renting homes, turned away building plans for more homes to rent telling the builder that the city isn’t interested in that. Greater Cincinnati Redevelopment Authority issued bonds to buy up homes from institutional investors. Atlanta wants to ” place limits on how much real estate institutional investors may purchase.”

Route Fifty | Governments Begin Pushing Back on Investors Snatching Up Homes