InfoHive – Eminent Domain

What’s happening? Washington and Virginia recently enacted laws to discourage armoring structures and promote “living” shorelines. Washington State also prohibits property owners from repairing or replacing their seawalls except as a last resort and included compromise language from the state builder association, Building Industry Association of Washington.

Why is this important? Seawalls tend to move the problem of erosion down past the wall, and if seawalls degrade then they can harm the marine environment.

How will this be important? With water levels rising, how will property owners be able to protect their property?

Route Fifty | Coastal States Seek to Limit Seawall Construction

What’s happening? Colorado overturned its state preemption on 2nd amendment laws.

Why is this important? Colorado became the 1st to overturn preemption and 1 of 8 states that allow local governments to pass stricter ordinances on firearms laws.

How will this be important? Does overturning preemption feed into other preemptions, which have been on trend for the last decade.

Stateline.org via Govenring | Colorado Overturns Preemption Law; Other States May Follow

What’s happening? Miami Beach has determined the best way to preserve its transportation infrastructure is to elevate its roadways. Some property owners near elevated roadways are suing because floodwaters made their property unusable as short term rentals.

Why is this important? Property owners allege that repeated flooding will make the property inhabitable. The initial flooding has kept the properties from being listed as short term rentals.

How will this be important? Some property owners have seen formerly street level property, prior to roadway elevation, be reclassified as basement property and thus outside the purview of insurance policies.

Miami Herald via Governing | Miami Beach Lifts Roads Due to Sea Rise, Floods Nearby Homes

What’s happening? I had no idea there were formalized agreements on private property rights and space. There are and they’re entitled, respectively, Treaty On Principles Governing The Activities Of States In The Exploration And Use Of Outer Space, Including The Moon And Other Celestial Bodies, aka the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 (OST) & the Artemis Accords (Accords), an inter-agency agreement adopted by NASA and its partners as part of the Artemis Moon program.

Why is this important? We’ve been talking about property rights when space junk lands. States are tackling the issue when space junk lands within a state

How will this be important? Space and space travel has been privatized. The laws are coming next.

The Space Review | Is outer space a de jure common-pool resource?

What’s happening? Duluth, MN is adopting new policies for rentals:

• Short-term permits would be valid for 21 nights a year
• No cap on Short term permits
• Cap on stays, not to exceed 7 days
• Full-time vacation rental permits were capped at 60 
• Full time vacation rentals have no caps downtown & in the business districts

Why is this important? The policies are to be a middle ground between those who want to preserve their neighborhoods and those who want to capitalize on tourist income

How will this be important? Balancing these to interests is at the heart of most dialog on the issue, so let’s see how it plays out

Star Tribune | Duluth expands short-term, full-time vacation rentals

What’s happening? Maine has a ballot proposition on the right to food. Supporters say it ensures the right to grow vegetables and raise livestock in an era when corporatization threatens local ownership of the food supply. Opponents say it endangers animals and the food supply.

Why is this important? The brainchild of this proposition is a Republican who calls it the 2nd amendment for food.

How will this be important? Supports sy this is basic common sense to have gardens and “to make sure the government can’t stop people from doing things like saving and exchanging seeds, as long as they don’t violate public or property rights. “

VOA | Is There a Constitutional Right to Food? Mainers to Decide 

What’s happening? The US Restaurant Association wrote to the U.S. Conference of Mayors that extending waivers for outdoor dining is necessary for the industry’s survival.

Why is this important? Land Use. Sidewalks and Parking lots are what’s being utilized for outdoor dining. Plus, 2/3 of restaurants who applied received no funding from the Restaurant Revitalization Fund

How will this be important? The restaurant industry numbers show:

• In recent weeks, the coronavirus delta variant slowed indoor dining at 78% of restaurants nationwide.
• 20% of diners prefer to eat outside.
• At 68% of full-service restaurants, outdoor dining is 20% or more of daily sales.
• Slightly more than 60% of restaurants can only use their outdoor space through October. 
• Only 30% of eateries plan to utilize outdoor seating the entire winter.

Route Fifty | Restaurants Urge Mayors to Extend Outdoor Dining Through Winter

What’s happening? Telluride Colorado has 2 ballot propositions this fall. (1) limits the number of short term rentals to 400 and implement a lottery system for permits. (2) cap and freeze licenses for two years and double short-term rental business license fees.

Why is this important? Tourist towns are grappling with a lack of affordable housing and high numbers of short term rentals.

How will this be important? Both sides argue property rights. One says being able to offer short term rentals in my property is the highest and best use of my property. The other side says I am protecting my property rights and property value by keeping the neighborhoods clear of short term rentals.

telluride300.org

CAEHS.org

Telluride Daily Planet | Short-term rentals ballot questions discussed

What’s happening? Winter Park is participating in “Short-Term Fix” (winter Park) that offers homeowners up to $20,000 for converting their Winter Park vacation homes to housing for locals. Breckenridge is participating in  “Lease to Locals” offers short-term rental owners up to $27,000 if they ink a year-long lease with local workers.

Why is this important? Other localities are considering raising taxes on short term rentals or imposing fees on property owners who don’t live in their homes full-time.

How will this be important? It is a national issue. Tourist communities are facing housing and labor crunches.

Colorado Sun | A flurry of policy experiments in Colorado serves as “regional laboratory” for regulating, limiting short-term rentals

What’s happening? Gallup released polling about whether American like their 3 branches of government. Surprise! not so much. 43% like the President. 27% like Congress. 2/5 like the Supreme Court.

Why is this important? When the Supreme Court issued its Kelo decision on Eminent Domain in 2005, its approval tanked to the low level it is now.

How will this be important? People are paying attention to social justice, populist issues like is the big guy (government) taking land from he little guy. Cities and states are returning land and creating commissions to study how to correct for prior governmental acts that displaced minority communities.

Fulcrum | Americans have negative views of all three branches of government