Land Use & Property Rights

Oregon property owners and electric utility PacifiCorp have agreed to a $299 million settlement concerning a catastrophic 2020 wildfire.

Governing | By the Numbers $299 Million

University of Michigan School of Public Health found a link between more green space and less gun violence. “The range of the study showed that KIB greenspaces reduced the incidence of an assault with a gun by 6% at minimum — and in some cases — as much as 20%.” @goodgoodgoodco

Get your briefs ready, the Texas Attorney General is set to opine as to whether a real estate license is necessary to negotiate a lease for wind power. RQ-0523-KP

 Cities are inviting small businesses into their urban centers. One approach is to create  policies to make it easier for pop-up businesses to operate in urban centers. Non-profits like SF New Deal work with the city’s Office of Workforce and Economic Development to help small businesses, artists, and community organizations set up pop-ups in coordination with a program, Vacant to Vibrant, that can make the pop-up arrangement cost free for the small business.

Route Fifty | A solution for dying downtowns is popping up in major cities

A vote by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission approved the use eminent domain to take the land of the former Fairfield Lake State Park with the intent of returning it to public use. The former Fairfield Lake State Park land is currently in the hands of a private developer. The eminent domain process began with a panel valuing the former state park at $418.3 million. A state appraisal report estimated that the land was worth $85 million. The most recent sales price of the property is allegedly $103.5 million. This valuation storyline is consistent in the Texas eminent domain process. We’ve talked about the eminent domain compensation saga of the Alamo’s nearby bar.  We’ve talked about how other states have legislated valuations. It’s complicated.

Fort Worth Star Telegram | Fairfield Lake park property valued at ‘staggering’ $418M. What will the state do now?

Voters in Spokane, Washington approved a ballot initiative that requires homeless camps to be more than 1,000 feet from schools, parks, playgrounds and licensed child care facilities. The proposition passed with 75.4%.

Spokesman Review | Spokane voters criminalize homeless camps near places children gather

Boulder, Colorado voters approved restrictions on homeless camps that require homeless camps to not be within 500 feet of schools nor within 50 feet of sidewalks and bike paths. 

Daily Camera | UPDATED: Boulder ballot items: Safe Zone 4 Kids leads in early results; tax extension, petition proposal on track to win

Besides land use conversions so that office buildings become residences, what else helps downtown areas recover their vitality? Diversity. Land use diversification includes not only residential dwellers, but also a mix of education, health care, residential, hotel and retail establishments.

Route fifty |  What’s driving post-pandemic downtown recoveries?

Drinking out in the open on downtown sidewalks, carrying your wine to go into shops… that’s happening in North Carolina with its social zones , in Virginia with their new Private Outdoor Designated Areas, and in Ohio with its Designated Outdoor Refreshment Areas. Legislatures in Kansas and Ohio want to jump on board too for more open public drinking to revamp downtowns.

Stateline | ‘I felt so naughty’: New open carry alcohol laws boost downtowns

New Jersey Governor this week signed a bill, S588 (2023 | NJ) that requires media literacy courses in K-12 to combat misinformation. New Jersey is the 1st state to require media literacy. Is it just me who was taught to question the veracity of what one reads in the press?

Governing | New Jersey Becomes First State to Require K-12 Media Literacy

Florida and California handle their home insurance markets differently. Florida leans toward limited regulation and California leans toward regulation. But, they are both in the same boat when it comes to a home insurance crisis. The common denominator: natural disasters. Florida has long subsidized home insurance via its Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, which has a $10 billion in losses. California maintains a Fair Access to Insurance Requirements for home owners denied coverage. It currently has 1000 applications a day.

Route Fifty | How California and Florida are trying to stave off the home insurance crisis

State land trusts are unlocking affordable housing projects in western states like Colorado, New Mexico & Utah. In 11 western states, state land trust managers collectively oversee more than 40 million acres.

Route Fifty | Western states look to these lands for new affordable housing

Both the Texas House and Senate have approved funding for a border wall without the use of eminent domain. The Texas Facilities Commission which is overseeing the border wall construction says it has obtained land use rights for about 60 miles of wall and 50 more miles of easements are expected. The state has built 12 miles of wall at $30 million per mile. The federal government has built 180 miles. The international border is 1254 miles long. That leaves 934 miles at $30 million per mile = $28,020,000,000.

Texas Senate | SENATE APPROVES MORE BORDER WALL FUNDING

California has defensible space rules to protect buildings from wildfires. This may soon include  a space of 5 feet from a building to vegetaion. These new proposed rules for high risk wildfire areas would be the first of its kind in the nation.

NPR | With wildfires growing, California writes new rules on where to plant shrubs

The Texas House added this amendment to a “border security” bill, HB 6 (2023 | 88(3) Texas) that prohibits the use of eminent domain to acquire property on the border. The Texas international border is as long as it is complicated. Ranchers graze their herds in the Rio Grande, the Catholic Church owns land that crosses the border, so do wildlife non-profits, among others. The Catholic Church gives rise to first amendment issues- it’s complicated.

 Last week we talked about Missoula Montana’s affordable housing to be built on county donated land that has received 5 applications for each unit. Well, Georgia has even bigger numbers. 177,000 applications for 13,000 housing vouchers available under its Housing Choice Voucher program. 

AP | Georgia agency gets 177,000 applications for housing aid, but only has 13,000 spots on waiting list

Remember how we talked about a bar near the Alamo that was being taken by eminent domain for Alamo purposes? Well, there’s been a settlement of $6.75 million. So let’s look how the numbers went. The owners last offer was $10 million. The city’s last pubic offer: $5.3 million. A “business valuation” of the property was $1.2 million.

San Antonio Report | Texas gave Moses Rose’s Hideout $6.75 million to settle eminent domain case

“A law approved by the French parliament last March mandates that rooftops on new buildings in commercial zones must be partially covered either by solar panels or plants.” @plasticquickly and @wastefreeplanet

Missoula, Montana donated land for an affordable housing project. The project is moving forward thanks to the land donation and existing tax credit program. There are 5 applications for each of the 200 units. “It’s all about partnerships,” said Sara Stout, with the Missoula Housing Authority.

Route Fifty | How one city added hundreds of new homes amid an affordable housing crunch

 Michigan Supreme Court is considering whether a warrant will be required for both criminal and civil violations before a drone can be flown over private property. The case stems from a township flying a drone over private property to investigate whether to issue civil citations.

Government Technology | Should Police Need a Warrant to Fly Over Private Property?

Guess who wants to deregulate housing markets? @catoinstitute They suggest leaving housing and homelessness to local governments and for them to implement their Housing First approach.

CATO | Housing Markets First: Housing Supply and Affordability Are Key to Reducing Homelessness

Denver has a program that gave $1000/month to the unhoused. Turns out that the program increased employment rates and reduced homeless rates. It’s not just Denver, cities across the globe have implemented similar programs and found benefits to their communities and economies.

@workingfamilies

Meet the “social district.” What is a social district you ask… A social district is an area where you can walk around with your open alcoholic beverage. North Carolina is adding social districts to its downtowns as a means of reviving downtown areas. It all stems from House Bill 890 (2021 | NC).

Governing | Can Letting People Drink on the Street Revive Struggling Downtowns?

Wisconsin Legislature killed a bill that supporters say would have updated building code to  save energy, improve safety and lower insurance costs. Opponents say the bill died because there was no determination of the fiscal impact to government and businesses.

Wisconsin Examiner | Legislature’s rules committee kills new building standards that advocates said would save money

A zombie property law in Arizona led to a property group buying 80% of the condos in a development and then forcing the sale of the other 20%. It raises the question what happens when a law, that is no longer in effect,  is still attached to your property?

Reason | Can an Unconstitutional Law Force You To Sell Your Home to a Private Investor?

Did you know that home values are not negatively impacted by nearby solar farms? So says this study sponsored by Conservative Texans for Energy Innovation.

STUDY OF RESIDENTIAL MARKET TRENDS SURROUNDING SIX UTILITY-SCALE
SOLAR PROJECTS IN TEXAS

Solar Powered World | Study finds no negative impact for Texas home values near utility solar projects

Meet Naba Banerjee. Her work led to a 55% reduction in party complaints for AirBnB from August 2020 to August 2022. @cnbc

New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department is working on draft language to require either EV charger capabilities at all new buildings or requiring installed EV chargers. It is estimated that by 2035, 80% of new vehicle purchases in New Mexico will be electric. NM Building Code rules updates will be here.

Governing | New Mexico May Require EV Chargers in New Construction

We’ve talked about Chief Heat Officers in cities like Miami, Phoenix, and Austin. Did you know that within a city temperatures can vary by 20 degrees. A lush and leafy area can be 20 degrees cooler than bare and concrete areas. As a result,  cities are working to increase tree canopies to combat heat.

Route fifty | More cities address ‘shade deserts’ as extreme heat triggers health issues

California is addressing the inflationary impact of security deposits.  AB 12 (2023 | CA) will limit security deposits to one month’s rent. If signed by the Governor, California will be the 12th state to pass a cap on security deposits. For the curious, AB 12 exempts small landlords with 2 properties and less than 4 units.

Daily Independent | Bill to ban expensive security deposits passes legislature, heads to Newsom’s desk

Does your state allow cameras to secretly record inside short term rentals? Deep down in the South, Georgia has a law that prevents recording people on private property without their knowledge, except to for security purposes. That makes short term rental security cameras complicated. A poll says that 6 in 10 are worried about being recorded in their short term rentals. 

So what’s the fix? Turns out that some short term rental company contracts require disclosure of cameras or prevent recording short term rental guests.

Alive11 | Hidden camera concerns | Only 2% of unlawful surveillance reports in Georgia this year have resulted in conviction

“Converting Brown Offices to Green Apartments,” is a working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research, researchers at New York University and Columbia University that identified thousands of properties nationwide as physically suitable to be converted into apartments. It identifies 50+ buildings in Dallas – Fort Worth for conversion to residential properties. The report also lists local regulatory needs to make it happen, including: local zoning regulations amendments, building code adjustments, local property tax abatements and debt subsidies.

Dallas Morning News via Governing | Researchers Propose 50 Dallas Area Office Buildings for Apartments

4 states are requiring home sellers & landlords to disclose whether a property has flooded. New York, New Jersey, South Carolina and North Carolina are requiring flood disclosures.  The Natural Resources Defense Council stresses that Louisiana and Texas have very strong disclosure laws concerning flood risk. And, tenants in Indiana, Georgia, Texas, New Jersey, Oklahoma, California and Oregon are required to receive information concerning flooding risk disclosures.

NPR | Residents of four states will get more information about flood risk to their homes

 A study of the homeless in Canada who received stipends found that the unhoused spent the stipends on housing and transportation.  There was NO increase in spending on “temptation goods.” As an added bonus, governmental entities spent less on shelter costs for the homeless. @washingtonpost

Let’s thank reddit for legislative game plans to reign in home owner associations (HOAs). A reddit thread discusses how to change the law so that HOAs cannot prevent a landowner from adopting an environmentally friendly landscaping style. Other legislative propositions included limiting HOA reach to only the lands owned by the HOA. Hummm… so a land owner would control the autonomy of their own land?????

Yahoo News | Homeowners rally together to change law that lets HOAs rule neighborhoods with an iron fist: ‘That’s a bigger fight’

How did Environment Texas successfully pass legislation to add $1 billion to state parks? (1) Data. Texas is 35th in per capita state park acreage. That’s less than Florida. (2) personalized the data with anecdotes from Texans (3) bipartisan support (4) Harris County delegation support (5) bringing legislative experts into the team (6) press and (7) public engagement.

Environment Texas | How we got the Texas Legislature to invest $1 billion in state parks

Citing wildfires, construction costs, and other matters, some say home insurance carriers are leaving the California market. Most recently, AmGUARD Insurance, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies and Falls Lake have ceased offering home insurance policies in California.

The San Francisco Standard | Over 50,000 To Lose Homeowners Insurance as Two More Insurers Exit California

Times of San Diego | Opinion: California Legislature Avoiding Growing Home Fire Insurance Crisis

Boston is offering incentives to convert office buildings into residences. The incentives include waiving up to 75% of property taxes for up to 29 years. Philadelphia has had property tax incentives for converting buildings into residences for decades and the incentives are credited for revitalizing parts of City Center.

Governing | Cities Explore Ways to Promote Office-to-Housing Conversions

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the 5th largest landowner in the U.S. the Catholic Diocese owns land in almost every county in the country. This sparked a law in Minnesota that preempts local zoning laws and allows faith-based organizations to build shelters for homeless individuals on their property. Atlanta did the same with its Faith-based Development Initiative where 10% of new affordable housing was built by faith based organizations.

Route Fifty | Governments have faith that church property can help solve the housing crisis

 Louisiana is working to rebuild its coast line with  its $50 billion Master Coast Plan. This plan includes a “$2.92 billion project to divert sediment from the Mississippi River into the basin, mimicking the natural processes of the river’s flow in an attempt to save the state’s disappearing coast.” The plan includes working with fisheries,  oyster farmers, and shrimpers to not impact their businesses.

Route Fifty | Louisiana breaks ground on experimental project to rebuild lost wetlands

Last week California  Building Standards Commission officially adopted amendments to the “California Green Building Standards Code (CALGreen), Part 11, Title 24, that will limit embodied carbon emissions in the “construction, remodel, or adaptive reuse of commercial buildings larger than 100,000 square feet and school projects over 50,000 square feet.”

Architectural Record | California Adopts First-in-Nation Building Code Revision to Reduce Embodied Carbon

How could pharmaceuticals be more affordable with eminent domain? The government would use eminent domain to obtain the patent, that was developed in part with public funds, and then set a reasonable price for the pharmaceutical. It’s called march in rights.

The American Prospect | Eminent Domain for Overpriced Drugs

Italy has a proposal before the E.U. to prohibit “using food or feed derived from cell cultures or tissues of vertebrate animals. If enacted, this would bar food and feed business operators from producing, selling, importing, or distributing cell-based products for consumption.” Italy also wants to restrict the labeling of products containing exclusively vegetable proteins.

Food Safety Africa | Italy introduces draft legislation to ban cell-based meat, restrict plant-based proteins labeling in EU

CBC | The future of lab-grown meat here in Alberta as Italy weighs whether to keep it off peoples’ plates

The Mayor of the City of Eagle Pass converted a public park to private land. They say the park is part of the Texas Governor’s border security initiative. Shortly after converting the public park to private land, the City of Eagle Pass city council returned the park to a public park.

The Messenger | Texas Community Fights Back After Mayor Declares Public Park His Private Property, Criminalizes Unauthorized Access

The federal Farmland for Farmers Act, a bipartisan measure, would prevent corporations, pensions, and investment funds from buying or easing farmland. U.S. Senator Cory Booker, an author of the legislation, said, “We must protect farmland from becoming an investment strategy for huge corporations.”

Reuters | Lawmakers seek to limit corporate and foreign ownership of US farmland

Miami has a voluntary Building Efficiency 305 program. This program uses data so that buildings can “cut waste and identify performance improvements that will keep utility costs and temperatures down.”

Route Fifty | How local leaders are getting one hot county to cool down

Miami has a sustainable building program to address extreme heat. In Miami 40% of greenhouse gas emissions come from buildings. The sustainable building program requires “a silver certification from the Envision rating system or the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED.”

Route Fifty | How local leaders are getting one hot county to cool down

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), the New York Power Authority, and New York City’s Housing Authority put out a call for innovation to develop induction stoves that use existing 120-volt outlets. Why induction stoves? less likely to create fire hazards as induction cooktops are cool to the touch. Not only is this a benefit for the safety on housing authorities but it also creates a new market for manufacturers.

NYSERDA | Induction Stove Challenge Expected to Launch this Fall

 Rhode Island joins Detroit and other local and state governmental entities that are starting web based housing listings for affordable housing. Rhode Island’s goal is to ensure that barriers to housing do not include  “Finding basic information on available units throughout our state and how to apply shouldn’t be one of them.”  

Route Fifty | Watch out Zillow: States launch affordable-housing search sites

Legislators in South Dakota are calling for a special session to prohibit the use of eminent domain “to strip property rights from landowners for the benefit of an out-of-state private company with foreign investors.” The pro-private property rights legislators are joined by environmentalists who are concerned by safety and the potential environmental impact of the carbon pipeline that could traverse South Dakota.

News Center 1 South Dakota | South Dakota Lawmakers Launch Petition Drive to Protect Property Rights Against Carbon Pipeline

A neighborhood in North Carolina named 1776 requires homeowners to display the U.S. flag 365/24/7. No other flags are permitted, including the state flag. Welcome to the world where neighborhoods are political statements.

WFAE | New housing development in Gastonia requires ‘patriots’ to fly American flag

The Department of Energy has launched a $90 million grant program to help states and local governments update their building codes. Residential and commercial buildings make up 40% of the U.S. energy consumption. 35% of communities have modern building codes according to FEMA. The communities that do not have  modern building codes,  lost $32 billion in climate-related losses. The National Energy Codes Collaborative is a grant recipient and a peer-to-peer network for state and local leaders as they implement building energy codes. The Collaborative counts Colorado, New Jersey, Michigan and Louisiana as members.

Router Fifty | $90M awarded to update building energy codes

Los Angeles is creating a public bank to fund affordable housing. Supporters say the public bank will be more willing to fund affordable housing and “better than private banks to serve Black and Latino communities, small businesses, green energy initiatives.” Los Angeles has the power to do this because of 2020’s AB 857.

Los Angeles Times via Governing | Los Angeles Moves Forward on Creation of a Public Bank

Florida’s SB 540 (2023 | FL) signed by Gov. De Santis is being called a way to  “level the playing field” for developers going up against local governments with large tax bases who might stretch out the time of the lawsuit and rack up expensive attorney fees, according to the bill’s author. For the bill’s opponents, it is seen as means of preventing smart growth plans.

Governing | New Florida Law Could Impact Housing, Conservation, Evacuation

 5 states have adopted building performance standards to address building energy efficiency. Oregon, Colorado, Maryland, Washington and the District of Columbia have all adopted building performance standards. California, Rhode Island, Minnesota and New York, are considering similar legislation. In Washington D.C. buildings are an estimated to be  75% of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Route Fifty | It’s time for buildings to stop using a third of US energy, some states say

Dallas City Council has passed a short term rental ban for all single family residential neighborhoods. Short term rentals can operate in areas with multi family housing and commercial areas if they register and pay taxes like hotels do.

Fox 4 | Dallas City Council bans short-term rentals from single-family areas

The Roberts led Supreme Court nixed a Minnesota tax lien sale where a local government sold a nice old lady’s home for $40,000 to satisfy a $15,000 tax lien and then the local government pocketed the remaining $25,000. The craziest part of this crazy story- the opinion was unanimous. I didn’t think the Justices could agree on lunch.  Tyler v. Hennepin County

Texas created the Land Owner Compensation Program, SB 1133 (2023 | TX) , to compensate border agricultural land owners for damage to their property caused by trespasser committing border crimes.

The Big Bend Sentinel | Bill to reimburse landowners for damage caused by ‘border crimes’ signed into law 

Texas is seeking to use eminent domain to acquire a state park. Well, it was a state park for decades. The state leased the land from the property owner for a nominal fee. The lease terminated. Developers want to build. There were negotiations. Negotiations weren’t fruitful, and the state wants to keep its park. Here we are- public park space v. the building of a gated community and a golf course.

@dallasnews

 Colorado Governor vetoed House Bill 23-1190 that would have given municipalities the right of first refusal to purchase multifamily homes and convert them into affordable housing. The Veto statement said local governments can already make an offer in the open market and this should not be mandatory.

Colorado Newsline | Right of first refusal housing bill falls to veto from Colorado Gov. Polis

Colorado Legislature passed HB1362 (2022 |CO). Local rules implementing the bill  will start being adopted after July 1st. The bill seeks to require more efficient appliances and prewiring for solar panels and electric vehicle charging in new buildings. Developers say the new building codes will increase costs. Let’s watch this unfold.

Colorado Sun | New Colorado energy rules will require solar and electrical hookups in all new buildings 

Arizona is limiting construction near Phoenix as water supplies dwindle. State officials considered groundwater reserves for the next 100 years when reaching their decision. Some say that this will mean that cities and developers must look for alternative sources of water to support future development, including purchasing water from local indigenous tribes.

New York Times | Arizona Limits Construction Around Phoenix as Its Water Supply Dwindles

SB584 (2023 | CA) would impose a 15% tax on short term rentals to fund affordable housing.

ABC 7 | California lawmakers consider short-term rental tax to fund affordable housing

An emerging property rights issue: how are digital assets distributed during divorce and what property rights attach to the digital assets?

Sandbox co-founder Sebastien Borget says digital assets should be treated as other property rights. He says this especially true as the world grows more digitally.

Coin Telegraph | Digital assets should be valued as ‘proper property’ — Sandbox co-founder

A real estate brokerage and Chinese citizens have sued Florida over the prohibition from real property ownership. The bill would require Chinese citizens, who currently own property in the state, to register those properties with the state. A violation is punishable by fines, criminal charges and imprisonment. 13 states have similar laws on the books. The policy isn’t uncommon worldwide. We all await the courts rulings.

Chinese Citizens Sue Florida Over ‘Xenophobic’ Property Law

Lawmakers in North Dakota asked the state Attorney General to investigate a CO2 pipeline alleging that the company has “some of the investment in the project comes from foreign countries, including China.” Connecting the dots… thus these foreign powers have the power of eminent domain.

AG Week | Lawmakers seek AG investigation into Summit Carbon Solutions ownership and investors

Idaho signed an agreement with the Federal government and indigenous tribes for the state to take greater responsibility over the wildlife-urban interface, the area most often the source for wildfires. The International Code Council has a wildland-urban interface code. But, most woodland urban areas in Idaho have not adopted it.

Governing | Idaho Agrees to Take More Fiscal Responsibility for Wildfires

How do you encourage construction of affordable housing? In 2021, Connecticut decided it would speed things along by passing a bill that prevents zoning rules from considering population density and character of the community.

Reasonable minds say that more affordable housing is needed. However, changing zoning laws isn’t easy when your voting constituents favor NOT IN MY BACKYARD (NIMBY). The answer? Some think it’s going to be state preemption of local zoning regulations that require affordable housing to be built. Potential winners? Affordable Housing developers.

Route Fifty | Will States Force Localities to Build Affordable Housing?

Chattanooga Tennessee spent 1 year studying short term rental rules, and adopted rules this week. The new rules will limit new short term rentals to commercial areas that allow hotels. Supporters say the new rule will help enforcement with illegal short term rentals and will help prevent vacation rentals from overrunning local communities.

Chattanooga Times Free Press | Chattanooga City Council OKs new rules for short-term vacation rentals after a year of work

Colorado law enforcement have been using reverse keyword search warrants that allow law enforcement officers to see what people have been searching on google. An attorney with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers says “The keyword warrant here made Google search everybody who searched for anything over the course of more than two weeks.” Attorneys say it’s a new issue for courts. Hello 2025, Texas legislature. All other states, act accordingly.

Governing | Colorado Hears Challenge to Police Use of Google Search

States are looking to curb youth homelessness by collecting better data, providing training for educators to identify homeless students, and  establishing formal positions to support students and their families.

Route Fifty | States Take Up Bills to Confront Youth Homelessness

Once upon a time eminent domain was an issue to preserve the Oakland Raiders. Today people are talking about Oakland using eminent domain to seize the As stadium. Think of it like divorcing parents fighting over custody, in this case it is custody of the stadium.

San Jose Mercury Times | Borenstein: Oakland should seize the A’s stake in the Coliseum through eminent domain

South Carolina saw a statewide wide regulation of short term rentals come to a full stop. So, what was the winning argument that halted the bill? That the bill was “usurping cities’ self-governing rights.”

Post & Courier | Bill limiting short-term rental rules in SC is dead for the year but could resurface in 2024

Kansas City< Missouri on Thursday approved new short term regulations that prohibit non-property owner occupied short term rentals in areas zoned residential.

Fox 4 | Kansas City approves new regulations on short-term rentals

A court in Iowa ruled this week that surveyors for carbon pipelines cannot enter land before condemnation. The district court found that a surveyor entering land without consent of the land owner is a  “government taking without providing just compensation.” 20 similar suits are pending in Iowa & South Dakota.

Des Moines Register | Iowa law allowing surveyors on property for carbon capture pipeline ruled unconstitutional

 An Austin startup is proposing home sales by cash and crypto. Meet MyEListing that allows commercial and residential properties to be listed on their site. The hook: deals can close in 1 day. The company looks to expand outside of Texas in June to 2-3 states.

Governing | Austin Startup Allows House Sales in Cash or Crypto

Displacement Prevention Navigator , a pilot program in two Austin Texas neighborhoods– Colony Park and Dove Springs—is working to keep people in their homes with outreach programs that can provide assistance.

Route Fifty | City’s ‘Displacement Prevention Navigators’ Aim to Help Neighbors Remain in Homes

17.1% of office spaces in the US are unoccupied. Three regulatory changes that help convert office buildings to residences efficiently are: (1) waiving development impact fees, (2) tax incentives and (3) zoning changes to spur office-to-housing conversions. In Oregon, legislators want to make sure office flipping can happen statewide with  HB 2984 (2023 | OR) that requires cities to allow for office to resident conversions.

Route Fifty | Converting Offices to Housing Is Hard. These Changes Could Make It Easier

Add Missouri to the states working to prevent foreign ownership of its farm lands. Currently .3% of the state’s farmland is foreign owned. Missouri’s House of Representatives wants to prohibit ownership from persons or entities connected to these 5 countries: China, Russia, Iran, North Korea and Venezuela. The  legislation would require countries to report land acquisitions or transfers with the Missouri secretary of state’s office and the attorney general. HB 903 (2023 | MO)

Fox 2 Now | Missouri Senate approves to limit foreign ownership of farmland

As we know the Florida Legislature tried to take power away from Disney World’s special purpose district. The special purpose district legally transferred the districts power by agreement to Disney before the Legislature’s law was effective. Now, the Governor wants to change Disney’s property rights in the district. adults these days.

WorldWide Leader in Disney News Today | DeSantis Will Attempt to Void Disney’s Property Rights Declaration, Add State Inspections of Monorails and Rides

Arizona legislators say 2 bills will cut homebuilder red tape in Arizona. HB2536 (2023 | AZ) that will create a self certification program for builder. SB1161 which will allow for work time credits for probation credit.

@AZSenateRepublicans

The Urban Institute says that land use loosening to address housing shortages may increase some supplies, but they don’t don’t help low and middle income people seeking housing. The recommended solution is to offer direct payment options to help the groups like rent subsidy vouchers.

They fences make good neighbors but do cryptominers make good neighbors? Neighbors to a crypto mining facility in North Carolina report 24/7 noise, sounding like a “never ending airplane engine and the sound can carry through the county,” and say that “It’s been a disaster to our whole community.” Local officials say the best advice is to ban it before it controls you.

ABC 13 | ‘It’s been a disaster’ Residents warn neighboring areas of crypto mine impacts

Developers in Colorado are using modular homes to address the housing crisis. These homes require minimal construction on site. This housing solution involves public and private efforts, including free land from San Miguel County, grants from heavyweight foundations to launch a nonprofit developer and unique lending.

Colorado Sun | A modular home community near Telluride may become a national model. But getting it open hasn’t been easy.

Disney said checkmate to the political drama. To quick recap, Disney is located in a special district, and the Florida legislature upended it. To match this, before the switch over, the special district passed special covenants and entered into a development deal with Disney Co. moving all the power of the special district to Disney.

NPR | Disney World board picked by DeSantis says predecessors stripped them of power

California proposes adding housing to the state’s health care safety net. The program would include 6 months of rent for qualified low income enrollees. Some say inadequate housing are driving health outcomes. Similar programs are ongoing in Arizona and Oregon.

Route Fifty | Prescription for Housing? California Wants Medicaid to Cover 6 Months of Rent

Green burials come in 3 shades of green. First the hybrid, let’s call this kelly green, a kelly green cemetery is a conventional cemetery that has an area for burials without a concrete vault or chemical embalming. The next is a dedicated natural burial cemetery let’s call this forrest green, that uses no non-native materials down to the burial stones. Finally there is conservation burial ground, let’s call this sea foam green, and has deed restrictions so that the land will never be used or developed for another reason.

Spartan News Room | More cemeteries offering green burials, recreational space

North Carolina passed an Ag-Gag bill that prohibited disclosure of “undercover animal-cruelty investigations and publiciz[ing] what they uncover.” The bill left the legislature and made a very fast trip to the courts. The court said that protecting private property rights is good and all but limiting free speech is not.

Harvard Univeristy | Property Law Developments | Fourth Circuit strikes down North Carolina’s “ag-gag” law under the First Amendment

Arkansas legislature has passed SB197 (2023 |AR) that says local governments infringe on private property rights in their regulation of short term rentals. Trust issues are alive and well between states and cities as the bill also prohibits cities from enforcing existing short term rental rules. Cities can require permits, but no more. This reminds me of  last week when we talked about a statewide bill that said all properties, short term rentals and regular residential properties, must be treated the same.

Arkansas Democrat Gazette | House considers short-term rentals bill

Welcome new eminent domain messaging- using eminent domain for a pipeline in Iowa is being called profit over people.

Iowa Capital Dispatch | Disasters happen when businesses put profits above people

Ah.. Florida, you’re getting a lot of attention this year. Everyone wants to suss out the politics of your Governor. Florida legislators want statewide rules on short term rentals. They say local governments cans till have noise, trash and parking ordinances but they have to be the same rules that apply to all residents. “The League of Cities neither opposes nor endorses the bill”

Tampa Bay Times | Florida Senate bill could limit local regulations on short-term rentals

San Luis Obispo is reviewing home deeds to clear the deeds of racist provisions. Restrictive covenants in the 1940s limited residential property to caucasians. In 2021, the California Legislature passed AB1466 (CA | 2021), that outlawed discriminatory language in covenants, conditions and restrictions and develop a plan to remove the covenants.

Governing | San Luis Obispo Sifts Through Home Deeds for Racist Language

Texas Attorney General Opinion KP-0437 answers the question whether a public facility corporation sponsored by a municipal management district created under chapter 375 of the Local Government Code can act outside its geographical territory. The answer: Probably yes and then cautions ” Whether a PFC should have this authority and the limitations of such authority are policy questions for the Legislature, especially when impacting taxing authority for another district.” HELLO TEXAS LEGISLATURE this language is for you.

What does made in the USA mean for agricultural products? Turns out it doesn’t mean that it was raised or grown here, some rules allow made in the USA if the food was processed in the US. This is going to change according to the USFDA, which will be changing its rules so that they align with customer views.

AP | Made in the USA? Proposed rule clarifies grocery meat labels

The Montana Legislature voted down SB467 (MT | 2023) that would have stopped cities from prohibiting short term rentals. Long live local short term rental bans in Montana.

Detroit is planning to use $95 million in federal ARPA funds to demolish 400 dilapidated commercial buildings. One example site is an abandoned Packard Plant.

Route Fifty | How Cities and Counties Are Spending Their ARPA Funds

Washington State Legislature is moving HB 1037 (2023 | WA) that would allow for backyard burials. The bill gets to this point by removing the requirement that all burials must be conducted by registered cemetery corporations. The bill was brought to the author by constituents including local tribal members.

KIRO 7 | Bill allowing family burials on private property approved by WA House

LB255 (2023 | NE) in Nebraska would prevent the use of eminent domain for renewable energy projects.