Author: Smart Growth America

Reigniting America’s real estate and housing markets through reform

By ·

This op-ed originally appeared in The Hill.

Today, the real estate industry finds itself caught between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) are leading the charge for tax and housing reform. On the other, we in real estate are wary of policy changes and the potential impacts on the recovering real estate market. But there may be a way forward. In January 2013, Smart Growth America (the parent organization of LOCUS: Responsible Real Estate Developers and Investors) released a study that surveyed 50 federal programs and found that between tax breaks, grants, loan guarantees and other programs the federal government spends or commits approximately $450 billion each year directly to the real estate market. The study found that much of that spending is uncoordinated and out of step with today’s market realities and demographic shifts.

As leaders in the real estate development community, we understand the positive impact federal involvement can have on the real estate market, and support a continued federal role in the sector. However, we also recognize the economy and real estate market have structurally changed, and policies and programs that spurred prosperity in previous generations can actually impede it today. We must ensure that every dollar invested in real estate is going to help the economic recovery – and that is why, we, LOCUS, a national coalition of real estate developers and investors in partnership with Smart Growth America developed a series of recommendations in a recent report, Federal Involvement in Real Estate: A Call for Action, proposing common sense reforms to existing programs.

LOCUS

Join us for a live event on federal involvement in real estate

By ·

Federal real estate programs could be doing more for families, communities and taxpayers alike. Later this month we’ll unveil new policy recommendations for how Congress can make that happen.

Smart Growth America and LOCUS, our coalition of responsible real estate developers and investors, have developed a set of policy recommendations for federal real estate programs. Join us for an online event about this new platform.

LOCUS

New workshop available, upcoming congressional briefing – Complete Streets News – June, 2013

By ·

Policy Adoption

On May 21, Hopkins, Minnesota adopted a Complete Streets policy. Hopkins, a densely populated town in the Minneapolis area, will be home to 3 light rail stations in the next few years, Creating safe walking and bicycling connections to those stations are paramount for the city team. The policy draws from national and state best practices, includes specific exemptions and next steps for implementation. Read more >>

The Albany, New York City Council passed Complete Streets legislation on June 3. After two auto-pedestrian accidents in the last year, one of them fatal, community stakeholders and councilmembers want to improve safety for all citizens. “This is about considering all users of the road,” noted Alderwoman Leah Golby, who proposed the law. “It’s time for our code to reflect the way people live today.” The ordinance applies to “all street construction, reconstruction, resurfacing or repaving projects that are undertaken by the City and not covered under the New York State Complete Streets Law.” Read more >>

The Common Council of White Plains, New York adopted a Complete Streets resolution on June 3. The resolution directs the City’s Department of Public Works to “consider all modes of travel within its projects” and includes specific exceptions. Read more >>

Complete Streets Local Leaders Council

Join us to celebrate DC's food entrepreneurs and the neighborhoods they call home

By ·

union-market
Union Market in Washington, DC. Photo by Tom Bridge via Flickr.

Washington, DC is gaining attention for its new food scene, and the city’s great neighborhoods are helping making that possible.

Join us on Thursday, June 20, 2013 for Food in the City: Creating food centers and communities, a panel discussion and reception about the intersection of smart growth development and DC’s burgeoning food community. Weigh in about how small businesses are changing real estate, and how the city can support food industry entrepreneurs through better development.

Uncategorized

City of Fairfax, VA to host public workshop on planning for economic and fiscal health

By ·

Fairfax, VA
Fairfax, VA’s City Hall, where next week’s meeting will take place. Photo by TJ Hanton via Flickr.

Smart Growth America is headed to Fairfax, VA next week to meet with local officials and residents about the city’s development policies and regulations, as well as its approach toward the continued investment in high-quality public infrastructure.

Technical assistance

Listen in: Building Better Budgets panel discussion

By ·

Building Better BudgetsYesterday Smart Growth America released new research on the savings and revenue of smart growth development. Building Better Budgets is the first report to aggregate local fiscal comparisons and determine a national average of how much communities can expect to save by using smart growth strategies.

To accompany the release we hosted a panel discussion of the new findings. If you weren’t able to join the event an archived version is now available at the link below.

Listen in: Click here to view the archived recording

Speaking on the panel were William Fulton, Vice President of Policy Development and Implementation, Smart Growth America; Rick Bernhardt, FAICP, CNU-A, Executive Director Metropolitan Nashville-Davidson County Planning Department; Mary Newsom, Associate Director of Urban and Regional Affairs at UNC Charlotte’s Urban Institute; and Chris Zimmerman, Member of Arlington County (VA) Board.

The panel discussion includes an overview of the findings and discussion of development strategies in Nashville, TN, Charlotte, NC, and Arlington, VA, as well as a question and answer session with panel attendees.

Read more about Building Better Budgets >>

Uncategorized

Building Better Budgets quantifies average savings and revenue of smart growth development

By ·

Building Better BudgetsLocal governments across the country have compared development strategies to understand their impact on municipal finances. These studies generally compare two or more different development scenarios, and help local leaders make informed decisions about new development based on the costs or revenues associated with them.

Many municipalities have found that a smart growth approach would improve their financial bottom line. Whether by saving money on upfront infrastructure; reducing the cost of ongoing services like fire, police and ambulance; or by generating greater tax revenues in years to come, community after community has found that smart growth development would benefit their overall financial health. Many of these findings have been made publicly available.

No national survey has examined these savings as a whole until now. This report is the first to aggregate those comparisons and determine a national average of how much other communities can expect to save by using smart growth strategies.

Building Better Budgets: A National Examination of the Fiscal Benefits of Smart Growth Development surveys 17 studies that compare different development scenarios, including a brand-new study of Nashville-Davidson County, TN, commissioned specifically for this report.

Uncategorized

City of Port Isabel, TX to host workshop next week on implementing smart growth strategies

By ·

Port Isabel, TXCity of Port Isabel officials and local residents will meet with representatives from Smart Growth America on May 21 and 22, 2013 as part of a free, grant-funded technical assistance program. The workshop will aim to give Port Isabel the tools it needs to leverage community assets and create a sustainable growth plan for the city.

“Port Isabel’s history and character set us apart, and the City works hard to maintain those assets,” said Mayor Joe E. Vega. “We want to make sure Port Isabel stays a great place to live and visit for generations to come and we want to do that in the best way possible. That’s what next week’s workshop is about.”

City of Port Isabel residents are invited to join the workshop’s first day for an introductory presentation that will feature a broad overview of strategies for implementing smart growth strategies. The event will be held Tuesday, May 21, 2013 from 6:30–8:00 PM at the Port Isabel City Hall, 305 East Maxan Street, Port Isabel 78578.

“Smart Growth America is committed to providing training to help community leaders keep cities and towns livable, sustainable and vital places,” said Roger Millar, Director of Smart Growth America’s Leadership Institute. “Port Isabel has the potential to create and implement great sustainable plans for the future of their city. This workshop will give city officials the tools needed to start a conversation about smart growth strategies and the value it can bring to their community.”

Technical assistance

Indiana finds a creative way to finance brownfields redevelopment

By ·

Indiana SEP
Straughter Body Shop prior to demolition and remediation (left) and after (right). The project was made possible by SEP funding. Photos via Meredith Gramelspacher.

The following is a guest post from Meredith Gramelspacher, Director and General Counsel of the
Indiana Brownfields Program

Indiana’s toolbox for creative brownfields financing includes one source that is seldom used outside of Indiana: Supplemental Environmental Projects.

Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs) are used by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) Office of Enforcement in negotiating settlements of enforcement cases. These environmentally-beneficial project improve, protect, or reduce risks to public health or the environment. A regulated entity agrees to undertake the project in further settlement of an enforcement action, but which the regulated entity is not otherwise legally required to perform. In certain cases, IDEM agrees to allow a respondent to make a cash payment of an agreed-upon dollar amount directly to the Indiana Finance Authority in lieu of an assessed civil penalty for use on a brownfield project in the city, town or county in which the violation underlying the enforcement action occurred. The Indiana Brownfields Program then coordinates with the beneficiary community to select a brownfield property at which to utilize the SEP Funds consistent with Brownfield SEP guidelines.

Uncategorized
  • …
  • …