Month: November, 2004

When is a common good a common cost? Oregon shakes up the law

26 November, 2004 (20:57) | Uncategorized |

Three weeks ago, by an astonishingly wide margin (60% for, 40% against), Oregon voters enacted a referendum Measure 37 that will upset dramatically the economic dynamics of land regulation in the state of Oregon – and potentially throughout the US. As the New York Times reports it,
property owners who can [...]

Real estate tax assessment of affordable housing properties

24 November, 2004 (15:34) | Uncategorized |

Last week, Governor Schwarzenegger signed into law AB 2846 , which specifically excludes the economic value of Low Income Housing Tax Credits when valuing property for ad valorem real estate tax assessment. The statute’s key language couldn’t be plainer:

SECTION 1. Section 402.95 is added to the Revenue [...]

No good deed goes unpunished: removing environmental hazards

22 November, 2004 (20:43) | Essential posts, Government, Housing, Policy, US News |

The Boston Globe reports, in tones almost sympathetic, that:
A prominent Boston-based real estate company has agreed to test for and remove any hazardous lead paint from nearly 10,400 apartments nationwide, including more than 7,000 in Massachusetts, under a consent agreement that federal and state officials plan to announce today.
All this arises from a series of [...]