Regarding Supreme Court decision supporting eminent domain, Bill Cullen says, in part: >This is huge and this is frightening.
[MH] You've got that right, Bill. It is more important than ever that we reduce and limit public development subsidies, and improve the transparency of the development process. It seems that the only projects that get approved anymore in this town are those that are publicly subsidized. Privately financed developments are rare and seem to be regularly turned down by city officials, while publicly financed projects-- dependent upon a string of public and non-profit agencies, each bringing a different piece of public money to the table, are routinely on the consent agendas. The Planning Commission may approve a privately financed project, only to see elected officials stop it due to short-term political considerations (the noisy few). We hear sound bites like, "This is Uptown, not Downtown," to summarize rejection of a private investment of well in excess of a hundred million dollars. We see a private property owner told he can't build a project on a property correctly zoned for the project-- no variances requested, yet the noisy few complain about traffic and crime (unsubstantiated at that); the property owner finally wins after costly appeals because elected officials know they will lose the case in a court of law (and that might cost them votes, to say nothing of tax dollars). The publicly financed projects seem to sail through the process, even those supportive housing and supportive services facilities sited, contrary to current zoning (1/4 mi spacing), in the usual neighborhoods, under the guise of the Federal Fair Housing Ammendments Act, where entire neighborhoods are continually told to 'make reasonable accommodation' from current zoning laws. The non-profits have their lawyers seated up front, reminding policy makers they will be sued if the project is denied, which it isn't. I may be wrong, but I can't remember such a project being denied over the past several years. This is business as usual in Mpls. Private rental vacancies are high and we continue to build subsidized housing, much of it targeted to households earning 60-80 percent MMI ($45-60K for family of four). It's the hottest game in town. In 1999, over half the households in Mpls earned less than $45K annually! The median household income was $38K in 1999. [Census 2000] Every public deal has admin costs for the middlemen (up and down the line); and in the end the only one responsible for anything is the property tax payer. Across the country, and here in MPLS too, more and more of the cost of public service is being pushed down to the local property tax payer. It's time to wake up folks. Property taxes (paid directly or indirectly) are very regressive in our urban environment, especially if you are of modest means and/or on a fixed income. It's not inconceivable that current policy may force more people out of their homes (due to high property taxes) than are 'placed' in new 'affordable' units. There's a pattern developing here and it needs to be changed. We need more privately financed development in this city and it's time the public starts demanding it. Vocal activists come out of the wood work to oppose private developments, threatening their elected officials with 'lost votes in the next election' unless they acquiesce and oppose the project. Where is the public good? Buildings have been knocked down rather than criminal residents arrested. Private landlords are forced out of town. Meanwhile the majority of residents are too busy working (and paying ever higher taxes) to get involved. Too many across the city don't even take the time to vote every few years. Thus a vocal minority continually reinforces this trend toward ever more public development and less private development, city officials roll with the punches, the city's financial situation continues to deteriorate, and the payer of last resort remains the over burdened property tax payer. We need to grow the tax base on the private dime! It's time folks start asking who's financing our candidates in this years election, where are the campaign volunteers coming from, who is developing the campaign messages? Is anyone looking out for the property tax payer? The buck stops here! Mike Hohmann Linden Hills independent candidate 13th Ward City Council http://www.mikeforcitycouncil.org [EMAIL PROTECTED] > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Bill Cullen > Sent: Friday, June 24, 2005 7:40 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [Mpls] eminent domain gets the green light > > > Michael Hohmann wrote: cash-strapped cities and towns are using eminent > domain to force people out of their homes to make way for casinos, condos, > and shopping malls. > > Bill Cullen Responds: > > I am thoroughly confused as to what the Supreme Court thought they would > achieve with this ruling. They seem to have changed the threshold from > “public use” to “public purpose.” This small change in wording has a huge > impact. “Use” had always been defined as for parks, roads, schools, and > other useful government functions. “Purpose” can be defined as simply > creating jobs or increasing property taxes. It is very broad! > snip > While this is a huge decision, Minneapolis and St. Paul have been > doing this > for years. A dear friend of mine, that works for St. Paul PED, said they > were very careful as the case law is not clear about what is > legal and what > is not. This decision will provide some of that clarity, and > government is > likely to get more aggressive. Money for projects is readily > available via > Tax Increment Financing, Section 42 tax credits, CPED and other avenues. > > In a few years many homeowners in Minneapolis and St. Paul may experience > what Keith Reitman is experiencing now. Too bad few worry about > the attack > Keith is fighting right now: HYPERLINK > "http://www.mnforum.org/pipermail/mpls/2005-June/042205.html"http: //www.mnfo rum.org/pipermail/mpls/2005-June/042205.html. > snip Regards, Bill Cullen Whittier Landlord. snip REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. 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