With its downtown booming, Austin, Texas is trying to help homeowners who are feeling the squeeze from rising property values -- by buying their land.
"A homestead preservation district is modeled after tax increment financing. In a TIF district, a percentage of revenue generated by property taxes in a geographic area is designated to fuel future growth, repair, upkeep, or development;"
Now this financing model, which is often used as a tool to raise an areas property values, is being used to help owners effected by its success.
"The idea is that if a resident has trouble keeping pace with rising property taxes, the city could buy the homeowner's land and lease it back to her at no cost. This drastically lowers taxes by leaving homeowners to pay tax only on their homes and any subsequent improvements, not on the spiraling land costs. The city would pay for the lands by garnering a percentage of the increased appraisal costs in the district."
FULL STORY: TIFing the Eastside
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?
In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving
Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.
Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan
Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.
Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding
The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.
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