Delinquent properties are scattered throughout Philadelphia, and they collectively owe nearly $500 million in taxes. This is a major problem for the city, and new legislation is hoping to tackle it.
"After decades of weak enforcement, there are now nearly 111,000 properties in arrears, on which is owed a combined $472 million to the city and School District.
The impact of this failure to collect goes far beyond finances. It has also had a huge and highly visible affect on neighborhoods across the city.
Tax-delinquent properties are often blighted and unsafe. In well-off communities, they can stand out as glaring eyesores. In declining neighborhoods, they add fuel to urban abandonment and decay. And in recovering areas, the city's failure to promptly sell off vacant tax-delinquent land acts as a significant drag on redevelopment."
The legislation seeks to overhaul the delinquent tax collection and enforcement process.
FULL STORY: Tax debts thwart rebuilding

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

Study: Maui’s Plan to Convert Vacation Rentals to Long-Term Housing Could Cause Nearly $1 Billion Economic Loss
The plan would reduce visitor accommodation by 25% resulting in 1,900 jobs lost.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Waymo Gets Permission to Map SF’s Market Street
If allowed to operate on the traffic-restricted street, Waymo’s autonomous taxis would have a leg up over ride-hailing competitors — and counter the city’s efforts to grow bike and pedestrian on the thoroughfare.

Parklet Symposium Highlights the Success of Shared Spaces
Parklets got a boost during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the concept was translated to outdoor dining programs that offered restaurants a lifeline during the shutdown.

Federal Homelessness Agency Places Entire Staff on Leave
The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness is the only federal agency dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness.
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