“Ugly beauty -- Gov. Brown's right on redevelopment - San Diego Daily Transcript” plus 1 more |
| Ugly beauty -- Gov. Brown's right on redevelopment - San Diego Daily Transcript Posted: Wednesday, February 23, 2011 Advertisement(Editor's note: Gov. Brown proposes to terminate all California redevelopment agencies by July and use the money they raise to help bridge California's $25 billion budget gap.) California's 60-year-old Redevelopment Law is a laudable, well-intentioned device for eliminating "blight." We're all aware of the run-down areas of many cities, depressingly riddled with graffiti and crime -- desperately in need of revitalization. However, many of us wonder how deserts, national forests and Ferrari dealerships can be defined as blight. The governor is right to abolish California's redevelopment agencies. The wealthy desert communities of Indian Wells, Rancho Mirage and parts of the Mojave Desert have been declared blighted. A finding of "Blight," is a requirement for certifying a "Redevelopment Area" and to avoid sharing area property tax increases for schools, courts, county health services and police. What's blight? Blight's whatever the government says it is. The city of Coronado has been declared blighted by its city council. San Diego once declared a Ferrari Dealership blighted. The Mammoth Lakes golf course in a national forest was declared blighted. Even our own National City declared its golf course blighted until Roger Hedgecock sued and the Supreme Court decreed that it wasn't blighted. What causes blight? The principal cause is rigid zoning laws which don't allow for new and different uses dictated by changing consumer demand. All the money in the world wouldn't help many distressed areas (East Village downtown) if not rezoned. When private developers want to rezone deteriorating areas, it's pejoratively called "Gentrification." The private transformation of blighted neighborhoods is discouraged so as not to dislocate low-income residents. When the government does exactly the same thing it's spun as "Redevelopment." A secondary cause of blight is capital gains taxes which discourage long-time property owners from selling. What do Redevelopment projects do? Stripped of pretense they in effect reduce taxes, reduce regulations, upzone areas, and hurry permits within specific neighborhoods. They enable government to subsidize some site improvements, the sorts of improvements builders are responsible for in the suburbs. (Wouldn't we all like our property taxes used for our personal landscaping with expensive paving stones in our own driveways/sidewalks?) Redevelopment is the government's way of conceding that less regulation and lower taxes really do lead to greater economic growth. What's seen -- What's unseen Petco Park is seen as a popular redevelopment success. What's unseen: The Padres pay less than 10 percent of its "$17,000,000 annual operating expense"; $17 million is the real cost of the many mythical benefits its boosters claim. Because all the money Petco loses is income to somebody -- the more it loses, the more successful it's considered. Redevelopment law requires an "affordable" housing element. This has resulted in the government paying from $337,000 to nearly $500,000 for new low-income apartments (2.5 to 4 times the price of existing apartments). So expensive only the poor can afford to live in them. CCDC (Centre City Development Corporation) is the most efficient pro-growth planning agency in San Diego, maybe the entire state. Even so, there's an ugly side to some of its redevelopment projects. The ugly beauty of Horton Plaza How many of you believe the Horton Plaza Redevelopment is a beautiful role model of success? How would you know, by what criteria? After all, Shakespeare wrote, all that glitters isn't gold. One criterion of success is whether a project earns more money for the city than it costs. Another might be who pays and who receives the benefits. Those who receive redevelopment benefits downtown are not the same people paying for them. How many know that in 1977 the $46 million proposed Santa Fe Towers on Broadway ($159 million in today's dollars) was killed so as not to compete with the proposed redevelopment of Horton Plaza? How many know that University Towne Centre (11 miles, 20 minutes away) was reduced by two-thirds so as not to compete with Horton Plaza? How many know the proposed Carmel Mountain Ranch "Regional" Shopping Center was not allowed in the city so as not to compete with Horton Plaza? Horton Plaza: A beautiful end by ugly means. Those who love the law, redevelopment and sausages best not see them made. Money, jobs and benefits that should have come from the above stunted private projects, the "unseen," never came to fruition. Also unseen, the taxes that would have been generated for the city, schools, libraries, police, courts and county health services that would have benefited San Diego residents who don't live downtown. You can look to others to explain why government intervention is a catalyst for leveraging billions in additional development and why allowing private enterprise to initiate development is not a catalyst. What's the solution? Greenlining, aka Enterprise Zones, is an alternative to Government Redevelopment. Upon designating an area depressed all planning controls are to be relaxed except for health, safety and pollution standards. City councils must dispose of all vacant or abandoned property in their ownership, to be auctioned to the highest competitive bidder in the open market. New developments are to be exempt from rent, wage or price controls. Businesses migrating to the area would enjoy greatly reduced property taxes and no capital gains taxes if held for five years -- while being prohibited from accepting other government grants or subsidies. Enterprise Zones could be used only for the purpose of replacing blight -- period -- and not larded up with the usual impossible jobs and social programs. The concept originated in Great Britain by professor Peter Hall, a noted socialist and Sir Geoffrey Howe, a Thatcher conservative. The objective: to eliminate government imposed economic disincentives to private investment. We all want a better environment. When profitable, entrepreneurs can produce a better environment by providing goods and services desired by consumers. After all, over 90 percent of this country was developed privately including many once depressed areas. By creating an economic climate where taxes and the cost of doing business are reduced the opportunities for profits increase, and profits induce businesses to go into deteriorating areas without a massive influx of public funds. Schnaubelt, president of Citizens for Private Property Rights, has been a commercial real estate broker for 35 years and was a San Diego city councilman from 1977-81. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| New Market Research Report: Grocery Retailers - Czech Republic - PR Inside Posted: 2011-02-24 05:54:22 - Fast Market Research recommends "Grocery Retailers - Czech Republic" from Euromonitor International, now available Retail value sales of grocery retailers registered growth of 2% in 2010. This relatively low growth was caused (as in 2009) by the continuing recession as many Czech consumers reduced their expenses, even on food products. Euromonitor International's Grocery Retailers in Czech Republic report offers insight into key trends and developments driving the industry. The report examines all retail channels to provide sector insight. Channels include hypermarkets, supermarkets, discounters, convenience stores, mixed retailers, health and beauty retailers, clothing and footwear retailers, furniture and furnishing stores, DIY and hardware stores, durable goods retailers, leisure and personal goods retailers. There are profiles of leading retailers, with analysis of their performance and the challenges they face. There is also analysis of non-store retailing: vending; homeshopping; internet retailing; direct selling, as available.Product coverage: Clothing and Footwear Specialist Retailers, Discounters, Electronics and Appliance Specialist Retailers, Food/Drink/Tobacco Specialists, Health and Beauty Specialist Retailers, Home and Garden Specialist Retailers, Hypermarkets, Leisure and Personal Goods Specialist Retailers, Mixed Retailers, Other Grocery Retailers, Other Non-Grocery Retailers, Small Grocery Retailers, Supermarkets. Data coverage: market sizes (historic and forecasts), company shares, brand shares and distribution data. Why buy this report? * Get a detailed picture of the Grocery Retailers market; Euromonitor International has over 30 years experience of publishing market research reports, business reference books and online information systems. With offices in London, Chicago, Singapore, Shanghai, Vilnius, Dubai, Cape Town, Santiago and Sydney and a network of over 600 analysts worldwide, Euromonitor International has a unique capability to develop reliable information resources to help drive informed strategic planning. For more information or to purchase this report, go to: Partial Table of Contents: Grocery Retailers in the Czech Republic Full Table of Contents is available at: About Euromonitor International Euromonitor International is a world leading independent provider of business intelligence on industries, countries and consumers. Their business intelligence products include award-winning online information databases, market reports and business reference books. Founded in 1972, Euromonitor International is a privately owned company with offices in London, Chicago, Singapore, Shanghai and Vilnius. Euromonitor has a team of over 600 in-country analysts worldwide, giving them a unique capability to deliver high quality and reliable business information. View more research from Euromonitor International at www.fastmr.com/catalog/publishers.aspx?pubid=1009 About Fast Market Research Fast Market Research is an online aggregator and distributor of market research and business information. We represent the world's top research publishers and analysts and provide quick and easy access to the best competitive intelligence available. For more information about these or related research reports, please visit our website at www.fastmr.com or call us at 1.800.844.8156. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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