Impact fees add $10,000 to the cost of a new home in the North Albuquerque area, and are being used as a tool for social engineering, writes Jeff Stuve, president of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties.
"...[T]he council's new differential tax is a penalty to West Side homebuyers, but ironically favors "sprawl" of homes to outlying communities. Home construction companies today have stopped buying new lands in Albuquerque, taking their money and builders to outlying communities.
Impact fees are intended to be applied evenly to all development to pay for the impacts of that development on roads, drainage and parks. They were not intended to favor growth in one area and penalize it in another."
Thanks to Congress on New Urbanism
FULL STORY: Impact Fees a Tool of Social Engineers

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

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

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

Defunct Pittsburgh Power Plant to Become Residential Tower
A decommissioned steam heat plant will be redeveloped into almost 100 affordable housing units.

Trump Prompts Restructuring of Transportation Research Board in “Unprecedented Overreach”
The TRB has eliminated more than half of its committees including those focused on climate, equity, and cities.

Amtrak Rolls Out New Orleans to Alabama “Mardi Gras” Train
The new service will operate morning and evening departures between Mobile and New Orleans.
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