A bill is being pushed forward in Maryland that would ban all new "ground rents" -- a housing ownership situation in which one owner owns a house and another owns the land beneath the house. Some say the system is being used in a "predatory" way.
"'The ground rent system is obviously very broken,' State House Speaker Michael E. Busch said yesterday in a statement. 'It is incumbent upon the legislature to protect the residents and their property across Maryland.'"
"The proposed emergency bill follows an investigative series in The Sun last month that documented how a few of the largest ground rent owners in Baltimore City have used state laws rooted in Colonial practices to seize homes or charge homeowners thousands of dollars in fees over delinquent bills as small as $24."
"The emergency legislation, which is co-sponsored by the governor's office, seeks to end a relatively recent practice by some investors and rehabbers of putting new ground rents on properties that are sold after undergoing renovations. A ground rent runs for 99 years and is renewable forever unless bought out by the homeowner."
FULL STORY: Ground rent bill expected to pass

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
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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.

Adaptive Reuse Will Create Housing in a Suburban Texas Strip Mall
A developer is reimagining a strip mall property as a mixed-use complex with housing and retail.

Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work
Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.

In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle
Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.
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