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CerealJello t1_jdhh23c wrote

Reply to comment by [deleted] in Big fan of the new Melrose Diner Memorial municipal parking lot by misteryham

We really need a Land Value Tax. Everything within a block of a heavy rail transit stop should be valued much higher to spur development.

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TheGangsHeavy t1_jdibaou wrote

More Land value = more taxes = higher rent

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CerealJello t1_jdie0ys wrote

Not necessarily. If you shift the tax burden from land + improvement to just land, most property taxes probably won't be impacted unless it's a vacant or underutilized lot. Usually a tax policy change like that would have to be done on a revenue neutral basis to prevent the average homeowner from seeing a big spike in taxes owed.

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FormerHoagie t1_jdiudtu wrote

So everything within a block of an subway stop should be valued much higher? Like in poor neighborhoods?

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Aromat_Junkie t1_jdhno66 wrote

i mean ok, but then there's definitely not going to be any cool diners next to subway stops.

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CerealJello t1_jdho4dc wrote

Not true. You can have a diner below an apartment building. That kind of mixed use development creates a better, more walkable neighborhood.

Edit: Ellsworth Federal is one of the best examples of terribly used land. We have a surface lot in front of a diner at Ellsworth and a Pep Boys with a surface lot at Federal. Keep the businesses, remove the lots, upzone with more housing.

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Aromat_Junkie t1_jdhom8e wrote

Oh yeah I mean, there would definitely be places like diners that still exist, probably just with a lot less shiny siding and neon lights.

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Gobirds831 t1_jdhrmd8 wrote

What….the south street diner is not good enough for you

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bobanforever t1_jdhmn6y wrote

Why is this getting upvotes lol

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CerealJello t1_jdhn4rr wrote

Because property is underutilized along our main transit corridors both in and out of the city limits. The tax structures make it so that land owners can sit on basically empty pieces of land right on top of subway stops for minimal cost as long as they don't build. Higher taxes on the land itself would force them to shit or get off the pot. This is why you see land in center city being used as surface parking lots. LVT makes it harder to hold empty plots of land (like Broad and Washington was for so many years) in order to speculate on the future value. Land speculation raises the price for the rest of us who want to actually use the land for housing or business.

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bobanforever t1_jdhnizi wrote

Ah, that makes sense. I’m just not a fan of the fill every space with shitty high rise condos trend

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the_hoagie t1_jdi3s83 wrote

The options are either higher density buildings with more units, or more expensive houses.

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