Green (energy-efficient) technology is the hottest thing in the home construction industry, but unfortunately, the next "green home" built may not be as green as it could be. Lenders and appraisers seem to be having problems wrapping their mind around the benefits of being green.
As awareness of the benefits of green technology spread, home appraisals should start to catch up on the value of green technology. But it'll take time. So if you're looking at buying a home with extensive green technology, now is probably a good time as they're undervalued.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Friday, March 26, 2010
Affordable Housing Task Force in local papers
The Affordable Housing Task Force in Waukesha County has received local newspaper coverage recently. See the "In the News" section of the blog, on the right, to read articles from the Oconomowoc Focus and the Daily Reporter.
Metro Milwaukee Density
The Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (SEWRPC) is in the process of conducting a housing study. I sit on the advisory board for this study. During the recent meeting on March 24, I was especially struck by a statistic on the density of the metro area.
SEWRPC attributes this mostly to three factors; lower residential density, increased commercial & industrial land, and "A 25 percent decrease in average household size...."
Part of the growth of metro area was inevitable; historically, whenever there are improvements in transportation, people spread out more as commute time goes down. But we also have smaller families living in bigger houses in bigger lots (this is documented elsewhere in zoning section).
The question is, is this kind of decrease in density sustainable? After all, the farther people live apart, the farther they live from their jobs & amenities, the more driving there will be. The more driving there is, the more people want to move away from the traffic (that they helped create in the first place). Is this a healthy thing for us as a society? There are benefits to higher densities-especially for people who cannot or don't drive (such as some people with disabilities or older adults).
The population density of the urban portion of the Region has decreased significantly between 1940 and 2000. The population density decreased from 10,700 persons per square mile in 1940 to about 5,100 persons per square mile in 1970, 3,900 persons per square mile in 1980, 3,500 persons per square mile in 1990, and 3,300 persons per square mile in 2000. (bolds mine)
SEWRPC attributes this mostly to three factors; lower residential density, increased commercial & industrial land, and "A 25 percent decrease in average household size...."
Part of the growth of metro area was inevitable; historically, whenever there are improvements in transportation, people spread out more as commute time goes down. But we also have smaller families living in bigger houses in bigger lots (this is documented elsewhere in zoning section).
The question is, is this kind of decrease in density sustainable? After all, the farther people live apart, the farther they live from their jobs & amenities, the more driving there will be. The more driving there is, the more people want to move away from the traffic (that they helped create in the first place). Is this a healthy thing for us as a society? There are benefits to higher densities-especially for people who cannot or don't drive (such as some people with disabilities or older adults).
People Rarely Leave 6-Mile Circle | Planetizen
Interesting study, no doubt many to follow. I wonder what a study like this would look for an American suburb, and I also wonder how much this study is impacted by children & teenagers with cell phones.
People Rarely Leave 6-Mile Circle Planetizen
People Rarely Leave 6-Mile Circle Planetizen
In a study in Europe using cellphone GPS data, researchers discovered that people rarely leave a six-mile area around where they live. GPS cellphone data is being used for a host of urban planning studies like this...."In Rome, they combined that information with GPS data from city public transportation to capture an ever-changing picture of the city's activity, from traffic jams to nightlife hotspots. The information, [MIT professor Carlo] Ratti says, 'could be useful to traffic planners, emergency planners and others.'"
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Michigan city sued by property owner
A Frankenmuth family sued the City Council when it rezoned their property allegedly to prevent Wal-Mart from purchasing the property. A judge agreed that the rezoning was inappropriate and awarded the family $3.6 million.
Why am I mentioning this article? Because it reminds me of a situation in which a developer wanted to purchase property and develop it in a manner that fit the City Plan. It's my belief that every time a municipality rejects something that follows the land use plan and other guidelines, they are at risk. Most developers don't have the stomach for a lengthy legal battle, but there's always the risk (on the municipality's part) that someone will decide to fight.
Why am I mentioning this article? Because it reminds me of a situation in which a developer wanted to purchase property and develop it in a manner that fit the City Plan. It's my belief that every time a municipality rejects something that follows the land use plan and other guidelines, they are at risk. Most developers don't have the stomach for a lengthy legal battle, but there's always the risk (on the municipality's part) that someone will decide to fight.
New Berlin Goats & Pigs
I heard that the New Berlin Plan Commission discussed keeping goats and pigs in homes. USA Today reports that some across the nation are saying it's not such a bad idea.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Save the Date for the Affordable Housing Forum!
The Waukesha County Affordable Housing Taskforce and SOPHIA are sponsoring an Affordable Housing Forum on May 8 with a good line-up of speakers and panelists. The always-amazing Bernie Juno, Director of Hebron House of Hospitality, will be the keynote speaker.
Continental breakfast will be served at 9:30AM with the Forum beginning at 10:00 AM and running until noon. The Forum will be free, and takes place at Steinhafels at W231N1013 Country Road F.
Keep an eye on this blog for a more detailed program description in the near future. But really, what more do you need to know? See you there!
Continental breakfast will be served at 9:30AM with the Forum beginning at 10:00 AM and running until noon. The Forum will be free, and takes place at Steinhafels at W231N1013 Country Road F.
Keep an eye on this blog for a more detailed program description in the near future. But really, what more do you need to know? See you there!
Monday, March 1, 2010
City of Waukesha Meeting
Last week on Feb 24th, I attended a City of Waukesha Plan Commission meeting, and in many ways, it was an infuriating meeting. There were originally supposed to be two items on the agenda related to affordable housing; one related to Hebron House which was removed, and another on a request to rezone 9.5 acres of land into a Planned Unit Development (PUD) near the Goodwill building.
This rezoning request should not have been controversial given that the planned use in the land-use map for much of that land was medium to high density residential which actually was lower (6.3 units/acre) than the current use of the adjacent residential zones nearby (7.0 units/acre to west, 8.2 units/acre to south).
Many of the objections to this use came from neighbors who objected on the following basis:
1) Increased traffic on adjacent roads
2) Safety issues (crime, I'm assuming as other issues such as ponds & kids can be corrected)
3) Impact of students on school district
4) Existing apartments for rent in area
5) Not what they would prefer to see in that area
6) Unfair share of apartments compared to other areas
7) Housing Mix Ratio study
This rezoning request should not have been controversial given that the planned use in the land-use map for much of that land was medium to high density residential which actually was lower (6.3 units/acre) than the current use of the adjacent residential zones nearby (7.0 units/acre to west, 8.2 units/acre to south).
Many of the objections to this use came from neighbors who objected on the following basis:
1) Increased traffic on adjacent roads
2) Safety issues (crime, I'm assuming as other issues such as ponds & kids can be corrected)
3) Impact of students on school district
4) Existing apartments for rent in area
5) Not what they would prefer to see in that area
6) Unfair share of apartments compared to other areas
7) Housing Mix Ratio study
New Berlin Meeting Information
In an e-mail from Ron Malloy of Waukesha County Disabled Housing Concerned Citizens:
Many of the concerns that people have at those meetings are often mistaken and misguided but it can be hard to address those concerns with a limited time period to speak, so it's important that people show support for affordable housing.
Hi,
There will be two meetings to discuss the proposed 162 apartment development in New Berlin City Center on March 1, 2010. See web links below. Agenda items specific to MSP are the New Berlin City Center proposed development. One of our self advocates will be speaking at the 6:00 PM meeting about the importance of those with disabilities being included. It is important those speaking in favor of housing for people with disabilities at the 6:00 PM meeting equals or exceeds those speaking
against it. Those speaking against the development out numbered those speaking for at the February 17th community meeting. This is a $20M development with $10M in Federal tax credits. Our tax dollars need to include housing for people with disabilities.
5:00 PM Meeting New Berlin City Hall Conference Room A & B
http://newberlin.org/media/58977/architectural%20review%203-1-10.pdf
6:00
PM Meeting New Berlin City Hall Council Chambers
http://newberlin.org/media/61376/pc030110.pdf
Sincerely
Waukesha County Disabled Housing Concerned Citizens
Many of the concerns that people have at those meetings are often mistaken and misguided but it can be hard to address those concerns with a limited time period to speak, so it's important that people show support for affordable housing.
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