A new tax plan would reform the city’s famously low vacancy tax rates in an effort to stimulate more housing development and limit speculation.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is proposing a tax plan that would sharply increase the city’s low tax on vacant and underutilized lots. As Robin Runyan explains in Urbanize Detroit, the Land Value Tax Plan, as it’s called, “would increase the tax millage on land and reduce the millage on structures.”
According to Duggan, the plan “would triple the taxes on land while decreasing taxes on buildings by 30%,” promising a tax cut for almost all of the city’s homeowners and multifamily housing developments.
“This plan would affect owners of surface lots we see all over downtown Detroit, vacant buildings within residential neighborhoods, abandoned factories, and vacant lots often used as dumping grounds throughout the city.” Runyan adds that the plan would have to be approved by the state legislature this fall, then by voters next year, before being phased in over three years.
FULL STORY: Proposed tax plan in Detroit addresses blight, land speculators
Proposed Land Value Tax Plan in Detroit
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan proposes hiking property taxes for vacant land and buildings while lowering the rate for occupied homes and businesses in a split tax plan he contends will resolve many of Detroit's blight and high property tax woes.
Map Identifies DeKalb County Brownfield Sites
The GIS tool is designed to help developers find vacant and blighted lots that could be restored for new housing or other uses.
Group Urges L.A. to Build Housing on Vacant Lots
A survey of city-owned vacant lots identifies properties that could be developed into affordable housing or shelter.
‘Forward Together’ Bus System Redesign Rolling Out in Portland
Portland is redesigning its bus system to respond to the changing patterns of the post-pandemic world—with twin goals of increasing ridership and improving equity.
Plan to Potentially Remove Downtown Milwaukee’s Interstate Faces Public Scrutiny
The public is weighing in on a suite of options for repairing, replacing, or removing Interstate 794 in downtown Milwaukee.
Can New York City Go Green Without Renewable Rikers?
New York City’s bold proposal to close the jail on Rikers Island and replace it with green infrastructure is in jeopardy. Will this compromise the city’s ambitious climate goals?
700-Acre Master-Planned Community Planned in Utah
A massive development plan is taking shape for lakefront property in Vineyard, Utah—on the site of a former U.S. Steel Geneva Works facility.
More Cities Ponder the End of Drive-Thrus
Drive-thru fast food restaurants might be a staple of American life, but several U.S. cities are actively considering prohibiting the development of new drive-thrus for the benefit of traffic safety, air quality, and congestion.
Air Pollution World’s Worst Public Health Threat, Report Says
Air pollution is more likely to take years life off the lifespan of the average human than any other external factor, according to a recent report out of the University of Chicago.
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