Browsing by Author "Hansen, Laura J."

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Development Impact Fees for Minnesota? A Review of Principles and National Practices
    (1999-10-01) Adams, John S.; Cidell, Julie; Hansen, Laura J.; Jung, Hyun-Joo; Ryu, Yeon-Taek; Vandrasek, Barbara J.
    Over the last two decades, local governments throughout the country have been looking for additional sources of revenue. Cuts in federal and state intergovernmental revenues, historically high interest rates, changes in tax-exempt bond markets, and voter resistance to increased taxes have forced governments to increase their reliance on fees and user charges. Local governments face a dilemma of escalating demands for public facilities and services caused by new development without having sufficient revenues to finance these demands. Existing residents are resistant to higher taxes and fees to fund the services and improvements required by new residents. In addition to problems of growth, many communities are struggling to finance backlog needs to bring aging or nonexistent systems of infrastructure up to modern standards. As a consequence of these problems, there is considerable interest in impact fees, which are charges to developers for off-site infrastructure improvements made necessary by the new development. Impact fees are viewed as a way for growth to "pay its way." In light of the economic pressures on local governments, it is clear why they have turned to impact fees. For growing jurisdictions, impact fees represent a vast store of potential revenue that can be tapped at less political cost than other sources. This practice does not mean, however, that impact fees are always the best solution or the wisest solution for infrastructure finance when taking account of social equity considerations and the need to maintain long-term community support for capital spending programs. Impact fees pose several considerations simultaneously: legal, economic, technical, administrative, policy, and financing alternatives. When faced with a proposed future fee scheme, builders, business people, property owners, and future home buyers should study all sides of the issue at once, not just the legal or economic questions. Impact fees raise fundamental social questions such as: Who really pays? How is the fee calculated? Where does the money go? How and where is the money spent? Who really benefits from the new or expanded public facilities? What is the impact of the fees on housing costs for new and for existing residents?
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    House Price Changes and Capital Shifts in Real Estate Values in Twin Cities-Area Housing Submarkets
    (2002-02-01) Adams, John S.; Cidell, Julie; Hansen, Laura J.; Vandrasek, Barbara J.
    This report explores the movement of average prices and price changes for single-unit houses between 1970 and 1995 in three housing submarkets that radiate outward from downtown Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul. The report investigates one way of measuring gains and losses in housing values that might be traced in part to processes of economic growth, tax policy, and the outward movement of jobs, incomes, and the capital represented by housing assets. The report theorizes that these capital shifts are the result of the capitalized value of tax expenditures and property tax differentials between city and suburb, the impacts of utility pricing schemes, and the nature of consumer demand for housing. Additional factors that drive flux in this general pattern of outward movement of capital include energy and consumer price fluctuations, general economic conditions, significant inmigration, and perceptions about both public safety and school quality in different parts of the metropolitan region. The result of this dynamic is that some households realize unearned capital gains simply by virtue of their location, while others find themselves holding a depreciating asset due to factors beyond their control.
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    The Role of Housing Markets, Regulatory Frameworks, and Local Government Finance
    (1998-05-01) Adams, John S.; Bjelland, Mark D.; Hansen, Laura J.; Laaken, Lena L.; Vandrasek, Barbara J.
    This report examines the land use/transportation dynamic and its influence on metropolitan development in postwar U.S.; changes in housing supply, housing demand, and residential price movements between 1970 and 1990 in minor civil divisions (MCDs) within the seven-county metropolitan area and adjacent counties; a classification of state and local regulations that promote low-density development on the built-up metropolitan edge and beyond and that raise obstacles for cost-effective redevelopment in older settled areas near the cores of Minnesota's major urban centers; and, the changing profiles of taxation, intergovernmental revenue transfers, and expenditures by function for counties and MCDs within the Twin Cities region.
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    Synthesizing Highway Transportation, Land Development, Municipal and School Finance in the Greater Twin Cities Area, 1970-1997
    (2000-05) Adams, John S.; Cidell, Julie L.; Hansen, Laura J.; Van Drasek, Barbara J.
    As the Twin Cities emerged as capital of the Upper Midwest region, the pre-World War II highway system serving the Twin Cities linked the area with its region, and provided direction to suburban expansion. Residential development in greenfield areas initially enjoys low local property taxes, but soon the newly arriving households expect and demand a full range of municipal services that must be supplied and paid for, either by the newcomers themselves, or by shifting some portion of incremental capital and operating costs to current residents, which can lead to political tension. The resources available to school districts from local tax sources depend upon the tax capacity supplied by local development, a process that is regulated by local units of government. Major highway infrastructure and improvements have both led and lagged the development process. The location of major routes influences developer decisions on where to place new housing. Major office developments cluster at major transportation nodes, but many important nodes support little or no office development. Industrial development appears to be tied closely to transportation routes in the earlier periods, but in later years the close connection appears to fade. The benefits of land development and transportation improvements accumulate disproportionately within one set of geographical areas, while many of the costs are imposed through time and space on others.