End of Chapter 10 Questions and Answers
1. What is the purpose of zoning?
Answer: To prevent negative externalities from affecting property value for different uses and by balancing land uses to maximize overall property values.
2. Does zoning positively or negatively affect land values?
Answer: Both. Land that is constrained to less than the market would allocate will see higher prices (positive effect) while land that is over allocated will see lower prices.
3. What is a NIMBY? How do you think a NIMBY group can become satisfied that someone is concerned about their concerns?
Answer: Not In My Back Yard. Communication ahead of time and listening to the concerns of NIMBYs as well as trying to address the legitimate concerns and providing evidence to contradict the illegitimate concerns where possible.
4. What is the purpose of building codes? Do they help maintain safer buildings?
Answer: To protect those who built, live or work or visit the structure. Yes, building codes result in safer buildings, i.e. lead paint, unsafe wiring.
5. Why have building codes been criticized in recent years?
Answer: Building codes make advances in technology more difficult to apply as they may not easily meet the current building code and methods of inspection. Innovations are more difficult with stringent building codes. Also some building code decisions, such as the type of materials to use for construction, might be made by an informed market rather than by government officials.
6. Why is it sometimes difficult to renovate older property and maintain its character?
Answer: It is very hard to meet the building codes without altering the design and flow. For example a fire escape might affect the appearance or air conditioning might require air flow vents that mess up the character of the space.
7. What is the ADA? How is enforcement brought about?
Answer: ADA is the American Disabilities Act. Enforcement is brought about by the disabled or their representatives not by any government agency.
8. What is an EQD?
Answer: An EQD is an Environmental Quality District. It is a type of zoning that allows for more restrictive control on the types of uses and details for permitted uses within a specified geographic area.
9. What is meant by aesthetic land use regulation? Do you think that design in the private property market should be regulated?
Answer: Design controls. If an area already has character that will be lost without continuity then design controls make sense. If an area wants to establish a consistent character then design controls may make sense. Otherwise design controls allow for market interference and allow those who have no financial stake to impose their own standards on others who may have a great financial stake in the project.
10. What types of subsidies are available to encourage a business location decision in a local area or state?
Answer: Property tax abatement, direct assistance in the form of buy downs where the site is bought by the government and resold to the owner at a lower price, and infrastructure improvements are all possible. Some states will also provide lower income tax rates or a moratorium period or assist with tax exempt bonds to help provide new facilities as long as new employment is generated.
11. What is a public good in the provision of government services? Why are schools not a pure public good?
Answer: A public good is one where consumption by one person does not diminish the benefit and service to others. Schools are not pure public goods in that the benefits to some are more direct than to others. We all may benefit from a more educated society but some benefit more than others, i.e. those who have children.
12. What is “assessed value” and how does this differ from market value?
Answer: A term used to establish the property taxes based on a percentage of the true market value estimate. Typically assessed vales run 35% to 40% of the market value based on an appraisal.
13. What is fiscal redistribution? How has this caused local governments to turn to income taxes as a major source of revenue?
Answer: When residents in one geographic area benefit from public service (police, parks, libraries, etc.) but do not pay directly for these services with local property taxes there is fiscal redistribution from one area where taxes are paid to another where no taxes can be charged. Property taxes are geographic while income taxes can be levied based on the work location rather than the resident location and this allows suburban residents that live outside the city to be taxed by the city when the resident works within the city. The growth of suburbia has led to more use of income taxes and less reliance on property taxes for the provision of local service, with the exception of schools.
14. What is a millage rate and what is a mill?
Answer: One mill is one tenth of one percent of the assessed value. So 1 mill for a home assessed at $100,000 is .001 times 100,000 = $100 dollars. 50 mills would be $5,000.
15. Do you think school competition is a good thing?
Answer: Most academics agree that school competition is a good thing. Some people are concerned about city schools losing out during the initial stages of such competition and becoming even worse. Others are concerned about parochial schools becoming more influential and concerned that this violates the separation of church and state.
16. Define CERCLA?
Answer: Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 ("CERCLA"), is at the heart of the current federal environmental arsenal. It is the primary federal statute that may result in personal liability from the acquisition, ownership or operation of real property.
17. How many superfund sites are there in your school’s city? Your hometown? Where would you expect the most superfund sites?
Answer: There are over 1300 superfund sites in the USA so most cities will have one or more. Older cities with a history of manufacturing are more likely to have more superfund sites.
18. What is an Environmental Impact Statement?
Answer: An Environmental Impact Statement assesses the impact of any proposed development upon all plants and animals, with special focus on the ecological impact.
19. What is a phase 1 inspection?
Answer: Phase 1 reports examine the history and current use of the use of the site and old aerial photos when available to estimate the likelihood of any contamination of the site. A phase 1 report looks for evidence of contamination problems.
20. How old are most of the Federal regulations concerning the protection of air, water and endangered species?
Answer: Most date back to the early 1970s so they are not very old.
21. What is a wetland?
Answer: Wetlands are lands where saturation with water is the dominant factor. Wetlands vary widely because of regional and local differences in soils, topography, and climate. The land may be dry much of the time but if occasional saturation is present and plays a role in the local ecology or in helping to control floods then the land is a wetland.
22. What is sustainable development and green design?
Answer: Green design applies to a single building. Elements include:
• Energy conservation (windows, lights, use of solar power and natural light)
• Rain water recycling and indigenous plant landscaping
• Non-toxic materials used in construction
• Indoor air quality and waste management with convenient recycling
• Personalized under floor heating and cooling controls
Sustainable development is broader than green design in that larger multiple parcel development plans include not only green design elements but a more holistic approach to the environmental impact of the entire development. Sustainable development involves a combination of green design, recycling plus master planning that might include waste management, natural vegetation and species management, economic inclusion and affordable housing, social diversity, local education, transportation access planning and walkable communities. Sustainable development attempts to preserve the current resources and use sites in such as way as to not destroy anything for future generations.