Northampton County Council is poised to grant a special tax break known as a TIF for the developer of a luxury apartment building and a high-end hotel, complete with butlers, in what was once Wilson Boro's Dixie Cup factory and LA Fitness Center. I'll have more to say about this next week and how it actually exacerbates our housing crisis. In truth, there's little county government can do to assuage our housing crisis. It has no say in zoning, the construction market or financing. Local governments at the city, township and borough levels are another story. Here are some zoning changes I's like to see:
Amend zoning ordinances to be more friendly to tiny homes.
Reduce minimum lot sizes and setbacks.
Accessory dwelling units should be allowed by right in most areas.
Mixed use development should be encouraged.
Follow the money in this fool's errand
ReplyDeleteThe government should probably stay out of it. Perhaps that's your reason for easing onerous zoning requirements. They have failed us. Government caused the problem with massive spending and allowing an unprecedented influx of tens of millions of immigrants who need housing (and food, and jobs). Every time it attempts to fix a problem, it is made far worse. I don't know what the answer is. But I know our government should stay as far away from a "solution" as possible.
ReplyDeleteThe supply-demand curve is undefeated. We probably should have thought of that before welcoming millions as we struggled to fix the pandemic economy. Your ideas have merit. But government can't fix what it broke. While unpopular in a class warfare society, it will require rich people taking risks with their money.
ReplyDeleteWhy do you hate Wilson so much?? Or is it that you are a staunch lover of Nate Hyman and feel compelled to squash anything that isn't his??? This project will elevate Wilson and bring something beautiful where something sat and deteriorated and rotted. This will bring in revenue that they aren't getting now. This will increase the value of existing homes. This project is exactly what Wilson needs and you are ruining it for the residents with your shitty influence on a few elected officials. Two of the three entities voted to support it. They were elected by the people. Just because the TIF will help the developer doesn't mean this project will hurt Wilson in anyway. It will only be beneficial for them and especially in the long run.
ReplyDeleteThe county should not have to pay for Wilson Boro's willingness to turn that site into a dump, nor should it pay a cent to turn LA Fitness into a luxury hotel. Are you folks out of your minds? The county has a great deal of financial needs at this moment and needs every but of tax revenue it can get and should not be wasting it on unaffordable housing for people who will move here from NJ and NYC just so it can give the trade unions a few temporary jobs. The only reason it is supported by some council members is bc of the trade union jobs and the campaign contributions they get from trade unions. I like unions and think we need them, but we should not pursue bad government to please them.
DeleteThat is NOT why council members support it. You assume that and report it as fact, but it is false. Wilson will get more tax revenue than it ever had before this project and after the time is up for the TIF it'll get even better for them. You make assumptions that are incorrect because you never asked why elected officials support it. You engage in deliberate news distortion and that's why you suck!
Delete7:31 The issue isn’t just the project , it is also the developer. They want to give $29m of YOUR tax money to someone who never built anything. This developer will never “elevate Wilson and make something beautiful “ he will run away with your money because he doesn’t have the rest of the money for the building project. And what jobs does this bring in? Once the construction is over, there are no jobs. In addition, imagine what Wilson could do with $29m! You could beautify the entire borough. As far as the 2 of 3 entities voting it in, if you asked the members of the councils, they have no idea what a TIF is or what they voted for. This absolutely does hurt Wilson because it takes all of those tax dollars away from Wilson so when a real developer like Nate Hyman comes in and does the building with no tax dollars you get to keep your $29m
DeleteJeff Warren is pushing this because he kisses Lamont’s ass and has no ideas of his own. He is an idiot and wants to run for other offices.
DeletePerhaps redirecting that TIF for Dixie to projects that are actually building affordable housing ? You can build a lot of affordable housing for $29,000,000
ReplyDeleteAgreed except ADUs. I choose to live in a less dense community, that right should not be taken away from me by change in regulation.
ReplyDeleteAlso, this will foster large scale cornfield development as people like me move away from the cities to areas without public water/sewer, where ADUs won’t work.
Agree on all four. I'd also suggest reducing or eliminating parking mandates, especially along areas served by transit. In most of our region, we have too much unused parking that is simply wasted space.
ReplyDeleteMore supply of housing will not exacerbate the “affordability” problem. The Planning Commissions Becky Bradley says we need more housing stock for all income levels. What is happening, according to LVPC, is due to a shortage of rental units people who could afford a higher end apartment are renting less expensive apartments due to a lack of supply. This has two negative effects. First, it drives the rents of the relatively less expensive units up. Second, it limits the supply of less expensive units. This provides a double whammy with respect to affordability.
ReplyDeleteYou should be a big fan off Matt Tuerk's "most progressive Zoning Ordinance in Pennsylvania". These types of progressive ordinances you support will not go over well in the suburbs where the property values are closely linked to traditional Zoning Ordinances that provide assurances of high quality of life, high property values and protection from middle and lower income families infiltrating premier public school systems. Governor Shapiro's recent housing plan proposes state mandates that would implement your ideas in all municipalities and I'd expect a lot of pushback from state legislators representing suburban constituents.
ReplyDeleteThe Democrats will never rest until they ruin the suburbs too. Most people impacted by these progressive land use reforms used to live in the City until the Democrats took over and ruined everything.
DeleteHabitat for Humanity stands to gain 2 million dollars from this deal to build Workforce Housing in Northampton County. Kill this project and you kill Habitat’s too.
ReplyDeleteNo they don’t. That’s fake news from the left again. The developer is offering $1.2m “in lieu of “ building affordable housing. They are paying the $1.2m from the $29m government handout ! It’s Really generous paying someone back out of their own money !!!
DeleteLOL.. democrats pushed for the money to be allocated you uneducated, MAGA supporter! Republicans hate anything “affordable” because it sounds to “non-American”. Sounds like criminal housing. I am tired of all of this winning! November can’t come soon enough!
DeleteThose who can't afford to live here should move to more affordable places. Look at Easton's South Side and Downtown. A rising tide swept low-income populations into the West Ward, or out of the city altogether. The plan worked. It was enacted by a long-standing Democratic Party mayor. Housing and mobility are closely related. Easton proved this.
ReplyDeleteOften, the If You Build They Will Come mantra is cited as a reason not to do projects like this. Basically, the argument is these are being built for rich people from New York and New Jersey. That’s not true. The rental market according to industry officials is domestic to the Lehigh Valley and not people escaping NYC. Return to the office policies have blunted that trend. These are being built for people who are already here. They’re currently occupying an apartment you might be able to afford.
ReplyDeleteThat common misquote has to do a man's former ballplayer father. The actual quote is, "If you build it HE will come." Many times that which is built inspires nobody to come. It's a great movie, though.
DeleteI'm all for these types of reforms...they work so well. Since you want the whole region to be like Allentown, you should also lobby for 24 hour a day pot smoking, dirt bike riding in the streets, double parking, littering and loud music.
ReplyDeleteDo not forget getting cut off at every traffic light, indifferent cops that have no powers, people throwing garbage in the streets, known drug dealers selling pills in front of them and on it goes.
DeleteYou don’t want these people in your town.
DeletePlus they come from NJ and NY fleeing what they voted for, liberal democrat policies. Then they vote for the same shit here. They’re like locusts they ruin every place they go!
DeleteWhere do you get this 32 million number from the county is Not Giving Them 32 million of Your Taxpayer Money. what in the hell are you people talking about?
ReplyDeleteBest comment of the year! None of these commenters even understand how it works. Thank you!
DeleteLet them build whatever they want without our help and our money
ReplyDeleteBernie your a lawyer how about all these left wing judges leaving criminals go all over the place
ReplyDelete#fakenews… lol you are fear mongering again you MAGA blow hole
DeleteInstead of luxury apartments, that space should be turned into a co-op for many humanities that both school districts could benefit in using as educational tools as well.
ReplyDeleteThe County cannot afford to give away the only tax source they have, If not for real estate there would not be any revenue for the County. VOTE NO TAX RELIEF FOR THIS PROJECT. VOTE NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
DeleteIf Council approves this I don’t expect any tax increase next year. If you can for anyway money it must mean you have a nice nest egg. Pass it, raise taxes and you all will be harassed as horses ass.
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