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Asking for a "free market" sort of begs the question, doesn't it?

Providing for a public park is inherently "statist," no?

If so, there are two ways to get it: the government buys it (through eminent domain or through a private negotiation), or else receives it in exchange for some density incentive.

If the land is condemned or bought through negotiation, does it get bought at the price of land before the upzoning? In practice, that would be hard, as it would require grabbing the land before any rumblings of an upzoning take place.

If the government were instead to set in place a straightforward exaction schedule, e.g., "8.0 FAR by-right" with additional FAR available for each of the following: 0.1 FAR extra for every $100k toward a park fund (up to 1.0 FAR), 1.0 FAR for the inclusion of 0.5 FAR residential, that would set up an understandable "market".

In real life, the "market" only exists within some set of rules that have been set, even in regions with the least regulation (property tax rates, height restrictions, etc.)

The key, though, is for the rules to be schedulized as much as possible (rather than at the discretion of government staff/pols), so that developers can know what they're getting into when they invest in property.

In Virginia, such schedules are generally illegal, and so gaining density is always a game, unique to each parcel and the whims of the local government. But DC can pretty much do whatever it wants.

by Joey on Nov 29, 2010 2:10 pm • link • report