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

National Parks Layoffs Will Cause Communities to Lose Billions
Thousands of essential park workers were laid off this week, just before the busy spring break season.

Retro-silient?: America’s First “Eco-burb,” The Woodlands Turns 50
A master-planned community north of Houston offers lessons on green infrastructure and resilient design, but falls short of its founder’s lofty affordability and walkability goals.

Delivering for America Plan Will Downgrade Mail Service in at Least 49.5 Percent of Zip Codes
Republican and Democrat lawmakers criticize the plan for its disproportionate negative impact on rural communities.

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Balancing Bombs and Butterflies: How the National Guard Protects a Rare Species
The National Guard at Fort Indiantown Gap uses GIS technology and land management strategies to balance military training with conservation efforts, ensuring the survival of the rare eastern regal fritillary butterfly.
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