Escape From Pianosa

‘Quick take’ takes a hit.’

Regular readers will know that I am generally ‘pro-development.’ I favor growth, especially for Baltimore City, which has grappled with population loss and urban blight for 30 some years now. More specifically, I’m in favor of land-owners having the right to do what they want with their own private property. Good design and good urban aesthetics are important and should be a part of the equation, but not to the point of squelching growth or trampling property rights.

Now, the so-called practice of ‘taking’ land from private owners and giving it to developers or other private entities is another story. Let’s be honest—the word ‘taking’ is little more than a euphemism for theft, as in “we’re taking your land and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Turns out there’s someone else in Baltimore who believes that maybe, just maybe, Wal-Mart isn’t a totally unmitigated force of evil. Him and you know, the millions of people who like to save money every day.

My dinner was interrupted tonight by two young Hispanic males, knocking on my door, asking me if I spoke Spanish.

Yes, I do.

(unwrapping his wares) Would you like to buy a gold chain?

Mmm, no. Thank you though.

Anyone else on the street speak Spanish?

The lady on the corner…good luck fellas…

This is the second time I’ve had people knock on my door offering ‘discount’ jewelry. Does this happen in other cities?

Actually, one of my favorite Baltimore moments is when I was sitting on the steps of a row house on Carroll Street in Washington Village and a guy walked by me with one of those big plastic reclining chairs you find at public swimming pools. “Hey man, you need a chair?”

I’m a member of one of the local chambers, and the other day I got an email shouting the praises for the new minimum wage bill that was passed in congress.

I’m firmly in the camp that minimum wage laws harm unskilled workers by making it harder for them to find employment. There are arguments on both sides of the issue, but even if you think it’s a good thing for workers, it’s obviously not a good thing for small businesses (large supermarkets and other union employers are probably a different story).

So why on Earth would an organization ostensibly charged with the goal of promoting local businesses support a law that makes it more costly to do business!?

A recent report by the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore shows positive signs for job and population growth in downtown Baltimore.

Well maybe.. Here’s the link to the Sun Article. The community association is not pleased about having a 240 foot skyscraper(?) built on the waterfront..although I’m not really sure why. Right now the site is a parking lot, and there are lots of tall buildings there on the waterfront.

Anyway, this type of development seems inevitable–real estate on the Canton waterfront is so valuable and parking lots are clearly not the highest and best use. And for the city, highest and best use in this case also translates to higher tax revenue.

As for me, I have to see a better argument than “it obstructs some views” to oppose it. I think it’s wonderful that people want to build here. Ten years ago I doubt anyone imagined Canton as such a desirable place to live and shop.

I was looking for information on the redevelopment of the Oldtown Mall area and YouTube brought me this video short by some up and coming Baltimore film makers. If any developers are looking for some visionary ideas, these girls might have it… Or a good laugh if you’re into dark humor at Baltimore’s expense.

Not in Baltimore, at least not at the high-end of the market.

…I won’t be getting my land this way.

Looks like Maryland is going to tackle ground rent at the state level:

Proposals being discussed include:

• Prohibiting ground rent owners from taking someone’s house over unpaid rent. They would be allowed to collect only back rent and “reasonable fees.”

• Phasing out existing ground rents through a system by which they either are redeemed by homeowners or disappear if the ground rent owners don’t register their ownership within a certain time period. Tens of thousands of Baltimore City homeowners pay rent on the land under their houses, and ground rents also exist in Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties.

• Prohibiting property owners from creating new ground rents.

As for prohibiting ground rent owners from foreclosing on unpaid rents.. I don’t mind this as long as they have some way to legally collect what is owed to them, like something akin to a mechanic’s lien that has to be paid off when the house is sold.

As for phasing out ground rents… that would certainly make home ownership more simple for Baltimoreans, and I don’t really see any benefits that ground rents serve. On the other hand, you have to be careful not to do something that would effectively negate the value of ground rents already in existence.

Some people own thousands of ground rents, and to nullify them would be a horrible violation of property rights.