AirtimeAficionado t1_j8a7j8h wrote on February 12, 2023 at 8:32 PM

Reply to comment by S4ltyInt3ractions in Alternate Title: City of Pittsburgh sues to keep ownership of dilapidated housing, preventing them from being redeveloped by asdropen11

They aren’t “taking” homes— people are compensated at fair market value for the land and structure. Developers aren’t building empty buildings, how is it fair for one person to hog a plot of land in a blighted structure that potentially hundreds of people could live on? It’s driving up housing costs for everyone, stifling growth, and hurting the recovery of the city as a whole. Tearing down homes to put up a parking lot or highway is bad, but tearing down homes to build even more homes (often times with a larger affordable unit stock than before) is not. And if one person is refusing to sell at a reasonable price, laws like these are critical to ensure the future development of a neighborhood isn’t stifled by one disgruntled individual.

S4ltyInt3ractions t1_j8add5b wrote on February 12, 2023 at 9:12 PM

Wow did you read the article? This isn't eminent domain and your hypothetical situation where one individual is holding up a development for the greater good is delusional this is for profit companies doing land grabs.

AirtimeAficionado t1_j8amuos wrote on February 12, 2023 at 10:19 PM

It isn’t eminent domain, but they are not able to take the home without purchasing it from the current owner following the conservatorship process. And it isn’t a land grab because they are still ultimately paying for the property at market value. It is more complicated than either of us are giving it credit, but it isn’t a big bad developer stealing people’s homes or a rosey utopia in the making. It’s just a messy process of neighborhood redevelopment, which is forced into this position in part because of the laws which limit development/allow for development to be stalled by a vocal minority.