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Posted by Lou Gray on May 11, 2006, 2:49 pm
>A while ago, maybe 6 months, there was a newpaper article (I think the
> NY Times) about a condo project that was 1 building off of Central
> Park. A church separated the building from the park. The condo
> project didn't want anyone to buy the church, tear it down, and go
> taller. So they bought the air rights over the church for some
> exhorbitant amount. If memory serves me (and there's no guarantee of
> that) it was something like $35 per cubic foot. If was in the tens of
> millions of dollars. When you buy your land, you buy your package of
> rights and sometimes
> you assume that you have others. To be frank, you don't have a right
> to the view because you didn't buy it. As long as zoning is met, the
> neighbors have the right to go up. It is interesting that the
> homeowners paid a premium for the view, but never paid any of that
> money to the person who made the view possible. The fault lays back
> when the homes were built, If the home builders got a premium, they
> should have protected the view by buying air rights. Oh well.
I totally agree. I never expected otherwise.
I, like anyone else, am just protect my investments.
The issue occurs mainly because the developer is requesting a zone change
allowing them to go much higher in density and elevation
Typically (as juristictions vary), would the developer not have to show
some hardship?
>
> Don't fault the developers for trying to make a profit. A. That's the
> American way. B.
Agreed, as I wrote in my OP.
That makes them very predictable. If you can pay
> more for the view than they can get for the apartments, then they will
> take the money and run. Maybe you should form a huge neighborhood
> improvement district, buy the apartment complex, demo it and make a big
> parking lot. That would protect your interest. C. You are doing the
> same thing. You are trying to maximize your investment in your house.
> But you are trying to do so at the expense of the owner.
Agreed, as I wrote in my OP.
>
> My suggestion is that you get a bunch of people together and meet
> privately with the developer and see what you can work out. As I said,
> they are a predictable lot. If they know that they can pacify you to
> some extent, but get their approvals eaisier, they will follow the path
> of least resistance. But they cannot do it at a public meeting with
> 100 yelling people and the press. They also have to know that you can
> take it back to the neighborhood and quelch the controversy. I am
> having trouble putting it into words, but I think you have to think of
> the process as a stream. You can't abruptly stop it. You need to work
> with it to get it to where you want it to go. In this case, if you
> stop it, you will get a much worse apartment complex that will degrade
> your neighborhood. So try working with them to get an agreement that
> everyone hate (I mean that everyone can live with).
Right on. That is why I am asking questions and trying to learn. I am not
against the developer updating or rebuilding, actually, it might be nice.
The attributes of high density requiring a re-zone creates the problem.
I know in the end, the city council and departments will hash this out and
decide,
but right now it is time for community input, and I am trying to make
plausible, productive
comments to the board.
>
> One final suggestion of what you might talk to them about (in private).
> Maybe you explain to them that parking is a serious problem. Find a
> nearby lot and get a price for it. Explain to them that if they buy
> the lot, pave it, and donate it to the city for parking, then there
> will be no/less objection to the project. If the cost is reasonable,
> they may do it. I once upgraded a sewer pump station that didn't need
> upgrading because local residents thought it did. It wasn't terribly
> expensive so it was worth the cost. (Of course, it was a much smaller
> project).
Great suggestion. Although in this case there is no vacant land around.
Thanks again Pat.
Lou
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