"Unprecedented tax increases"?
Feb. 3rd, 2014 04:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jducoeur posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
davis_squareI just got a scare robo-call, apparently from alderman Tony Lafuente, asking me to come to tomorrow night's aldermen's meeting because of the "unprecedented tax increases" in Somerville. Sounds like he's trying to get a mob with torches and pitchforks there, but I haven't the foggiest notion what he's talking about. Anybody have info?
no subject
Date: 2014-02-03 10:43 pm (UTC)Overall, it sounds like a calm discussion of the issue would be in order -- tax rises *are* going to happen when assessments go up, but if the city's finances are decently solid, it may be time to take the business rate down a notch in response, similar to the way it sounds like they've done for residents, to keep the burden balanced...
no subject
Date: 2014-02-04 03:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-02-04 01:17 pm (UTC)But it's what I meant by "Harvard Square-ization" -- if the landlords aren't sensitive to the neighborhood and the kinds of business that make Davis what it is, it could lead to only relatively upscale (and bland) stores being able to afford to rent there any more. That's a potentially nasty tragedy of the commons, and probably *is* something to discuss as a community...
no subject
Date: 2014-02-04 04:22 pm (UTC)The problem is felt by businesses that aren't seeing as much of an increase in profits as the "average" business is. Additionally, the increase in "average" business profit is significantly due to changes in the mix of businesses, the mix includes more upscale businesses. What ultimately happens is that downscale businesses start to get squeezed by the increasing costs of the location.
if the landlords aren't sensitive to the neighborhood and the kinds of business that make Davis what it is
The landlords will rent to whoever is willing to pay the most.
As for avoiding Harvard Square-ization, all of this is driven by the increasing presence of affluent people. How do you propose to drive out the yuppies? Worse, "We have met the enemy, and he is us."
no subject
Date: 2014-02-04 05:07 pm (UTC)I don't disagree that the problem may be unavoidable, but I live in hope...
no subject
Date: 2014-02-05 03:27 am (UTC)Clearly there are people who buy the things for sale in Harvard Square's stores.
The problem is that while you like the look and feel of Davis Square, there's no mechanism for you to contribute money to support it. The only way people can support it is by buying things there. And clearly, if the stores are replaced with more expensive stores, and people buy at the new stores, they're willing to support the new stores more than the old ones -- because they're paying more. I suppose you could arrange for a tax levy on the houses in the neighborhood for some sort of "stabilization fund" that would subsidize the leases of "old style" businesses in the Square.
No, not true
Date: 2014-02-05 02:56 am (UTC)No, I don't agree that this is a problem other places would love to have. It's a real, heartbreaking issue that people care deeply about. A lot of people are terrified of losing everything they made with their own two hands.
That said, yes the Robo Call sounds like it was clumsy. It's probably easy to forget this isn't on everyone's minds.
no subject
Date: 2014-02-05 03:22 am (UTC)You'd like to think that when you buy a piece of dirt, you've got a permanent grip on it. But it isn't true, there are a lot of things that could go wrong, and society doesn't issue that sort of guarantee. And things are even less secure with things that one does not officially own.
no subject
Date: 2014-02-05 03:57 am (UTC)And when the same thing seems to be going wrong for a lot of people at the same time, that tends to be when people start picking up their pitchforks.
no subject
Date: 2014-02-21 04:09 pm (UTC)I gather that San Francisco has strict rent control, but the difference between the market value of apartments and the rent controlled value has become so high that people are engaging in many devices to escape rent control, and gentrification is proceeding anyway.
In the long run, it's difficult to stop. The only political mechanism that would work reliably is to make the area less desirable to live in for people who are more affluent than those who live there already. Politicians can do that if they work at it. Mob violence doesn't work very well because there isn't a specific set of actors who are driving the process, the culprits are all the people who are willing to pay "more money" to live there.