Construction Maison

See more of the story Growing suburbs’ strategy of paying for new roads and other infrastructure by charging builders fees for development could be upended by a legal challenge before the Minnesota Court of Appeals. A developer’s lawsuit against Woodbury arguing the city’s roadway fee on new subdivisions is illegal has attracted competing court filings from the metro area homebuilders association and the League of Minnesota Cities . At issue is whether developers or taxpayers should bear the brunt of road projects that are needed to accommodate growth but are located outside of a new subdivision. “I’d say this is a landmark case,” said David Siegel, executive director of the Builders Association of the Twin Cities. “Probably one of those rare cases that comes along every decade or so that we think has really powerful ramifications across the Twin Cities.” Woodbury charges developers a “major roadway assessment” fee to help cover road improvements outside of a subdivision, such ...

Westbrook will not charge fees based on a development’s impacts to the school and sewer system. The decision is a reversal from last fall, when the Westbrook City Council expressed interest in the idea and planned to charge impact fees on all building projects with permits issued since Oct. 3. The fees were popular among residents and officials concerned about the pace of growth in the city at a time when hundreds of housing units were proposed for Westbrook. City staff spent months developing the formulas for the fees, which are designed to pay for new capacity needed as a result of a development. Under the system proposed, for example, the owner of a new three-bedroom house would need to pay a $3, 245 school impact fee to offset the future costs of adding children to local classrooms. But when the final proposals for those fees came before the City Council last week, the group rejected them. A majority of councilors said they were worried the fees would discourage families and b...

The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes thereto and other financial information included elsewhere in this report. Certain statements contained in this report, including, without limitation, statements containing the words "believes," "anticipates," "expects" and words of similar import, constitute "forward looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including our ability to create, sustain, manage or forecast our growth; our ability to attract and retain key personnel ; changes in our business strategy or development plans; competition; business disruptions; adverse publici...

The developer of a large proposed Lomita apartment complex will pay the city more than $450,000 initially and then $50,000 annually in development fees to offset the effects of a project more dense than municipal standards currently allow. In addition, to get around the density issue, the city plans to create a specific plan for the area that would permit residential densities of up to 88 units an acre. That’s the exact density of the 220- unit Picerne Apartments , which would sit on a 2.7-acre site on the Torrance border at the northeast corner of Lomita and Crenshaw boulevards. The Planning Commission will discuss the project and specific plan at a 6:30 p.m. Monday public hearing at City Hall, 24300 Narbonne Ave. City staff is recommending approval of the project, saying it is consistent with the goals and objectives of the city’s land-use policies. “Specifically, the project furthers these goals by developing an under-utilized parcel, helping to address a documented housing shor...

Take a walk east from the gold-plated cupola of San Francisco City Hall and the landscape transforms into the Tenderloin, a patchwork of residential hotels, small delis and social service clinics that cater to the poor. It winds into the city’s main tourist corridor , and, farther along, a glossy cluster of condominium towers where upper- story penthouses cost millions . These symbols of extreme poverty and prosperity are wedged together in District Six, which serves both as a portal for visitors and a cauldron where San Francisco ’s most pressing political issues simmer . For 20 years, District Six voters have reliably concluded that the solutions to those issues come from the progressive viewpoint. And while it’s more than a year until the next election for supervisor, the contest is already shaping up as a test of whether that is still true. From the Tenderloin to the Mission Bay waterfront , District Six has seen a rush of development over the past two decades, and residents are ...