Wow, there is some really great “land use” and community-development commentary coming out of Richmond blogs these days. The latest is a post by Ambivalent Richmonder, “Tax Land, Not Buildings,” that advocates a radical restructuring of the real estate tax in downtown Richmond. In a nutshell, he proposes a Henry George system of taxation that would tax the land but not the improvements upon it.
As the Ambivalent One observes, “Taxing buildings creates a disincentive for development and encourages land speculation.”
Land speculation in downtown Richmond is most visible as undeveloped parking lots. And a surfeit of parking lots creates problems of its own. Abundant parking lots translate into cheap parking, which encourages commuters to drive to work solo. If parking lots weren’t so favorably treated under the tax system, the cost of parking would be higher and, on the margin, a larger number of people would either carpool or ride the bus to work.
Parking lots also are undesirable because they disrupt the urban fabric, making the business district less hospitable to pedestrians. Walkability facilitates human interaction, giving downtowns a competitive advantage over auto-dependent Nerdistans in the ‘burbs for those activities that thrive on creativity and innovation.
My only disagreement with Ambivalent Richmonder: He recommends establishing Henry George taxation for downtown Richmond. Why not for the entire city? Indeed, why not for all of the land within a logical “Clear Edge” for the entire Richmond metropolitan area?
