#land-policy

#land-policy

The Greenbelt, an over 800,000-hectare ecologically sensitive zone around the Greater Golden Horseshoe, was created in 2005. It provides environmental protection and specifies where development should not occur.

Through Community Facilities Districts (CFD), Municipal Utility Districts (MUD), Public Improvement Districts (PID), Community Development Districts (CDD) and reimbursement districts (RD), builders can potentially shift infrastructure costs off their balance sheets and onto special districts that homebuyers ultimately absorb through property taxes without potentially adding debt to the builder's books.

Good urbanism should transcend politics. Socialists and capitalists can walk the same neighborhood and agree it's a pleasant place to live. They can each appreciate the tree canopy, the corner café with people spilling onto the sidewalk, the mix of ages on bikes and on foot, the architectural details of older buildings, and so on.

Campaigner Aysha Hawcutt stated that residents were 'not anti-homes', but believed the Adlington plan was 'the wrong proposal in the wrong place'. She expressed pride in the community's resilience against the development threats.

In most cases, lenders will not issue a traditional mortgage for land that does not already have a home or building on it. Mortgages are designed for developed properties because houses provide immediate collateral value and are generally easier to sell if a borrower defaults.

Ontario will consolidate its 36 conservation authorities into nine across the province. Environment Minister Todd McCarthy says there will be no job losses as a result. He says the province listened to feedback after several town halls and 14,000 comments on its plan, which initially proposed having seven conservation authorities.

Wildlife populations are in decline. Recreation sites are crowded and often underfunded. Wildfires are larger, more destructive and harder to control. Climate change is reshaping natural systems, from ocean fisheries to mountain snowpacks, faster than institutions can respond. At the same time, communities are being asked to host new energy projects, transmission lines and mineral development - often without clear processes, adequate resources or trust that decisions are being made in the public interest.

Rajinder Singh Pander, of Windsor, Berkshire, had been served an enforcement notice by Hounslow Council requiring him to demolish the unsafe building - but he ignored the order and continued to rent out the property on Worthing Road, Heston, west London. A young family, including a child, lived there for two years in "cramped and substandard living conditions, giving rise to serious concerns about their health and wellbeing", according to Hounslow Council.

"While bringing a lawsuit is never my first choice, courts have consistently ruled that compliance with this law is mandatory, and the urgency of our housing shortage compels me to act to ensure that all MBTA Communities meet their legal responsibilities. My office remains ready to assist any town working to come into compliance with the law,"

Understanding the difference in purpose Unlike private businesses, which exist to make a profit, public institutions are designed to create impact - especially social and economic outcomes that benefit everyone, not just paying customers. A public agency doesn't measure its success in revenue or margins, but in how much it improves lives, builds equity and maintains public trust. This doesn't mean budgets and spending don't matter - they absolutely do - but money is not the goal. It's the tool.

Concern and offense were aired Thursday by members of an oversight committee following an attempt earlier this week to jam amendments to LA's so-called mansion tax onto the June ballot. Thursday's vote by the Measure United to House L.A. Citizens Oversight Committee, the group established through the November 2022 ballot measure to monitor use of Measure ULA funds, could offer a look at the uphill battle proposed carveouts to the two-tier property tax could face in the coming months.

With just five months before landmark housing legislation takes effect throughout California, San Jose officials are racing to exempt broad swaths of the city from the law. Sen. Scott Wiener's Senate Bill 79, signed into law in October, aims to encourage denser housing construction around transit hubs. In San Jose, the law would cover 40,000 parcels of land, in many cases pushing up the maximum height and density limits for newly constructed residential buildings, according to city officials.

A Dublin businessman has been given until March come up with a plan for the demolition of an extension at his beachside home after a judge ruled the development is "unauthorised".

In September 2005, the course of Declan Dunlea's life was altered forever. At the height of the Celtic Tiger, he ran a successful oil and fuel distribution business called Core Fuels. He lived with his family in a beautiful five-bedroom period home overlooking Monkstown Bay in Co Cork, and spent his spare time renovating vintage cars. "After I left school, I started my own business as a coal merchant and did that for 15 years," he said.

There are around five million leasehold properties in England and Wales, of which 70% are flats. At the moment, the freeholder of a property generally owns the building and the land beneath it, outright and forever. Leaseholders effectively buy the right to live in the property for a fixed period of time. Leasehold flats are found in all sorts of properties - from converted Victorian houses to purpose built skyscrapers - and tend to be concentrated in big cities.

Cities around the world share a common goal: to become healthier and greener, supported by civic infrastructure that restores ecosystems and strengthens public life. The question is how to reach this. Global climate targets, local building codes, and municipal standards increasingly guide designers and planners toward better choices. Still, many cities struggle to translate these frameworks into everyday, street-level comfort and long-term ecological protection.

Tower Hamlets Council said in September 2023 it wanted to take down the LTNs and was challenged by Save our Safer Streets (Soss). The court said a failure to reconsult was among the reasons for its decision. Soss said that "thousands of local residents will be extremely pleased and relieved". Tower Hamlets Council, led by mayor Lutfur Rahman, said it was "disappointed" while London's mayor called it "good news for Londoners".