Drill, Baby, Drill...Build, Baby, Build
December 14, 2008 Filed in: Bob's
Corner
Background: In 2003, the City of Englewood
purchased the Liberty School from the Board of
Education. Now facing a downturned economy,
city officials are
looking to sell the property to offload debt and
bring in money. BergenPAC has proposed that the
property be used for an arts academy. Others have
proposed that it be used for residential
development. Our three editors take a look at the
issue from their own perspectives.
I agree with Norman that it is the job of the City Council to make a determination for the future of the Liberty School property. But simply issuing an RFP (request for proposal) isn't living up to that responsibility. It is simply outsourcing it to commercial developers, many of whom are likely to be the usual, politically connected suspects who will, predictably, seek the usual tax breaks and return over and over again for special consideration. Hasn't Englewood learned anything?
Ridding the City of debt and reducing taxes are admirable goals. But "build, baby, build" is about as likely to solve our problems as "drill, baby, drill."
I refer you to a cautionary article that appeared in The Record during far better times entitled "Squeezing the Suburbs" (The Record, 8/27/2006). I quote:
I urge our City leaders to take a deep breath and, if they need assistance, open the creative process to Englewood citizens, professionals and businesspeople. The Council may hear a variety of financially viable ideas that will serve taxpayers and the community well. bergenPAC may have one or more of them. But surely, Englewood needn't rush into a process that is hellbent on selling this unique property to a commercial developer at or near the bottom of an historically glutted and down real estate market. Assuming that some bank would actually supply credit for a large building project in these times, what is the likely scenario for an active property declared "blighted" to facilitate it? The Liberty School, if not demolished, will be left vacant and mothballed for years until a more viable residential sales climate returns.
If that should come to pass, the City's tactical terming of this actively used public property as "blighted" will be seen as a misguided, self-fulfilling prophesy, not a "process" leading to desirable results for Englewood taxpayers.
I agree with Norman that it is the job of the City Council to make a determination for the future of the Liberty School property. But simply issuing an RFP (request for proposal) isn't living up to that responsibility. It is simply outsourcing it to commercial developers, many of whom are likely to be the usual, politically connected suspects who will, predictably, seek the usual tax breaks and return over and over again for special consideration. Hasn't Englewood learned anything?
Ridding the City of debt and reducing taxes are admirable goals. But "build, baby, build" is about as likely to solve our problems as "drill, baby, drill."
I refer you to a cautionary article that appeared in The Record during far better times entitled "Squeezing the Suburbs" (The Record, 8/27/2006). I quote:
The tax base of a town may expand significantly, but property taxes also are likely to increase.
For instance, Edgewater has been the site for more new high-density housing since the early 1990s than any other community in North Jersey. From 1999 to 2005, there have been 1,091 multifamily units developed in the 0.85-square-mile borough, according to building permit data.
During that same period, the average property tax increased to $5,601 from $3,793. The 48 percent increase was the 13th-largest among Bergen County's 70 municipalities.
"We had been told for years that more housing would increase our ratables and that has not
happened," said Edgewater Councilwoman Beatrice Robbio, who has worked on the borough's most recent master plan, which limits residential zoning. "The only way to deal with taxes is to radically curb development. But we suffer intimidation by high-rise here."
I urge our City leaders to take a deep breath and, if they need assistance, open the creative process to Englewood citizens, professionals and businesspeople. The Council may hear a variety of financially viable ideas that will serve taxpayers and the community well. bergenPAC may have one or more of them. But surely, Englewood needn't rush into a process that is hellbent on selling this unique property to a commercial developer at or near the bottom of an historically glutted and down real estate market. Assuming that some bank would actually supply credit for a large building project in these times, what is the likely scenario for an active property declared "blighted" to facilitate it? The Liberty School, if not demolished, will be left vacant and mothballed for years until a more viable residential sales climate returns.
If that should come to pass, the City's tactical terming of this actively used public property as "blighted" will be seen as a misguided, self-fulfilling prophesy, not a "process" leading to desirable results for Englewood taxpayers.
