HELPING WITH SMART GROWTH AND FINANCIAL STRATEGIES

REALTORS® TAKE ACTION

To create a curriculum, East Tennessee REALTORS^® (ETNR) is using some of its $7,500 NAR grant to hire local land-use lawyers and a planning consultant.

They want to ensure that it complies with continuing education standards, so REALTORS^® can benefit from the course.

As she builds a course for a growing region, Maria McHale, governmental affairs and policy director for ETNR, emphasizes that the key is offering technical assistance.

She advises other REALTOR^® boards and associations to take a non-intrusive approach to informing elected and appointed officials on best practices.

The goal is to finalize ETNR's course this fall and roll it out in early 2026.

HELPING WITH SMART GROWTH AND FINANCIAL STRATEGIES

REALTORS® TAKE ACTION

Maria McHale, governmental affairs and policy director for East Tennessee REALTORS^®, said ETNR aims to explain policy best practices to local governments.

 "We can help them explore payment in lieu of taxes.

If a developer needs a stoplight for the development, the developer can fund that up front in a payment in lieu of taxes agreement.

Our legal and land-use experts can provide assistance in creating the proper framework."

HELPING WITH SMART GROWTH AND FINANCIAL STRATEGIES

REALTORS® TAKE ACTION

The East Tennessee REALTORS^®, proactive toolkit will include advice for smaller municipalities.

ETNR governmental affairs and policy director McHale is quick to point out that some small jurisdictions are not populated enough to have large planning and economic development staffs.

This program could be as simple as presenting ideas to a city planner, mayor or commission member.

HELPING WITH SMART GROWTH AND FINANCIAL STRATEGIES

REALTORS® TAKE ACTION

Maria McHale, governmental affairs and policy director for East Tennessee REALTORS^® (ETNR), said housing is no longer solely a private-market issue.

"Making sure housing is accessible is a shared opportunity between local government, economic development and planning agencies, and industry groups — everyone should care about housing and do everything we can to support it from a policy standpoint.

Housing affects jobs, the workforce and the shared economic health and success of the entire region."

HELPING WITH SMART GROWTH AND FINANCIAL STRATEGIES

REALTORS® TAKE ACTION

Maria McHale, governmental affairs and policy director for East Tennessee REALTORS^® (ETNR), said like many regions in the United States, the East Tennessee area was not building enough homes for years.

Then the post-pandemic boom created more stresses.

"It is not my job to help a county set its budget," she said. "It is my job to help REALTORS® be more proactive in creating housing and infrastructure to support it."

HELPING WITH SMART GROWTH AND FINANCIAL STRATEGIES

REALTORS® TAKE ACTION

"There are some really fantastic [approaches] that help pay for things," said Maria McHale, governmental affairs and policy director for East Tennessee REALTORS^® (ETNR).

Focusing on solutions that do not artificially raise home prices, hurting potential homebuyers, the way impact fees do.

"Rather than focusing on one policy that we are trying to propose or defeat, we are looking at this holistically."

HELPING WITH SMART GROWTH AND FINANCIAL STRATEGIES

REALTORS® TAKE ACTION

Maria McHale, governmental affairs and policy director for East Tennessee REALTORS^® (ETNR), said the goal is also to create a proactive toolkit to help municipalities solve immediate financial and land-use decisions, while also helping them grow in a way that is sustainable.

The course she is developing is aimed at best practices.

"There are tools such as a development agreement. A developer might be willing to pay for infrastructure immediately, in exchange for some benefits.

There are special assessment districts — they are called different things in different areas.

But the basic idea is when new taxes collected within a development area go toward funding [infrastructure] improvements, that benefits homes and facilities there," McHale said.

HELPING WITH SMART GROWTH AND FINANCIAL STRATEGIES

REALTORS® TAKE ACTION

"They might enact a policy that seems like a short-term solution like impact fees.

That is a long-term solution.

It is regressive, because it impacts homebuyers, especially those who can least afford to pay for that passed on cost," said Maria McHale, governmental affairs and policy director for East Tennessee REALTORS^® (ETNR)

noting that virtually every governmental body in the country is trying to create housing that people can afford, so it is counter to that effort to add high-impact fees to the cost of producing dwelling units.

 

HELPING WITH SMART GROWTH AND FINANCIAL STRATEGIES

REALTORS® TAKE ACTION

East Tennessee REALTORS^® (ETNR) frequently advocates for smart growth decisions at the city and county level — where land-use decisions make a strong impact on the quality of life and future livability of communities where real people reside.

As an advocate for the residents of a 12-county region, ETNR aims to educate decision-makers.

MUNICIPAL FINANCE CHALLENGES

AND POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS

Kristy Gore is a Charleston Area REALTOR® and Civic Leaders Academy alum who serves on the Berkeley County Planning and Zoning Commission.

She is running for South Carolina House District 99, gearing up for the primary.

“Most of my platform is tax reform and infrastructure.

We are in an infrastructure crisis, so we must reallocate money for roads and bridges,” she said, saying fiscally conservative policy can reduce tax burden while redirecting funds to pay for the basics.

Gore said she learned to navigate difficult decisions while reviewing controversial developments during her year and a half on the planning and zoning commission.

“A planning vote recently dealt with a medium-sized commercial parcel that backed up to residential.

I have become very familiar with wetlands in my real estate career. 

I have seen individual homeowners end up paying dearly for planning and zoning decisions done poorly.

I voted against a plan to change the zoning for that commercial plan,” Gore said, noting that the plan ultimately was approved.

A no vote can cause a developer to pay attention more to neighborhood flooding concerns.

She said a developer can revise a plan, creating less concrete lot coverage and more on-site ponds, before a council gives its final approval.

“We have to be responsible in our development. 

The leadership class was very eye opening.”

 

 

 

 

 

MUNICIPAL FINANCE CHALLENGES

AND POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS

Greater Charleston is experiencing exponential growth. It also welcomes eight million visitors per year, a big driver of the economy. Academy participants learn how to balance both permanent resident and tourism growth.

“Healthy tourism keeps taxes low,” Dix noted. “Good schools, a fire and police presence and sustaining healthy communities are the things buyers and sellers focus on. 

We are teaching that the beauty of local government is paving roads, picking up trash, and maintaining and improving the quality of life.”

Because Charleston has one of the richest architectural histories in the nation, the academy also teaches about how to protect the skyline and how to evaluate redevelopment that is sensitive to historic districts.

Participants learn about accessory dwelling units, missing middle housing, other diverse, affordable housing types, and that higher density does not have to mean taller buildings.

Missing middle housing includes duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes and bungalows as well as cluster homes and cottage courts.

The academy is very hands on about preparing people to run for election. 

Many of its graduates serve on boards and commissions as well as in elective office. 

MUNICIPAL FINANCE CHALLENGES

AND POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS

Seasoned elected officials share their experience with The Civic Leaders Academy in South Carolina.

Experts from municipalities lecture on the flow of a zoning application from an advisory board to a board of appeals to a council for final vote.

“We try to teach you the nuts and bolts of running for office — polling data reading, putting a team together and strategy for campaigning,” Josh Dix, consulting advisor to CTAR’s CEO, said.

“We also explain how parliamentary procedure works. 

If you want to be on a board or commission, parliamentary is a key tool.”

 

 

MUNICIPAL FINANCE CHALLENGES

AND POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS

The Civic Leaders Academy in greater Charleston features classes of about 15 to 20 professionals learning about land use and planning practices.

The first class graduated in 2021.

One course session is a trip to Columbia to meet with legislators and heads of key state departments.

Participants learn about financing, policy and how land-use decisions can sometimes wind up in the court system.

The class is educating land-use decision-makers to vote based on sound planning.

“We were having a hard time when projects came to the planning commission or council. There really wasn’t a REALTOR® voice in those projects.

Projects were approved or denied for reasons that were not justified,” said Josh Dix, consulting advisor to CTAR’s CEO.

MUNICIPAL FINANCE CHALLENGES

AND POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS

In South Carolina, The Civic Leaders Academy teaches participants about the government’s role in community development, economic prosperity, transportation and infrastructure.

The Charleston Trident Association of REALTORS® (CTAR), the Charleston Home Builders Association and the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce partnered to create a knowledge base that prepares active community members for elected office, as well as appointments to planning and advisory boards.

 

 

 

 

MUNICIPAL FINANCE CHALLENGES

AND POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS

Kim Rueben, formerly a senior advisor, Fiscal Systems at the Lincoln Institute,  said some cities will look to Tax Increment Financing (TIF) to build transit stops, capturing the increased value around the station and dedicating it to paying off bonds that funded the transit extension.

She said some areas are looking at a series of Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) to fund some capital costs, but it may be difficult to convince property owners to the additional self-taxing that comes via a BID, as those may be downtown businesses already hurting from the shift to remote work and hybrid work from home.

MUNICIPAL FINANCE CHALLENGES

AND POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS

Kim Rueben, formerly a senior advisor, Fiscal Systems at the Lincoln Institute, said taxing the value of land independent of what is being built on top of it can provide a more stable flow of revenue.

She explained that many commercial buildings have lost value because they have vacancies due to the shift to remote work.

MUNICIPAL FINANCE CHALLENGES

AND POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS

The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy was founded to promote the Land value Return concept of public financing.

“Land value return is based on a simple core premise: public action should generate public benefit.

As challenges mount from rapid urbanization, deteriorating infrastructure, climate change, and more, this funding source has never been more important to the future of municipalities,”said the Germán-Bernstein brief titled “Land Value Return Tools to Finance Our Urban Future.”

 

 

 

MUNICIPAL FINANCE CHALLENGES

AND POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS

The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy was founded to promote the Land value Return concept of public financing.

“In an era of tight budgets and exploding need, cities around the world are funding infrastructure and other public improvements through land value return, also known as land value capture.

This policy approach offers an array of public finance tools that enable communities to recover and reinvest land value increases resulting from public investment and other government actions.

Notably, as new subway lines, roads and other public works raise the value of nearby land and real estate; developers and property owners share that publicly generated windfall to help local governments pay for new bridges, transit, parks, affordable housing and other infrastructure upgrades,” Lourdes Germán and Allison Ehrich Bernstein wrote in a policy brief published before deep federal funding cuts became a reality.

MUNICIPAL FINANCE CHALLENGES

AND POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS

In Broward County, Fla., voters approved a new property tax and a special district to provide services for disadvantaged children.

The new district was the Broward County Children’s Services Council.

Shayne Kavanagh, senior manager of research for the 26,000-plus member Government Finance Officers Association, said local government must challenge itself to find ways of increasing economic activity without increasing operational costs.

He said better coordination of land-use policy to economic development could help.

Development that results in urban sprawl often costs as much or more than the new taxes generated by the development itself.

 

MUNICIPAL FINANCE CHALLENGES

AND POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS

Shayne Kavanagh, senior manager of research for the 26,000-plus member Government Finance Officers Association, authored “New Taxes That Work: How Local Governments and Raise Revenue and “Rethinking Revenue”

He noted that even in an era of strong anti-tax sentiment, communities successfully gained voter approval when they associated the tax with a concrete purpose that citizens value.

“For Plant City, Fla., 50 percent of its 160 miles of streets were in poor condition.

Staff estimated that it would take up to 60 years to resurface or reconstruct all roads in the city, based on available resources at the time.

Street quality served as the foundation for a new tax,” Kavanagh reported.