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.

HELPING WITH SMART GROWTH AND FINANCIAL STRATEGIES

REALTORS® TAKE ACTION

"Following the pandemic, we've seen explosive growth. Local governments were not prepared for that, as anyone would not be, due to an unprecedented event — Covid and the way it changed where people wanted to live," said Maria McHale, governmental affairs and policy director for East Tennessee REALTORS^® (ETNR).

"ETNR covers 12 counties — some urban, some rural, some in between," she said.

"We are approaching municipalities with ideas for smart growth."

Founded in 1912, ETNR serves Anderson, Blount, Campbell, Cumberland, Fentress, Knox, Loudon, Monroe, Morgan, Roane, Scott and Union Counties.

The Knoxville Metropolitan Statistical Area is home to about one million people.

 

HELPING WITH SMART GROWTH AND FINANCIAL STRATEGIES

REALTORS® TAKE ACTION

East Tennessee REALTORS^® (ETNR) is using an NAR grant to plan a proactive course in good government and sustainable financial solutions to keep up with rapid regional growth

Count the greater Knoxville area among the regions that have experienced explosive post-pandemic growth.

To help steer elected officials toward good decisions that foster smart growth and sound financing to serve it, ETNR is working to create a course that will educate municipal officials.

IT'S NOT EASY GOING GREEN

MUNICIPALITIES MUST GET CREATIVE TO FUND RESILIENCY IN A                TIME OF BOTH GREATER NEED AND REDUCED FEDERAL FUNDING

A 5-megawatt solar installation is underway at the I-95 landfill complex in Lorton, Va.

The ground-mounted system will be built and operated by Madison Energy through a power purchase agreement with Fairfax County.

John Morrill, Fairfax County’s director of the office of environmental and energy coordination, said the county’s Department of Housing office building was made more efficient and sustainable with rooftop solar panels.

The building retrofit adds a new life to the structure and the energy savings — about $75,000 per year — will pay off the total cost of its capital improvements in 15 to 20 years.

“Beyond cost savings, there are environmental benefits. Reducing emissions at the power plant helps air quality for everyone,” Morrill said.

The county replaced a gas boiler with a heat pump plus solar at a large recreation center.

In addition to being more efficient, the upgrade reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

The county is in its fifth and final years of converting its streetlights to LED.

While the bulb investment is about $8 million total, Morrill said the more efficient bulbs allow the county to avoid about $3 million per year in energy costs to operate the more than 50,000 streetlights.

As the price of energy continues to soar, the cost avoidance could be even greater.

IT'S NOT EASY GOING GREEN

MUNICIPALITIES MUST GET CREATIVE TO FUND RESILIENCY IN A                TIME OF BOTH GREATER NEED AND REDUCED FEDERAL FUNDING

John Morrill, Fairfax County’s director of the office of environmental and energy coordination, has worked on efficient energy and green initiatives in the greater Washington, D.C., area since the 1980s.

Morrill said the goal in Fairfax County, Va., is to make energy efficiency self-funding.

In June, the county broke ground for the construction of a five-megawatt solar array on a closed landfill.

When operating in spring 2026, the solar is expected to provide about five percent of the power needed to operate more than 500 county buildings and over 50,000 streetlights in Fairfax.

The growing county of about 1.2 million has set ambitious goals of getting 25 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040.

Making sure new facilities are built energy efficient and spending capital dollars to improve efficiency is a way of saving power expenses, Morrill said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IT'S NOT EASY GOING GREEN

MUNICIPALITIES MUST GET CREATIVE TO FUND RESILIENCY IN A                TIME OF BOTH GREATER NEED AND REDUCED FEDERAL FUNDING

Miami Beach’s Bayshore Park, with 19.4 acres of open space and active play areas built in place of a shuttered par-3 golf course, features nature-based resiliency.

In the center of the $42-million park, a one-acre lake was created to retain stormwater.

A future phase will connect the surrounding neighborhood’s drainage system to the park, providing extra capacity during heavy rains.

Maurice Gibb Park was completely rebuilt with a living shoreline of mangroves, raised seawall, native trees and increasing drainage capacity.

Brittany Bay Park on the Intracoastal Waterway uses a living shoreline to protect the community from storms and sunny-day flooding.

In July, Miami Beach adopted a Sea Level Rise Adaptation Plan.

It was funded by a $454,000 Resilient Florida Grant and another $100,000 in matching city funds that were dedicated to compound flood modeling.

IT'S NOT EASY GOING GREEN

MUNICIPALITIES MUST GET CREATIVE TO FUND RESILIENCY IN A                TIME OF BOTH GREATER NEED AND REDUCED FEDERAL FUNDING

Miami Beach has a permanent population of about 80,000, but must provide services adequate to serve more than 13 million annual visitors who occupy more than 25,000 hotel rooms.

Though its land mass is less than eight square miles, the densely populated luxury living and resort town has a total taxable value of more than $56 billion.

All that valuable residential and commercial real estate sits only four feet above sea level.

With Biscayne Bay on its west side and the Atlantic Ocean on its east, the city is vulnerable to both sunny-day tidal flooding and paralyzing flooding simply when it gets heavy rains.

Miami Beach is planning to invest upwards of roughly $1 billion on resiliency.

A 2018 general obligation bond brought in more than $439 million — with most of it earmarked for resiliency.

Using utility fees and other resources, the city is adding water pumps, improving its stormwater network and rebuilding parks that can control flooding.

IT'S NOT EASY GOING GREEN

MUNICIPALITIES MUST GET CREATIVE TO FUND RESILIENCY IN A                TIME OF BOTH GREATER NEED AND REDUCED FEDERAL FUNDING

Austin Perez, the National Association of REALTORS’ senior policy advisor, who specializes in tracking the true cost of insurance, natural disasters and their impacts on homeownership, said many states prone to natural disasters have already become much more self-reliant when it comes to disaster response, recovery and rebuilding.

Since the devastation of Hurricane Andrew in 1992, Florida has had the top disaster response capacity of any state.

Perez noted that FEMA is widely acknowledged as one of the world’s leading agencies in coordinating logistics and immediate disaster response, particularly in situations that exceed the capacity of individual states.

While FEMA will continue to play a critical role in disaster response, states will likely need to assume greater responsibility for longer-term recovery efforts.

 

 

IT'S NOT EASY GOING GREEN

MUNICIPALITIES MUST GET CREATIVE TO FUND RESILIENCY IN A                TIME OF BOTH GREATER NEED AND REDUCED FEDERAL FUNDING

“You will have natural disasters where the feds are not going to be providing the same level of support,” said Austin Perez, the National Association of REALTORS’ senior policy advisor, who specializes in tracking the true cost of insurance, natural disasters and their impacts on homeownership.

While that may be a difficult adjustment for some states less accustomed to frequent disasters, it’s grounded in the U.S. Constitution.

Perez explains that, under our system of federalism, states hold primary responsibility for disaster response and recovery.

“Think of Katrina in New Orleans and Lahaina in Hawaii.

They were so severe and overwhelming, the states had to request federal assistance, including from FEMA,” he said.

IT'S NOT EASY GOING GREEN

MUNICIPALITIES MUST GET CREATIVE TO FUND RESILIENCY IN A                TIME OF BOTH GREATER NEED AND REDUCED FEDERAL FUNDING

In the late 20th century, the federal government — via FEMA — took on an increasing role in funding the prevention of; response to; and recovery from natural disasters.

The current administration is in the process of revamping FEMA, putting more burden on the states.

BRIC, which stands for Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities, is a FEMA hazard mitigation grant program launched in 2020.

Many states used BRIC grants on green infrastructure meant to mitigate the impact of natural disasters.

Recently, FEMA canceled the BRIC program.

It may come back in a new, reduced form, but for now the roughly $750 million in annual funds is frozen.

 

 

IT'S NOT EASY GOING GREEN

MUNICIPALITIES MUST GET CREATIVE TO FUND RESILIENCY IN A                TIME OF BOTH GREATER NEED AND REDUCED FEDERAL FUNDING

Major projects take at least a decade, so planning for large infrastructure projects becomes difficult when federal support is in doubt.

To plug the gap -- Darren Olson, the engineer leading the American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE), 2025 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure is vice president and assistant department head of the Water Resources Department at Christopher B. Burke Engineering in Chicago -- hopes many municipalities sell bonds.

He notes there is a side benefit as America rapidly ages.

Retirement-age people get a safe investment when they buy muni bonds.

IT'S NOT EASY GOING GREEN

MUNICIPALITIES MUST GET CREATIVE TO FUND RESILIENCY IN A                TIME OF BOTH GREATER NEED AND REDUCED FEDERAL FUNDING

Darren Olson, the engineer leading the American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE), 2025 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure is vice president and assistant department head of the Water Resources Department at Christopher B. Burke Engineering in Chicago, said the ASCE estimates there is a $3.7-trillion infrastructure investment gap over the next 10 years.

He believes the federal government still has a significant role to play in funding infrastructure, especially sustainability.