Vacant properties are a huge problem in the District, especially in the inner core neighborhoods like Logan Circle and Shaw. In addition to being both unsightly and a poor use of land, these properties often become nuisances, attracting crime, graffiti, drug dealing, and homeless men and women who shelter in them despite their often unsafe structures. One might hope that market incentive and the rising real estate prices in these resurging areas would drive owners of vacant land to either sell or develop the property they own, but – alas! – Mr. Smith’s invisible hand sometimes fails to act.

Of particular note is the large number of vacant properties in Logan and Shaw owned by various churches. In the wake of the riots, the churches purchased many such buildings with good intentions, such as creating shelters, offering low-cost housing to needy residents, or simply to make them unavailable to local thugs. As any preacher worth his salt can tell you, though, those good intentions pave a particular road.

Recently, the District dramatically raised the property tax rates on vacant properties from 88¢ per square foot to $5 per square foot. Pure and simple, it is an effort to force the hand of careless landowners who fail to develop their properties, and whose properties consumes an inordinate quantity of city services because of the vacancies. And it seems to be working!

At least month’s ANC 2F meeting, Vermont Avenue Baptist Church was on hand to make a request for an exemption from the vacant property tax rate. They are trying to secure funding for development of one of their long-vacant properties, and (given the economic climate) were having trouble doing so. The ANC agreed to recommend an extension. I made sure to let them know that we would be watching their progress closely, however, especially given the history of neglect and carelessness they had already exhibited. There are rumblings of another church that will be on the agenda in September for a similar request. And now DCist is reporting that Shiloh Baptist voted to sell some of their long-vacant holdings on 8th Street!

It’s important to note that this tax rate is not without controversy. There were some reports of unfortunate situations where homes were incorrectly classified as vacant, as well as some cases where vacant lots used as community gardens or dog parks are getting taxed at the new rate. Clearly, the law needs to modified to handle those situations appropriately. But as to the core issue the tax hike was meant to address?

Seems like it’s working out pretty good to me.

(Cross-posted to my personal site.)

Labels: anc, chruches, policy, property tax, tax, vacant property

I doubt many of you have heard of B18-0060, the Practices of Medicine and Naturopathic Medicine Amendment Act of 2009. I hadn’t either, until it was brought to my attention today in my capacity as an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner. This bill, which was passed by the DC Council on April 7th, signed by the Mayor on April 28th, and will pass the colonial review of Congress on July 6th, essentially re-defines medicine in the District of Columbia to exclude the practices of Naturopathic medicine. I have been invited to a reception to discuss urging the Council to reconsider “whether there are alternatives to eliminating this source of health care from our city.�

I was immediately suspicious of a so-called medical term with the prefix naturo- and the suffix -pathic, but I had never heard the term naturopathic before. I looked it up on Wikipedia, and it turned out my suspicions were right. Naturopathic medicine is a bag of tricks that includes all the biggest names in woo medicine, including acupuncture, homeopathy, hair analysis, and reflexology.

To which I say: Nice job DC Council! Thank you for stripping these quacks of governmental imprimatur and the trappings of authenticity. Citizens who have been fooled into believing these treatments are effective will hopefully think twice about putting their hands into such unscientific techniques, and instead seek treatment from licensed practitioners working with hard evidence.

(Cross-posted with my blog.)

I write with a heavy heart that our good friend Desi Deschaine has passed away. As a staffer for Mayor Williams, and later Councilmember Jack Evans, Desi tirelessly worked for the betterment of the District of Columbia and Ward 2; and as the Vice-President of the, Logan Circle Community Association, he continuously worked to improve our neighborhood.

His boundless energy, enthusiasm, laughter, and love for live will be missed by everyone who knew him, and thousands more who didn't. His positive impact on our lives cannot be overstated.

Labels: desi