Those Who Wish on Distant Stars Can Trip on What is Right In Front of Them...

 It's about tax revenue - more than one way to skin this cat....

Here's another email sent to Board and PC.  Those stuck inside box don't see daylight. I see many of you don't want to take time to read my posts.  One learns more from facts than sweeping generalizations.  😃

I added bold to start of each paragraph.

Subject: Housing Right (and tax revenue) Opportunities Hidden from Interested Parties

Hi Liz,

 Please forward to all Board and PC members.  Thank you.

 Jeff

To All Board and PC Members:

A land owner in Eureka recently commented to me that they get requests almost weekly from interested parties pleading to buy one of their housing rights. Apparently at this time most remaining holders of unused housing rights are understandably saving them for younger family members or as part of their long-term retirement planning or emergency reserve.

In 2021, two property owners with a total of 5 housing rights made changes.  One family asked to be annexed by Lakeville.  What a shame they, for whatever reason, didn’t talk to anyone on the Board, PC, or clerks to learn they had a housing right worth at least $30,000 they could have sold before the annexation. Now it is gone.  I wonder why they didn’t talk to anyone first?

The other owner sold two parcels with 4 housing rights to an entity committed to blocking any future development on the properties.  That Eureka owner missed out on at least $120,000 or more they could have gained prior to the property sale.  At least those housing rights still exist, but now revenue from the sale will go to an outside party, not the Eureka owner.  I wonder why they did not talk to anyone on the Board, PC, or clerks?

A third family heard by word of mouth about my role in creating the 2013 transfer feature and helping others.  They contacted me directly.  I helped them by doing the research and explaining their opportunities (at no cost). There were some complications that needed to be managed carefully and I helped guide them on those so when they came to the PC and Board, they had all the answers I knew they would need to smoothly get the needed permit approvals in a timely fashion.  They were very pleased that they could salvage a housing right for their family before their request to Lakeville for annexation was accepted by Lakeville.

I don’t wonder why the third party came to me instead of to a clerk, PC or Board member.  They told me.

If interested parties were introduced to the owner of the 4 still available housing rights, there could still be 4 more new houses built generating approximately $5000 each in property taxes, of which $4000 total would come to Eureka annually.  I have no doubt the new current owner would be delighted to accept the windfall for housing rights they have no intention of using themselves.

Instead of becoming aware of the current market situation, you all seem single-minded in pursuing Commercial or Industrial zoning in the hope of magically attracting big enough brick and mortar businesses that would actually contribute tax revenue above the revenue per acre currently in the Township. 

Even strip malls with small businesses have growing vacancies nation-wide due to the competition from big chains and especially Amazon.

I have looked up the taxes on 11 of the approximately 75 private businesses scattered around Eureka. All that I looked up involve out buildings, as no home businesses in Eureka are taxed commercially which is reasonable and fair.   Only 6 of the 11 that I checked are classified other than Residential Homestead by the Dakota County Assessor because the 5 operations are neatly contained in an accessory building that looks no different than my accessory building used for personal storage, no business activity.  Two of the 6 that are Commercial Preferred and Industrial Preferred are the two biggest operations in Eureka.  Yet all 11 are at or below average in tax revenue on a per-acre basis compared to the average Eureka home property.

Your initial draft map of Eureka showed Commercial/Industrial only (because it was said “worrying about buffer zones might take too long” at a joint roundtable meeting).  Obviously none of you were even aware that “spot zoning” is against the law in Minnesota, but there was more than one example of that banned practice on your random map.

 I hope you will listen and learn from the consulting firm you have hired on this subject.

 Jeff Otto