Halifax needs an empty-lot tax: councillor
Waye Mason says developers need incentive to keep housing up until last minute instead of empty lots
HALIFAX, N.S. — With over 1,000 people now actively homeless in Halifax Regional Municipality and rental vacancy at record lows, it’s tough to watch an empty lot sit undeveloped for years.
Halifax South Downtown Coun. Waye Mason says an empty-lot tax would incentivize developers to keep housing until the last minute before demolishing and building something new.
“The hard part of development is we have a housing crisis and we need 10,000 units today, but a lot of what we see being built around Halifax is what was approved six or seven years ago,” Mason said during a recent interview.
“The question is, if you know as a developer it’s going to take three to five years to get to a point where you’re able to get the crew on site and start digging a hole, it probably makes more sense from a societal point of view to keep the rentals there and have places for people to live during a housing crisis until the last possible minute.” …[Continue Reading]